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Germany enforcing provenance law on old coins and antiquities
CaptHenway
Posts: 34,305 ✭✭✭✭✭
From Coin World Online
Should not affect American coins, but what if you had a Pine Tree Shilling at your table at a show in Germany? Where do they draw the line?
Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
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This is far too vague, "at least 20 years’ of provenance for objects of cultural importance". And puts far too much power in the hands of authorities who may want pieces for exhibit in museums.
Cancel the German Show Tour :O
Steve
If you are stating you purchased Armor Piercing rounds, that's quite a bit different than coins and antiquities. Are you US based or overseas? My dad had a FFL and from what I have read on the topic is that it is legal to buy and possess armor piercing ammunition, but it is illegal to sell armor piercing ammunition. That means you can have it, but nobody can sell it to you. Falls into a very grey area, however I have never run into anyone wanting to purchase or sell any openly.
Yes, this is another example of neo fascist socialism that allows the government to confiscate property on flimsy grounds. Although least 20 years’ of provenance for objects of cultural importance, might be supported for very valuable objects, I dare say that most people could not provide such information for the vast majority of items that they have in their collections.
I can trace some of the coins I bought in the 1970s and '80s, but I'd be hard pressed to go back 20 years for many of the pieces I have purchased over the last five years. I can trace some them to previous auctions, so long as there are photos on the Internet, but that's it.
As someone else said, this done for the benefit of high government officials who get rich by taking unfair advantage of their public trust. At a time when many young people don't seem to care about their heritage, it's odd that the government would be so concerned about preserving it to the detriment of property rights. Lining their own pockets and hiring more government workers probably has more to do with this than anything else.
How did this go from a German law on antiquities to whether Americans are going to continue to let the commie fascist socialist guvment take away AP ammo under civil forfeiture laws which has nothing to do with firearms laws.
A presidential order about three years ago gave foreign governments the authority to arrest and deport Americans. If they want something you have they can come get you through the stroke of a pen.
Is the only way to stop this nonsense withdrawal from the UN?
My wife's best friend's father had one of the largest arrowhead and spear point collections in the US. He luckily sold it years ago (likely for a song), but I can imagine the hassle they would make with something like that. My son's fiance works for a famous art appraiser and he will no longer appraise ivory objects, no matter how much provenance you have, as he does not want to have even a chance of being hassled about it. There does tend to be creep in all this.