Again the US government is considering restricting the import of Greek coins. We are given a chance to comment until May 5. (See the link on the upper right of this page) https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOS-2016-0009-0001 "The Committee will review the proposal to extend the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hellenic Republic Concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Categories of Archaeological and Byzantine Ecclesiastical Ethnological Material through the 15th Century A.D. of the Hellenic Republic (“Greece MOU”) [Docket No. DOS-2016-0009]." "MOU" stands for "Memorandum of Understanding." You can read what other people (including me) already wrote to get some idea of what to say. Greece wants "cultural property" originally from Greece to be prohibited, by the US, from entry (not Greece from exit). I don't know what the US gets in exchange for this concession, which appears to be unilateral. But, it seems obvious that Greek culture is better served by spreading it around the world, at least when the items are far from unique, like coins. If you collect coins, you should submit a comment. Link at the upper right of that page above. Don't fail to do it just because you don't collect Greek coins in particular. Italian and Bulgarian coins are already subject to similar restrictions and Germany is considering them.
That's not a great development. Also affects people overseas who may not be able to get ancient coins from their favourite dealers in the US.
I left my comments but it will fall to whichever side gets more outrage drummed up no matter how stupid it is. The official currency of Ecuador is the US dollar. So if I go there and buy something, are those dollars still property of the US or do they belong to the merchant who sold me goods? Should it make any difference if it's the year 3016?
Up here in the, "Great white North" we do not have to worry about stupid importation rules. Just an idea....maybe the folks in Athens should worry about their tanking economy/ unemployment/national debt.....
This thread does not have enough members reporting they commented. Your ancient coins came from Europe and the US let them be imported. That seems the obvious and normal thing to do. Why should our government sign an agreement prohibiting the import of certain types of ancient coins? Well, we may not know the reason, but they have, and more such agreements will follow if we don't protest. Protest! Comment on the official US comment form (link in the OP).
I tried the OP link and it did not work. Then I tried the main "Regulations.gov" website and searched on the document number, DOS-2016-0009, and found the page with the comments: https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=DOS-2016-0009 which says the comment period is closed, even though the original link had said it was open until May 5 (It is now April 25). On that page is says "54 comments received" and "View all (33)" and they show 33. I don't like the inconsistencies. I wrote the Regulations.gov help desk pointing these facts out and asked if changes in end date for comments are common and why the number of comments received is not the number shown.
I noticed that not long after I commented, when I returned to see if my comment had posted. Since the time I commented there have been no additional visible comments (still showing only 33), even elsewhere they indicate 54 comments were received. I hope my comment registered! It is not among the 33 visible comments. 54 is a paltry number, regardless . I hope they extend the commenting period.
Wow! I thought I would had been "late" in the comments, and that mine would had been overwhelmed with all the comments. Mine was one of Only 33... Wish more collectors would had been more active... Rats...
The help desk at Regulations.gov replied! They say the date was changed to May 9 with a new link: https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOS-2016-0009-0001 The "Comment now!" link is in the upper right. The number of comments is listed as various numbers on different pages, but right now 33 are viewable. You can take a look at some to see what you might say. If you think collecting would never be seriously impeded by our government, I hope you are right. But, if the political season this year tells us anything, it tells us that things can change. Please comment in opposition to including coins in any MOU so things don't change in the wrong direction.
Thanks for following up on that, Warren! One page now says there are 83 comments; still only 33 are viewable. Edited to add: Hmm. Perhaps they aren't even going to show my response? From the fine print: *This count refers to the total comment/submissions received on this document, as of 11:59 PM yesterday. Note: Agencies review all submissions, however some agencies may choose to redact, or withhold, certain submissions (or portions thereof) such as those containing private or proprietary information, inappropriate language, or duplicate/near duplicate examples of a mass-mail campaign. This can result in discrepancies between this count and those displayed when conducting searches on the Public Submission document type. For specific information about an agency’s public submission policy, refer to its website or the Federal Register document. I did not copy verbatim other posters' comments nor was the wording from a mass emailing campaign, although of course it repeated the same sentiments expressed by all other posters. I guess they'll just show the ones they want to show.
One can no longer view any of the comments posted after 4/21/16. When I posted on 4/22, I saw your post TIF....but neither yours nor mine are currently viewable. I also wrote my comment before I read anyone else's, to be as original as possible. I hope they will read all the comments, not just the first 33.
