Import restrictions for coins from Turkey, as well as the saga of the Qataban Tetradrachm

My situation with US Customs at JFK rolls on, just like the shimmering sand dunes of the desert, with no clear end in sight. I am not very hopeful for a positive outcome.

I was finally able to talk to an customs officer. The phone contact number provided in the detention letter of May 5th, (718) 553-2727, was incorrect. The correct phone number is (718) 487-2727.

Also, it seems that one or more of the documents that I sent were misplaced, so I emailed them, along with the certified mail receipts to CBP today in the hope that they will be find their way to the review team. As of today, the coin is in Washington, DC for evaluation. By whom I am not sure.

I cc'd Peter Tompa, and he send to me a ACCG newsletter link regarding new restrictions on the importation of certain coins from Turkey.

https://accguild.org/news/10663710

We do, indeed, live in interesting times.

 

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Thanks for reporting on this for us.

 

After watching Border Patrol, I see that JFK is pretty tough on certain countries and I can see why. Especially their mail section.

 

Thanks for the bad news. I knew the MOU with Turkey would come, but didn't expect it so soon.

I read the doc on federalregister.gov and the links to custom restrictions in govinfo.gov. A coin can still be imported if a) Turkey issues a certificate (yeah, right), b) there is evidence if was outside of Turkey no less than 10 years before being imported, or c) there is satisfactory evidence it was out of Turkey before the MOU was enacted.

I already got a bit tired of asking oversees sellers if they have any receipt, note, ticket...

Good luck, robinjojo! Keep us posted.

 

It's surprising in a way that a memorandum with Turkey has not been in place until now. For perspective, here are a couple of recent news stories that give some indication of the scale of the problem inside Turkey. The first story seems to describe an Athenian decadrachm among other objects seized.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/historical-artifacts-seized-across-turkey/2160391

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-3-nabbed-as-bid-to-smuggle-ancient-coins-foiled/2195434

 

I've no reason to suspect the veracity of these reports, but I feel compelled to note that the Anadolu Agency is widely acknowledged to be a propaganda machine for the AKP government.

In any case, what a deplorable situation this all is... bad for everyone involved: collectors, archaeologists, the various governments, and the Turkish people. Meanwhile, antiquities in Turkey are neglected and turning to dust. If only they adopted the UK system where find locations were recorded, finds photographed and catalogued, and finders fairly compensated or allowed to keep/sell the items (with the government reaping some rewards in the form of taxation). Everyone on that list would be vastly better off.

So, so dumb, I can't even.