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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;robinjojo, post: 7581091, member: 110226&quot;]Here&#039;s an update on the saga with US Customs at JFK Airport, where their TIER / Special Operation Unit is detaining a Qatatban tetradrachm that was sent from Canada last month.</p><p><br /></p><p>My first reaction was to send them a letter, in which I try to argue that the coin was present in the US/Canada before in the import restrictions on Yemeni antiquates were implemented on February 5, 2020.&nbsp; In the letter I try to link the coin to others that have been sold from 2014-2016, when seemingly a large number of Qatatban coins, especially drachms, hit the market.&nbsp; I also sent a copy of the Huth article on the 1994 hoard.&nbsp; I figured that if they were using Huth as a source on Qatatban coinage, why not send them information about the 1994 hoard?</p><p><br /></p><p>That was probably a mistake on my part, since this information will likely muddy the water and make the release process more problematic.</p><p><br /></p><p>I also contacted Peter Thompa of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild for advice.&nbsp; He was very helpful, directing me to a page on the website dealing with import restrictions.&nbsp; I was able to use the boilerplate statement on the page for the buyer, modifying it to conform with the regulatory restrictions pertaining to Yemeni antiquities.</p><p><br /></p><p>That statement form was sent yesterday.&nbsp; I sent a similar statement for for the consignor/seller to Athena last night.&nbsp; Salem, by the way is being very helpful, and he sent a message to me that he will issue a statement that the coin was in his possession since 2017.&nbsp; So, I am hopefully expecting that his documents will reach US Customs by the June 5th deadline.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have found trying to contact this TIER team at JFK quite frustrating.&nbsp; They provide no contact name in the letter they sent to me and no email address, just a phone number that is perpetually busy.&nbsp; Additionally, the letter does not have a detention number (blank), so I have used the tracking number as the reference in my correspondences to them.</p><p><br /></p><p>All of this is quite unsettling and quite Kafkaesque.&nbsp; The letter is requesting documentation that the coin left the country of origin with the blessing of that country.&nbsp; How, on earth, is that a reasonable request?&nbsp; I don&#039;t know how many collectors or dealers or auction houses handled this coin.&nbsp; Is such a document to accompany the coin as it passes from one hand to another in the the ancient coin market?</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, Peter thinks that the main issue is to prove that this coin&#039;s presence in the US/Canada prior to February 5, 2020 will swing the case and release it from US Customs, JFK Airport.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I just hope that everything falls into place.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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