US returns cultural treasures to Iraq - Including a Roman Coin

From CNN News:

A Roman coin from A.D. 248-250, when the Romans occupied the region.

The coin had been left at the Houston Museum of Natural Science by a
man who said he was a contractor in Iraq.

The museum's curator of anthropology alerted federal authorities.

Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/25/us.iraq.artifacts/index.html?hpt=T2

Photograph of coin from US Immigration and Customs (ICE):


The article doesn't identify the coin but it looks like this one from Philip I (Philip the Arab)

Wildwinds ancient coin database - Antioch AE29 BMC 531:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Bringing back war trophies has always been a touchy subject. That was an interesting article though. Me personally, I think if I was a contractor in a foreign country and found an ancient coin or artifact I would have probably done the same thing...except after bringing it back I surely wouldn't have told anyone or tried to donate it...hahhaa! Wow..and to think, this guy was just trying to donate a coin to be put on display and got stabbed in the back! I'm sure he didn't know he was commiting a crime or he wouldn't have tried to donate it. I personally don't see anything wrong with doing a little treasure hunting. If I were deployed to Iraq I might as well do just as much digging as shooting. I think that Americans need to be better informed of international laws concerning such things. Some countries allow it where other countries would consider it looting. My advice to anyone thinking about bringing back war trophies would be to do your homework and respect the laws of whatever country you are in. Ancient artifacts are everywhere and it's really not worth it to put your freedom on the line for a few trinkets!

 

Even if countries allow it now, under UNESCO repatriation rules, they could probably get the artifacts returned at a later date.

What is most curious to me is the return of the AK 47, as I don't know if that is considered cultural property under any regulations. Also, coins up to this point under UNESCO have largely been not declared cultural property because of their number and dispersion. Several countries have asked for the repatriation of coins, but I don't believe that they have been successful in their actions. It would be important to know how it was exported from the country, how it was obtained, and if the man was actually prosecuted to determine how this impacts the previous precedent for ancient coins.

 

Ya know, I wonder if you were in a foreign country and found an ancient coin if it would be safe to just send it back home through the mail? That article from this post really got my wheels turning sinse I also have been wanting to plan trips overseas to do some digging. I know in Russia there are people that you can pay to take you out to dig in old WWII battlefields and even some ancient sites. They advertise openly on the net but I wonder if it's legal or not.