Roman coin from pompeii

[OldMoney]

... i only wanted to find out what it was, and i didn't want to learn about the legalities in italy with archaeological sites ...

That line pretty much sums things up here!

Tomb could still do the "right and proper thing" - here's hoping.

Walter Holt

[stlnats]

Tomb could still do the "right and proper thing" - here's hoping.

Walter Holt

Walter, I admire and salute your ongoing optimism in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.
    

[Nick H]

Not very smart to announce that you've stolen something from a world heritage site on a public forum....

lol, this post was from seven years ago, but it still cracks me up how many people think investigations will miraculously pop up when someone posts an antiquity. Even when you go directly to authorities and tell them about a person/seller with looted items, no action is ever taken.

BTW, IMO, if a coin is rare (let alone something in the extremely rare range w/only 1-5 in existence), it should be given back. However, coins of which there are hundreds of thousands of out there, giving it to authorities basically benefits no one:

-There are plenty on display and so it’s not depriving the public
-It lacks significant monetary value to help fund digs/museums/etc. 
-Won’t contribute to research since it’s been heavily documented already
-Coins have always been financial instruments and cannot be compared to sacred items (so a culture isn’t being abused)

Given all those factors, what exactly is the ethical impetus to turn it in? To ensure a government gets its cut when it didn’t contribute to finding it in the first place?

[Nick H]

... i only wanted to find out what it was, and i didn't want to learn about the legalities in italy with archaeological sites ...

That line pretty much sums things up here!

Tomb could still do the "right and proper thing" - here's hoping.

Walter Holt

Not a fan of the tone of Tomb’s reply there, but it likely came after just reading that initial attack post rather than seeing all the well thought out replies. Most people aren’t even aware that laws exist for found coins (of antiquity status). So, if this was the case for him, instantly being told you’re a POS (or strongly insinuated) when you weren’t even aware you did something wrong isn’t going to produce a constructive reply.

Many people would return coins if they were told about the rules/reasons in a warm tone. So, as always in almost all contexts, polite discourse/education yields far better results than impolite discourse of education. Therefore, hostile posts are only serving a person’s ego than the actual good they’re advocating for.

[JamesC11]

In fact, there is no good reason for Forum's delay in offering aerial bomb finds, in "as found" condition of course.  Group lots could simply be offered to public education in an uncleaned state.

[Virgil H]

I realized I was reading a 2015 post and my thought about the old posts was, "the Italian official probably sold the coin himself if it had been turned in." In my time in Turkey, I had Turkish Army friends who were officials who would have done it in a heartbeat (and they were fine people). I may be a horrible person, but if I find a projectile point where I am not supposed to, I am keeping it. I was just in Texas on the grounds of a museum property and my nephew is the Director. I told him I was going projectile hunting on the property. He said, fine, just share with him. No find would have ever been recorded. I didn't find anything.

But the real question is, "how many of the coins we all have are 100% legit?" Probably not many. Same thing with antiquities. How many collections were "formed before XXXX year" in reality? I giggle when I see that in auction/dealer listings. And, even if they were, most of the coins were looted when they were first obtained. Looting in 1850 is really not all different than 2022. See Altar of Zeus in museum in Berlin for some serious looting and I have been to Pergamon to see what was left. Trust me, the altar would look much better in Pergamon.

Just saying. I also think it is important that any find be documented. I wish it could be a reality. But, except maybe in a very few countries like the UK, that is never going to happen. The laws of many countries, including the US, guarantee it will never happen. The laws are counterproductive.

Cheers,
Virgil