I am now in my Saigon home and working on my Democratic Republic of Viet Nam Coins &Currency 2nd edition. My printer has already come to see me and ask when it will be ready. I tellhim sometime in December for all of my books and it will not change. He is getting pressure frommany collectors and dealers for it because they know he is my printer and he is also a collectorand an IBNS member.

The item on the case against repatriating museum artifacts reminds me of a past incident;

Many years ago I was went to a particular Southeast Asia national museum to see their numismaticexhibit. When I saw it, I got very excited because I saw a very rare coin in it. That evening at acollector's house, who happens to be very rich, I mentioned seeing the rare coin in the museum.He smiled and told me he had donated it to them so they could show every coin from a short dynastyof kings. I thanked him for doing that so dealers, collectors and the public could actually see thereal thing.

A couple of years later, I was back at the same museum and went to their exhibit. The very rarecoin had been replaced with a replica! What happened? It was an excellent replica but not authenticand definitely not the coin I saw during my last visit.

That evening in the donor's house, I told him what I saw. He was shocked and it ruined hisevening. I apologized for bringing him the bad news. The next evening I received an email from him.He had gone to the museum; saw that his coin was replaced with a replica; and talked to thecurator. The curator would not tell him what happened to his donated coin. The donor yelled at himand he finally said that the museum director had found a buyer for it; sold it; and pocketed themoney!

My friend will never donate another piece to the museum and will sell the rest of his collectionin a future Hong Kong auction, rather than keeping it in his home country. So even when many ofthese countries have pieces repatriated to them, that does not mean it will not end up back on theinternational marketplace. There are a few unethical people in a few museums and the rare piecesare slowly going out the back door!

When I read about a particular country pushing for repatriation, all I see flashing before myeyes are those few museum people enriching themselves at a later date by selling it.....sometimes asecond or third time! It is not in every Southeast Asian museum but one can ruin the reputation ofthe others.

To read the complete article, see:
THE CASE AGAINST REPATRIATING MUSEUMARTIFACTS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n44a29.html)