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Memo Bans Chinese Coin Import
 | By David L. Ganz, World Coin News
February 23, 2009 |
On the 30th anniversary of entering into diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, the outgoing Bush Administration announced Jan. 14 that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with the PRC that will make illegal the export from China, or third countries into the U.S., certain cultural properties more than 250 years old.
Import restrictions were imposed on specific categories of archaeological material from "The Paleolithic Period Through The Tang Dynasty," as well as "Monumental Sculpture and Wall Art at Least 250 Years Old."
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Goli Ameri and Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong signed for their respective countries, according to a Department of State press release. The Bush administration left office at noon on Jan. 20 as a new state department led by Hillary Rodham Clinton moved onto the scene.
Simultaneous with the memorandum of understanding were new federal regulations that have a direct effect on collectors and dealers. Issued was a final rule that amends the U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations to reflect the imposition of import restrictions on certain archaeological material from the People's Republic of China.
Entered based on the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act, the final rule amends Customs regulations by adding China to the list of countries for which a bilateral agreement has been entered into. UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
The regulations are found in title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 12, and involve three government agencies: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury.
On May 13, 2008, the Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State determined that "the cultural patrimony of China is in jeopardy from the pillage of irreplaceable archaeological materials representing China's cultural heritage from the Paleolithic Period (c. 75,000 B.C.) through the end of the Tang Period (A.D. 907)."
The U.S. found that import restrictions imposed by the United States would be of substantial benefit in deterring a serious situation of pillage and that less drastic remedies are not available.
Five separate types of coins are involved in the importation restrictions; the items listed have been the subject of contentious hearings and lobbying by the International Association of Professional Numismatists and others who collect Chinese monies from different historic periods of time.
Zhou Media of Exchange and Tool-shaped Coins are included. What is called an early medium of exchange includes bronze spade coins, bronze knife coins, and cowrie shells. The explanation: "During the 6th century B.C., flat, simplified, and standardized cast bronze versions of spades appear and these constitute China's first coins."
The State Department memo notes that other coin shapes appear in bronze including knives and cowrie shells. These early coins may bear inscriptions.
China took a different route than many western countries. Tool-shaped coins began to be replaced by disc-shaped ones that were also cast in bronze and marked with inscriptions. These coins have a central round or square hole. Their import is also banned.
In the reign of Qin Shi Huangdi (221-210 B.C.), the square-holed round coins became the norm. The new Qin coin is inscribed simply with its weight, expressed in two Chinese characters: ban liang. These are written in small seal script and placed symmetrically to the right and left of the central hole.
Inscriptions became longer in the Han through Sui periods and may indicate that inscribed object is a coin, its value in relation to other coins or its size. Later, the period of issue, name of the mint and numerals representing dates may also appear on obverse or reverse. A new script, clerical (lishu), came into use in the Jin.
The clerical script in the Tang period became the norm until 959, when coins with regular script (kaishu) also begin to be issued. All of these cannot be imported absent consent and license from the Chinese government.
For more information, visit www.culturalheritage.state.gov or contact Catherine Stearns, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, at (202) 203-5107.
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