Invoking the legacy of presidential coin collectors through the ages, a nonprofit that promotes the interests of numismatists sued last year for the return of ancient Cypriot and Chinese coins seized by U.S. customs agents in Baltimore.
The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild bought the 1,000- to 2,000-year-old coins from a dealer in London in April 2009. Neither the dealer nor the guild could prove their provenance, but absent proof they’d been looted, the guild argued that it was entitled to a presumption the acquisition was legitimate.
