antiquities

The Greek antiquities thing works because there are probably only a few people that own priceless antiquities and the government is actually motivated to acquire more (because they would prefer they were in museums rather than private hands).

The Scepter of Egypt: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Forest Service and signed the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allowed for the protection of landmarks as National Monuments 1.

So if everybody who owns antiquities self-priced them at 50% FMV, the government would probably be happy to snap them up.

Sounds unrealistic, but the Greek government implemented exactly that system for the taxation of antiquities.

It was the easiest way to motivate people to accurately report the value of antiquities.

I have a couple of boxes of Magic: The Gathering cards going back to Antiquities and Arabian Nights.

But I would definitely suggest strongly against investing in antiquities if you're looking to invest on that timescale.

Same with works of art, classic cars, illegal antiquities and golden potatoes.

I particularly enjoy doing the antiquities sections, with an eye for the technology used to produce the pieces on display.

Leaving vague or unenforced laws on the books has the potential for both abuse and compassion (see national monuments and the Antiquities act, for a non-judicial example).

The other alternate view is that it's run by an incompetent narcissist (Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Department that controls who can do what in the pyramids).

Long-term, the entire antiquities trade as based on "authenticity" is doomed anyhow.

The academic study of history seems to be more an infatuation with the past than a source of lessons for the future, or from just a movie, "a passion for antiquities." > That said, you seem to lay the blame for all that on having to take what I assume was more or less an English literature class throughout that period (though I doubt it was such in 1st grade).

This income, which is now estimated to overwhelmingly exceed private donations, is generated by activities such as smuggling (of oil, weapons, antiquities), extortion (e.g., the group levies around $8 million per month in "taxes" on local businesses), and other crimes (e.g., robberies, counterfeiting).

As the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Hawass has turned Egyptology into a one-man show.