Ancient Coin Collectors Guild was founded in 2004 as an

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

for dealers and collectors of ancient coins. The ACCG is a 501(c)4 non-profit organization chartered in the

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state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Mission

According to its bylaws, the purpose of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild is to promote and nurture the free and independent collecting of coins from antiquity. This is undertaken by volunteers through education, political action, and consumer protection. The goal of the ACCG is to foster an environment in which the general public is able to confidently and legally acquire and hold, for personal or professional use, any numismatic item of historical interest regardless of date or place of origin.

Governance

The ACCG is governed by an elected board of seven Directors. Daily business of the guild is managed by an Executive Director. The guild has no paid employees. Membership categories range from Friend to Benefactor with varying levels of contribution distinguishing the membership level. The ACCG is an umbrella organization for 24 Affiliate Member organizations boasting a total membership of nearly 6,000 collectors.

Activities

Activities of the ACCG have mainly been directed toward legislative or governmental agency lobbying and educational programs related to cultural property management or youth programs. For example, the ACCG opposes any changes to the Memorandum of Understanding that the

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

's Cultural Property Advisory Committee has with Italy, that would mean ancient coins no longer have unrestricted entry into the United States.

2010 federal lawsuit

In July 2010, the ACCG filed a lawsuit in the

United States District Court for the District of Maryland The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken to the United States Court of ...

against

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

(CBP). The lawsuit sought to recover 23 ancient

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and

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coins that the ACCG had ordered from a coin dealer in

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and which were seized by CBP in

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in 2009. In 2011, the district court dismissed the lawsuit. The ACCG appealed, and in 2012 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision to dismiss the case.Ancient Coin Collectors Guild v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 698 F.3d 171 (4th Cir. 2012) (''Ancient Coin I'')
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References

External links

*{{Official website, http://accg.us 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Numismatic associations Organizations established in 2004