‘Standing Caliph’ coins from Syria: probably looted and on the market

For1 the many years I have known Jonathan, he has been actively involved in initiatives aimed at protecting and documenting threatened archaeological heritage alongside his research and curatorial work. I am pleased to be able to recognise his valuable contributions to archaeological preservation with this piece on looted and trafficked Syrian coins.

Archaeological sites in Syria have been badly plundered since the start of the civil conflict there in 2011.2 Various reports have emphasised the looting and trafficking of ancient coins,3 though there have been few systematic studies of looted Syrian coins appearing on the open market.4 It seems surprising that more studies have not been published, but there are serious obstacles that discourage prospective researchers. Coins in antiquity circulated widely so that the place and even country of modern discovery (or looting) of a coin on the market today is often uncertain. Many coins entered circulation legally many decades ago and are not the product of recent looting. Finally, both the size and visibility of the coin market have been increasing since the early 2000s, and against that background it is difficult to identify extraordinary increases due to the market penetration of looted coins.