Article about the SVA in Newsweek

[emaier3]

All,

There is an article about the SVA and how it effects collectors on page 18 of this week's edition of Newsweek Magizine (5 Feb 2007 edition). Believe it or not, it is very favorable to our position. Please check it out.

Thanks,

Ed Maier

[Ed_Haynes]

Or, see: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16841992/site/newsweek/

Collecting: A Mix-Up on Medals

Newsweek

Feb. 5, 2007 issue - In December, the Stolen Valor Act made it a crime to buy, sell, mail, import or export any military decoration approved by Congress. But the bill?intended to stop people from impersonating decorated vets?has such vague wording that medal collectors and auction houses are scrambling to find out if they're within the law. The legislation calls for a one-year maximum sentence and a fine of up to $100,000 for improper use of the Distinguished Service Medals, including the Medal of Honor, Silver Star and Purple Heart. But critics say it's drawn so broadly that active-duty soldiers can't mail home their own medals. Online auction sites such as eBay have already begun to cancel bidding on Purple Hearts and other decorations, regardless of whether the medals date back decades or longer. (Collectors of Civil War memorabilia could be affected.) Manions International, an auction house devoted to militaria, has yanked all American medals from its listings. And Jeff Floyd, the largest auctioneer of orders and medals from around the world, canceled his company's February round of auctions as he takes a "wait and see" approach.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Kent Conrad, has said its intent is to impede only impostors, not collectors, and a legal group that examined the law says collectors appear to be safe. But enthusiasts worry that an outlaw market may emerge. "The law will force the collectors, archivists and historians to go underground," says retired Capt. Dean Veremakis, USNR, who serves as the president of the Orders & Medals Society of America.

?Peter Suciu

? 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Damn...

I was hopeing to score big at the "rush to sell medals before the FBI kicked the door down" sale........

[JBFloyd]

If anyone is panic selling, I'm ready to panic buy!

[Guest Rick Research]

Excellent!

Now if someone could just explain to Senator Moron that "intention" is not what the WORDS of his demented law flatly state.

Great to see this, and congratulations to Peter.

[Wild Card]

Gentlemen,

Once again, we have a case where our government officials, in a rush to ?do good? did so without considering all of the consequences. I have gone through this in business with, among others, ERISA (Employee?s Retirement Income Security Act which became Everything Ridiculous Invented Since Adam), OSHA, and more recently, Sarbanes-Oxley. I have testified at a congressional hearing on another issue and have watched these fiascos, usually from a safe distance, for about thirty-five years.

The point that I would like to make is this. Once the excitement dies down, the six o?clock news spots have worn out and the interested parties have pledged their support and turned their efforts to the next cause, common sense goes to work and typically modifications and revisions come into play. We all know that this bill is flawed and I do not think that the interests of the collecting community were ever an intended target of the bill?s sponsors or any members who voted for it. I also feel confident that our position can prevail; but we are going to have to play by the rules of the system and it is going to take more than a letter writing campaign.

Regards,

Wild Card

Edited February 2, 2007 by Wild Card

[Guest Rick Research]

I've just heard from a local collector who has been interviewed for articles which will appear in next week's editions of

Maine Antique Digest, Antiques & Arts Weekly, the Newtown Bee, and Antique Trader--

not with the same mass market as Newsweek naturally, but for those unfamiliar with the "civilian" antiques trade, the above will cover the entire country and get word out into every non-militaria specialist auction house and group shop around.

[Ralph A]

I feel compelled to point out this article is written by a fellow collector and it states merely that "a legal group that examined the law says collectors appear to be safe..."

Appear to be?

Dispassionately, I asked my lawyers (the Capitol Hill fellows - not the family shysters) about this issue. Their answers were surprising, and might be dismaying... if I was a "U.S." collector.

This issue is rapidly becoming even more politically charged than it already is. There are the usual agendas that have nothing to do with stolen valor. Surprise, surprise.

Edited February 17, 2007 by Ralph A

[Ed_Haynes]

So true, Ralph. 'Tis sad, random, and absolutely unpredictable. If you look at the self-appointed patriotic watchdogs who have shoved this through and the J. Eager Beaver in the FBI who supports it, it gets even more . . . well . . . deviant. I can't imagine anyone wants to be a test case of the malenforcement of this misbegotten legislation.

Will be interesting to see what sort of pall this casts over this year's OMSA.

[Ed_Haynes]

I've just heard from a local collector who has been interviewed for articles which will appear in next week's editions of

Maine Antique Digest, Antiques & Arts Weekly, the Newtown Bee, and Antique Trader--

not with the same mass market as Newsweek naturally, but for those unfamiliar with the "civilian" antiques trade, the above will cover the entire country and get word out into every non-militaria specialist auction house and group shop around.

Here's the piece Rick spoke of. Doubt it'll make much difference.

http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/articles.../medals0307.htm

[Ralph A]

Ed, speaking of OMSA... this Act and the discourse it has generated prompted me to finally join. I bought two memberships and asked the board to consider the second one a contribution to the cause.