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Re: (erielack) Historic artifacts
It should be remembered that there aren't too many private
businesses that have collectors eager to own anything that
has a company name or was obviously used by the company.
There are relevant court cases that members of this
discussion might find of interest.
Some of us remember various police officers -- both railroad
and city -- nosing around the railroadiana tables at the
bygone Hoboken Festival claiming that the items for sale
were stolen and threatening the sellers.
In a New York City case, the cops actually seized a
collection of signs from a dealer, and when the dealer was
acquitted on other charges, refused to return the "stolen
property" even though the MTA did not file a claim. He went
to court and the judge ordered the signs returned.
From the NY Times Article:
"One year and 11 days earlier, Mr. LeRoy had been visited in
his store, Billy’s Antiques and Props on Houston Street in
the East Village, by the police. They informed him that the
old subway signs he was selling — a mainstay of his business
for years — had been stolen from the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority. They took away 109 signs and
charged him with felony possession of stolen property. The
district attorney’s office dropped the charges in September,
but did not return the signs to Mr. LeRoy because it was not
satisfied that they were rightfully his.
Wednesday afternoon, after a six-month detour through the
more obscure corridors of the criminal justice system, at
the New York Police Department property retrieval unit on
Pearson Place in Long Island City, Billy LeRoy got his signs
back. "
See:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/vintage-signs-head-home-for-sale-after-year-in-police-custody/
Then there's the story of the Coin Dealer and the Double
Eagles -- involving Collectors vs Uncle Sam where, again,
the collection was seized without further ado (until now):
"But in 2004, Joan Langbord, Mr. Switt’s daughter, and her
sons contacted the United States Mint to say they had
discovered the 10 coins tucked away in a safe deposit box,
within a folded Wanamaker’s department store bag, and asked
for help in authenticating them. Instead, the government
seized the double eagles — an eagle was a $10 piece, a half
eagle a $5 — saying that since they had never been
circulated, they must have been stolen. The Langbords sued
to get them back.
In 2009, Judge Legrome D. Davis of Federal District Court,
said that the government could not simply assume the coins
were government property, and would have the burden of
proving the facts in court. While the government has the
burden of proof, this is not a criminal case in which guilt
must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. It must
convince jurors only that a preponderance of the evidence
supports its case. "
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/us/09coin.html
Cheers,
Jim Guthrie
ELHS #1296
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