Dealer Dave: "Attack on Credentials, moi?"

A Californian coinshop keeper who questions my ability to assess what is going on in the shady world of antiquities trading responds to David Knell's questioning of his recent actions ('Blogwarts: the fantasy world of blogging in California', Ancient Heritage):

how could such a call be regarded as an attack on those credentials, unless there is some reason why they will not stand the light of day? I did not really imagine that such could be the case, although John Howland indicated such a suspicion in his comment on this post.

We see here the usual tactic of these immature people, placing the blame on others. He says that it is a metal detectorist (reportedly a former bus driver) who "indicated a suspicion" about me. Mr Welsh has consistently and libellously suggested that I have been employed as an archaeologist under false pretences, alleging that I am barely qualified, for example remarks published on his own blog:

"Warsaw document translator and sometime archaeologist Barford (with a rather brief UK fieldwork career and one book to his credit)" September 19, 2013

"In this Slavic Fascist tradition, it is fitting that Mr. Barford, who failed to matriculate [sic] from the Institute of Archaeology in London, practiced archaeolgical fieldwork for a few years and then moved to Poland, now resides in Warsaw, where he occasionally translates documents". September 13, 2013

"Mr. Barford, who failed to matriculate from the Institute of Archaeology in London, a very well regarded institution. Mr. Barford practiced archaeological fieldwork for several years in Britain,  however his abrasive personality perhaps might be the reason he was not reappointed". August 28, 2013

etc. etc. Asked to provide the basis for his false claim I did not finish my first degree, Mr Welsh falls silent. I am also unclear why he pronounces me a "Slavic Fascist", or how I can be both a "document translator" as well as an "occasional translator". These kind of remarks make very clear what use self-important, vindictive and small-minded fantasists like Welsh would make of any personal information they can get about the people they oppose.  They are like trollbots, trying to obfuscate discussion and deflect it away from the important issues (which is the current business model of the exploitive trade he in involved in) by dragging everything down to a personal level. This basically shows that for all their bluster, these people have not a single decent argument in their defence of what they do, beyond "this is what we've always done".

Blogwarts: the fantasy world of blogging in California'

David Knell ('Blogwarts: the fantasy world of blogging in California', Ancient heritage Thursday, 2 July 2015) takes a welcome cold hard look at the recent pomposity of the Classical Coins blog, run by Dave Welsh, "an engineer who lives in California and deals in coins - the same ACCG member who in all seriousness refuses to accept that the looting of antiquities is primarily driven by those who pay for them". 

He, backed by a coin-collecting lawyer and a metal detectorist, insists that anyone who presumes to oppose his views about ancient artefacts must be able to prove they are nothing less than a qualified archaeologist with a plethora of diplomas before they are even allowed to speak. [...] Welsh regards his blog not as a mere digital platform for his opinions but as some kind of august institution where he reigns as provost [...]After a personal attack on the credentials of Paul Barford (déjà vu?), he graciously granted him permission to enter the institution briefly and reply as a "guest". Welsh posted a special notice - grandly entitled "Comments Policy Exception" - in what to mere mortals like you or me would be just a blog comment. Under the title, in characteristically sententious and laboured prose reminiscent of a 19th-century schoolmarm, he solemnly announced to the gathered assembly: "I have decided to permit Mr. Barford's comments to be published here even though I consider them to contravene the policy of this blog that comments must shed more light, not more heat, upon the subject of the discussion [...] This is a one-time exception and it is not likely that I will extend it to other subjects Mr. Barford may be interested in commenting upon".

Knell goes on to say: "Ah, and there was innocent 21st-century me, naively thinking a blog was just a blog. I feel truly humbled". He stresses:

I am avidly in favour of an intelligent and thoughtful approach to collecting antiquities and thus protect its future. Do these people really think that posing as some pompous institution and fatuously inviting ridicule is the best way to promote its image?

I imagine my readers can guess pretty easily my own answer to that. People like Welsh, Tompa and Sayles are irresponsibly destroying collecting by their activities, and Mr Knell is right to criticise them for it.