The main point of interest in this story is the language used in the official explanation given for the export ban on the coin: […]The committee ruled the coin was so closely connected to England’s history and national life that losing it would be a misfortune, that it was of outstanding aesthetic importance[…] Surely points that could also be applied equally or more to the Elgin Marbles. It seems that when it is about our own heritage though the situation is different obviously.

From:
Bedford Today

Export ban on £230,000 coin
10 August 2005

A gold coin found in Biggleswade and sold for a record price has had a temporary export ban placed on it.
Culture Minister David Lammy has placed the ban on taking the coin out of the country following a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art.

The committee ruled the coin was so closely connected to England’s history and national life that losing it would be a misfortune, that it was of outstanding aesthetic importance and of outstanding significance to the study of numismatics, monetary history, royal government and the history of London.

And it awarded a starred rating to the coin, meaning every effort should be made to raise the £357,832, excluding VAT, needed to keep it in the country.

The coin dates from the reign of Coenwulf, king of Mercia and is the most expensive British coin ever sold.

It is also the first Anglo-Saxon gold penny to come to light for almost a century and is the only known example from its period.

For the full story see the August 12 edition of the Chronicle.