If you ever been to a museum, after looking at the objects in the museum and enjoying the visit, later you might wonder how did the stuff come to be at the museum. Very often somebody bought it and donated it, in the museum world they are suppose to show the original purchaser had title. In an earlier time, things such as ownership were often overlooked and objects disappeared from one country to end up as collectibles in another country. When a country is stable in terms of its government, the disappearance of the objects is not good. When the stability of its government is suspect, perhaps some disappearance is good, for expensive objectives are often changed – metal melted down, jewels divided up and paid to the new regime and the people trying to make a living. As long as people had disposable income, they have enjoyed nice things, treasures have been moving back and forth for generations. The Rape of the Nile by Brian Fagan, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1975 is about tomb robbers, tourists and archaeologists in Egypt. The country had one of the longest, wealthiest civilizations in the world under the rulers of the Pharaohs. The crafts people at the time produced magnificent objects for the rulers. The ancient Egyptians saw death differently – the Pharaohs would come back from the after life, presumably they would need to return a similar lifestyle as they had when living. The tombs are and were a treasure trove of paintings, jewels, gold, all treasures everyday individuals would like to have and expect to have.

In China all those who worked on the city for the Emperor were buried with the Emperor; in Egypt the people moved to work for the next Pharaoh and thus some of the valuables went to extra income. There was an ability to earn a living from tomb raiding and both tourists and locals were willing buyers. Archaeologists are a slightly different breed, they want to discover the remains, particularly the remains of the wealthy people in the country for the glory of the museum and themselves. Sometimes when treasures were discovered they were sent to other countries particularly – England, France and Germany at a time when the items were not important to the rulers of Egypt. The great museums of the countries have a wealth of information for its residents to observe, study and eventually some will travel to Egypt.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, when receiving the dividend you do not have to worry about the providence of the object, as a shareholder you have a right and expectation for the dividend. Similar to treasures of another country in a museum you can see the dividends often and be enriched by them.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions