Many people go to museums all over the world, they are filled with treasurers and it is possible to see other civilizations without leaving your home country – those are great reasons to visit a museum. On the other side of the coin is how did those treasurers come to be at the museum? Some were bought by collectors who often could see talent which was subsequently seen by the rest of the world. Some items likely were taken by archaeologists as they searching for treasurers to be displayed by the institution they were working for. There could have been the best of reasons to ship the treasurers from one country to another, but once in a while it is good to ask the question.  In the book, Loot – the Battle over Stolen Treasurers of the Ancient World writer Sharon Waxman published by Times Books, New York, 2008 asks the questions of the some of the greatest museums in the world.

In general, prior to World War II, to the victor went the spoils, for generations if another country used its military to take over another country, the country which dominated sent treasurers back to the home country. Whether the treasures were raw materials or art, it was accepted practice to do it. When Napoleon invaded Italy it seems half of Italy’s art works went to the Paris and many of them ended up in the Louvre. In the book, Ms Waxman focused on the Germans, British, Americans and French museums. In the end there was no real answer to whether the treasurers should stay or go back to their home country, because the answer is complicated. It is generally accepted, times have changed to some degree while private investors can and still buy whatever pleases them, to have the public see them in the museums means how they achieved the final destination is important to know.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, if you are a collector of art which is a good thing, depending on your budget sometimes wonderful pieces which are not 100% legal will come your way. Then you will make a decision. In investing, all the exchanges are public which allows you to always be certain what the price is and whether that meets your expectations or not. With smaller capitalized companies there are possibilities of stock irregularities however when a company has paid dividends for years, there is less opportunity. If you live your life on the straight and narrow, dividend investing is a good thing to do.

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