I'm only guessing that this story would go in this forum, since the subject is Inca gold:

[Judi Lynn]

(Sorry, if I'm just goofing off. I'm not certain about this article.)

Consumer advocacy group wants Peru to claim treasure found near Spain

The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

LIMA, Peru: Peruvian consumer rights advocates urged Peru's government Monday to claim some US$500 million in gold and silver coins found in a sunken galleon off the coast of Spain last year.

Some 17 tons (15.4 metric tons) of coins were discovered by a Tampa, Fla.-based treasure-hunting company, Odyssey Marine Exploration, when it raised a shipwreck west of the Straits of Gibraltar in May 2007.

Spain's government also claims ownership of the wreck and its contents and has sued Odyssey, which hauled away the treasure.

But the Association of Peruvian Consumers and Users said the South American nation also has a right to the booty, since it believes the coins were made with Peruvian metals and minted in Lima.

"This gold was stolen from the Incas," said Jaime Delgado, the consumer group's president.

A spokeswoman for Peru's National Institute of Culture said the government could take legal action if its own research finds the coins are of Peruvian origin.

More:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/10/america/LA-GEN-Peru-Treasure.php

[semillama]

1. Peru's argument is interesting

and in the unlikely chance there position actually comes out on top, it will have very interesting repercussions...



This is the ceiling of St. Mark's in Venice. That's real gold, and it's all from South America...

[Judi Lynn]

2. Thanks for the information on St. Mark's. Had no idea whatsoever that South American gold

was used this way.

It came at a very high price.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Just studied that photo again, long after seeing it when it was posted.

That is an astonishing view. The very idea someone originally decided, "Hey, we should really cover the ceilings and walls with GOLD" is horrendous, considering the hardship involved with forcing the retrieval of the gold upon slave labor in the Americas.

It actually looks a little tacky, doesn't it, like a carnival in the daytime.

It's an amazing spectacle, nevertheless.