Apr 16, 2020 | ANA, commentary
The feedback from my post, “Why the ANA does not have online education,” was interesting. About 10-percent of the readers (based on collected statistics) commented to me via email. That is a lot of feedback for one post! The comments ranged from a virtual headshake to anger for being “disrespectful” to the ANA president.
Unfortunately, nobody will go on the record with their comments. Please remember that I welcome all comments and will allow you to post any criticism you want. I accept and post all feedback, especially if you disagree with me. All I ask is that you keep it clean.
I want to answer two questions publically:
1. You’re the head of the IT Committee, why don’t you do something about the situation?
I am not longer the chairman of the IT committee, and I am no longer a member of the committee.
In late November 2019, ANA President Steve Ellsworth removed me from the committee after seven years of service.
When Ellsworth called to tell me, he did not give the exact reason. His statements as to why he made the decision were vague and ambiguous. Later that same day, I had to send him an email for clarification.
I assume that he did not want me around. After all, I came out against his candidacy before the end of the last election. But Ellsworth had a problem. How could he remove a recipient of the Glenn Smedley Award from the position that was the reason for the honor?
Unfortunately, I gave Ellsworth a way out. After he took office, Ellsworth changed a few things, including wanting status reports and a strategic plan. When he told me about the strategic plan, Ellsworth said that the ANA did not have one in many years and should come up with one.
At the same time, my business picked up. I was working 18 hour days, instead of my usual 14 hours, and had to hire more people. While my business was good, it did not provide enough time to devote to the ANA. I was hoping to catch up in late October, but that did not happen.
With the ANA not being a priority and my inability to deliver whatever Ellsworth wanted, I gave him the excuse to get rid of me.
Ellsworth’s move was a bit punitive, but it pales in comparison to what he hass done to the Exhibition Committee. That is a story for another time.
2. Can’t the ANA use something like Zoom to create classes?
YES!
They can also use software like Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, WebEx, and Skype. Any video conferencing software and presentation slides that can be shared can create an instant class environment.
Google Hangouts and Skype are suitable for small classes. Although both are known to have bandwidth issues, keeping the courses between 7-10 people make these an inexpensive option.
Zoom is the current darling of the industry since they have a free tier. While Zoom has some excellent features, its security issues have shown they are going through significant growing pains. It is like watching your teenage son grow six inches in two months while his voice is changing. Eventually, he will evolve, and so will Zoom.
WebEx and GoToMeeting are the old stalwarts of the industry. Both have the advantage of being mature and familiar to many in the business world. The significant difference between these services and Zoom is that Zoom makes it easier to connect to a meeting.
Another option is YouTube Live. Classes can be live streamed with any number of people tuning in. Interacting with a YouTube Live stream is via comments only, similar to Facebook Live, but it is something that the ANA can use.
Here is an idea: How about a YouTube Live class for Numismatics 101? After the live class, leave the video online with an email link to allow future viewers to send questions.
There are better ways to hold online classes. Blackboard and similar software have better options. But to start, do something!
Apr 12, 2020 | coins, commentary
Earlier this week, Roundtable Trading announced that the Great American Coin Hunt that is part National Coin Week would go on as planned.
During the week of April 19-25, 2020, coin dealers will attempt to place collector coins into circulation. Those finding coins are encouraged to log onto social media and show off their finds using the hashtag #GreatAmericanCoinHunt.
Who is spending money and where are they spending it?
With the current COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, The number of places that are now taking cash payments has dwindled. Patrons of restaurants and encouraged to use online ordering and payments before arriving. Delivery services also want items paid for before making the trip to your front door.
In states that have laws that require retail stores to accept cash, retailers are requesting that customers limit “payment options to credit cards/debit cards… to minimize physical contact.”
The PaymentsJournal, a payments industry publications, reported that a study released by RTi Research shows an increase in people showing concern about catching coronavirus from using cash. The studies show that more people have used less cash, and more will use less cash in the future.
If consumers are using less cash in the fewer open retail outlets, then how successful will a coin drop be?
And now the news…
April 4, 2020
Dear Reader,
In line with the resolution of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), we are informing you that we are processing your data.
→ Read more at
scienceinpoland.pap.pl
April 6, 2020
Strengths • The best performing precious metal for the week was gold, off only 0.45 percent. The yellow metal is continuing its strong showing.
→ Read more at
kitco.com
April 6, 2020
A new Irish bullion company has achieved 70% of its yearly target in their last three weeks of trading. Investors have rushed to the precious metal as the price of gold drifts upwards.
→ Read more at
breakingnews.ie
April 7, 2020
A proposal to land the Apollo lunar module on the reverse side of a new $1 coin has been waved off by the committees reviewing the design.
→ Read more at
space.com
April 10, 2020
Parents and children across the nation are finding themselves at home and looking for things to fill their time and keep their minds active. These are troubling times but there is a silver lining. Americans have found an opportunity to slow down and reconnect with their families. Coin collecting can be an enjoyable and wholesome escape from television and electronic devices. That is why US coin dealers and collectors alike from coast to coast are pledging to give away coins and coin albums to parents for their kids.
→ Read more at
prweb.com
April 10, 2020
— A very (very) small portion of the metal in NASA's official Apollo 13 50th anniversary medallions flew to the moon and back — just like the mission the bronze pieces serve to commemorate.
The medallions, which were created for NASA by Winco International of California, are among several new mementos and limited edition products that celebrate the Apollo 13 mission half a century after it "had a problem."
→ Read more at
collectspace.com
April 11, 2020
Lecturer Jamie Pringle has unearthed a medieval coin under his raspberry patch after doing a spot of weeding during lockdown. He was trying to stave off boredom when he headed into the back garden of his three-bedroom semi in Hartshill.
→ Read more at
stokesentinel.co.uk
Apr 10, 2020 | ANA, commentary
On Wednesday, April 8, 2020, the ANA announced the cancellation of the Summer Seminar. The announcement came two days after Colorado College, the site of the Summer Seminar programs, announced limited access to the campus for summer activities because of the novel coronavirus.
As COVID-19 spreads across the United States, most states have a stay-at-home order in place, preventing people from venturing out. Schools, businesses, religious services, and minor medical appointments are meeting online. Services like Zoom and Microsoft Teams that were once the domain of a few companies have dramatically grown.
Colleges started to move to online courses almost 20 years ago. Lower grades followed with classroom software that enabled virtual lessons. Entrepreneurs found a willing market and started to create an online curriculum to help parents home school their students.
The question is that if this is available to colleges, schools, corporate training, and seminars were online, then why the ANA is not able to offer Summer Seminar online?
ANA President Steve Ellsworth killed an attempt to create online education.
In 2017, then ANA President Gary Adkins initiated the proposal to bring online education to the ANA. Although the concept was good, the process was fraught with members of the Board of Governors thinking they knew better than the headquarters staff and the Technology Committee.
The membership does not give the ANA staff enough credit. The ANA is a complicated organization with a constituency from the novice collector to the largest auction houses. Very few organizations have a mission as broad as “numismatics.” Yet, with dwindling resources, the staff in Colorado Springs manage to keep the ANA running. When someone from the headquarters, including the executive director, says something that would make it easier on them, I will pay attention.
The question of, “What do you want?” became a nagging question. Nobody can tell us what they wanted? How can the Technology Committee write requirements for a system that we do not know what it is supposed to do? The direction was supposed to come from the Education Committee. Participation from the Education Committee ranged from non-existent to inconsistent. We tried to get better input, but they did not seem interested.
The Technology Committee came up with something that resembled requirements, questions about what online education systems can do remained. Executive Director Kim Kiick suggested that we send out a Request for Information (RFI) to potential vendors.
As part of the RFI, the ANA requested that the interested vendors come to the 2018 World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia to demonstrate their system. Three vendors answered the RFI, and three vendors came to Philadelphia to show their systems.
Two of the three demonstrations were informative. These were companies that provide online educational services to schools, training services for companies, and seminar services for many organizations. The third was a smaller company with a limited educational background but more knowledgable about numismatics.
The company with a limited educational background either was not able or chose not to provide a demonstration of their system. Since some members of the Board favored this company, they were given additional opportunities to answer how their system would meet ANA requirements.
For the next four months, there were significant discussions about what to do next. One member of the Board of Governors was pushing to use the company that could not provide satisfactory answers. It appeared as if this Governor had an agenda to have this company do the work rather than finding the right solution.
The cost was a significant concern. Creating any significant technical project has a very high upfront cost. Every aspect of the initial installation, configuration, integration, and initial operations has a higher price than continual maintenance and incremental updates.
Every indication that working with the company that could not provide satisfactory answers to our basic questions was a penny-wise solution. The company would be able to transition some existing software and make it work quickly. Where that decision would have been pound foolish would have come from the recent crisis because the questions that they could not answer would have been key to maintaining the system in this environment.
In other words, for a short-term win, the ANA would have been hit with a significant black eye when the COVID-19 pandemic drove everyone looking for online content. The proposed system may not have been able to scale, it was not mobile device friendly, and the authoring process is too restrictive to move quickly.
By December 2018, the Board agreed to open the process to competitive bidding. I worked with the headquarters staff to draft a Request for Proposal (RFP). The completed rough draft of the RFP was passed around for internal review.
Unfortunately, the process slowed down because of time restrictions for the understaffed headquarters and the volunteer Tech Committee. There was also a slowdown following the 2019 Board of Governors’ election. After the election, there was little guidance as to how the new president and Board wanted to proceed. The impression was that the new Board did not want to move forward.
The new Board of Governors took control at the 2019 World’s Fair of Money. Instantly everything stopped. Standing committees, whose members are appointed by the president, were left in limbo. There was little communication from President Steve Ellsworth, and nobody was sure what to do next.
It took over a month to hear from Ellsworth. Few people who were talking behind the scenes heard anything. It was known he wanted to make changes, but he was not communicating with anyone who would be impacted.
The silence was curious. The ANA announced the results in early July, and the World’s Fair of Money was four weeks later. Ellsworth was already a member of the Board and knew his way around. Why did he not have a transition? Instead, everything stopped for one month.
In early September, Ellsworth sent his guidelines for the Technology Committee. Missing from his objectives was online education. Regardless of the time and effort that occurred before the World’s Fair of Money, ANA President Steve Ellsworth eliminated the online education program.
According to his goals, it was to be replaced by an e-commerce system to sell goods from the ANA Shop in Colorado Springs.
Which is more important, the American Numismatic Association, a federally chartered organization to provide numismatic education, creating an educational initiative, or selling trinkets from the store? I will leave that as an exercise to the reader.
Mar 9, 2020 | commentary, news, shows
Much of the news this week was by media outlets announcing local coin shows.
While the big shows are delightful, local coin shows can be more fun. Smaller shows do not attract the type of crowd that you will see in a larger venue, like a convention center. Fewer people go to these local shows making it a more relaxed atmosphere.
Behind the tables at these shows are local dealers, some who may not be able to afford to set up at national shows. These are your neighbors. They are the ones you can go to for information and help you find that hard to find or intriguing coin.
The relaxed atmosphere of the small show makes it an excellent time to talk with everyone about collecting.
I will try to visit the Whitman Baltimore Expo in two weeks and the World’s Fair of Money in August. Between now and then, you might find me a few local shows in Maryland and Northern Virginia. Go check out a local show. You’ll be glad you did!
And now the news…
March 3, 2020
Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable sits down with Andy Schectman, president of Miles Franklin Precious Metals Investments, to talk about ways to invest in precious metals. Maurice Jackson: Today we will discuss the merits of owning government minted coins versus private minted coins.
→ Read more at
streetwisereports.com
March 6, 2020
A hoard of coins has been uncovered at a famous temple in southern India. Hundreds of gold coins were unearthed in a pot that could date back over a millennium, to when this area was part of the mighty Chola dynasty .
→ Read more at
ancient-origins.net
March 6, 2020
POMEROY — The Meigs County Library in Pomeroy was the venue for a coin show presented by the OH-Kan Coin Club on Saturday which featured Bob Graham’s coin collection and some of his recent photo acquisitions.
→ Read more at
mydailytribune.com
Feb 26, 2020 | coins, commentary
While thinking about how to grow the hobby, I was reading the numismatic-related news from around the world. What do other people consider when they are collecting coins?
Stories about buried coins or hoards of ancient coins generate a lot of interest. Whether it is builders and archeologists digging in the Middle East or metal detectorists hunting the British countryside, the stories about these finds make for exciting reading.
Largest hoard of Roman coins found in Lincolnshire
(Image courtesy of the BBC)
Modern error coins seem to be of interest. News outlets in Great Britain and Australia regularly publish stories about an error someone found or sold online. Although these stories cause people to become treasure hunters, there have been reports that some have turned into collectors.
First new £1 coin error found with missing detail on the thistle
Finally, when a mint issues a coin with a different, the interest grows. Both Royal Mint and the Royal Australian Mint issued coins with letters of the alphabet and an image of something that begins with that letter. The news created a buzz and new collectors in both countries.
2018 Paddington Bear 50p reverse.
Recently, the U.S. Mint issued the quarter honoring the National Park of American Samoa with the reverse image of a fruit bat mother hanging in a tree with her pup. It is such an unusual design for a United States coin that it made the news.
It also has people talking about the coin. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I quickly looked at my change to see if anything was unusual. The cashier, whose accent suggested she was not a native of the area, asked if I was looking for “coins with the bat?” She was looking for one for her young son after a neighbor showed him the coin.
Through 2019, there were 50 coins released as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters program. Before the American Samoa quarter, these quarters only generated local interest, as the Fort McHenry quarter did in Maryland.
The only other coin that I can recall generating national interest was the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin. Aside from baseball’s popularity, the curved coin was something different.
I love the image of the fruit bats!
The purist will argue that these are gimmicks. I will counter that if you want to grow the hobby, you need to give the people something that will interest them.
It is not enough to push the collecting of every Morgan Dollar varieties in the VAM catalog. Some people do not have that kind of patience. And you cannot blame that on younger collectors since I am one of those people. I find the study of VAM fascinating but not something I want to do.
However, if you release coins honoring the rock band Queen, I will order as soon as possible. I will watch with interest to see who else the Royal Mint honors. I am looking forward to coins honoring bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones. I own their vinyl, why not own their coins!
Unfortunately, the U.S. Mint is bound by the whims of congress. They cannot create programs that could generate interest in the general public without permission. Someday, if congress could get its act together, maybe they will allow the U.S. Mint to create a yearly program around a theme.
Think about the possibilities. One year the U.S. Mint can have a five-quarter series of dinosaurs. Another year would be for great discoveries. Whatever themes are selected, make it something that will generate enthusiasm, and allow the U.S. Mint the freedom to produce coins that would generate interest. Even if it means introducing colored coins into circulation, it has not hurt Canadian coins!
If we are to grow the hobby, congress has to be encouraged to let the U.S. Mint pursue new markets. Hopefully, those who think that their way is the only way to collect will either accept new ideas to increase the hobby or step away and let the rest of us enjoy what we collect, even if it is not Barber coins.
Feb 25, 2020 | advice, commentary, grading, registry sets
Last month, the American Numismatic Association announced that they have partnered with Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) to launch the ANA Coin Registry.
According to the ANA press release, the ANA Registry will accept coins graded by NGC and Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). The ANA Registry will be the only service that will allow both NGC and PCGS graded coins.
NGC has been a partner with the ANA for 25-years making it a natural choice to implement this program. Since NGC once allowed PCGS graded coins to count in their registry program, the facilities continue to exist for them to create a similar program for the ANA.
Participation is open to any collector. ANA members will receive a special icon of recognition next to their sets.
What is missing from the registry is the ability to include ANACS and ICG graded coins. Regardless of the opinion of these companies, they are competitive services to NGC and PCGS with a legitimate niche in the market.
By excluding ANACS and ICG, the ANA is telling the public that they decided who the best third-party grading services are. It is not the job of the ANA to pick market winners. Let the collecting public decide.
One advantage that ANACS and ICG has is that there are no memberships required to submit coins for grading. Anyone can directly submit coins to either company. Although ANA members can directly submit coins to NGC without an additional membership, only PCGS members can submit coins for grading.
Allowing open submission policies will allow for more people to participate. They can collect what they like and send it to ANACS and ICG without having to spend extra money or rely on a member. It will create greater access to casual collectors who might become more series if they can participate.
Could there be other reasons for not including ANACS and ICG? Since anyone can submit coins to ANACS and ICG, how will the dealers make money? If a collector buys a coin online or from another collector and sends their coins to ANACS or ICG for grading, how will the dealers make money?
Further, dealers have their own biases. They decided which grading service they like the best based on many factors, including perception and financial reasons. Whatever these reasons are should not be the policy of the ANA.
If the ANA is to fulfill its mission to encourage people to study and collect money and related items, then they cannot be picking market winners and losers. The ANA must revisit this policy and include the entire market without bias.
Nov 25, 2019 | administrative, commentary, US Mint
The result of the sale of the Enhanced Reverse Proof 2019-S American Eagle continues to reverberate through the hobby. Industry reporters continue to hear from collectors that they feel like the U.S. Mint is taking them for granted.
The biggest question is, how did all of these dealers get these coins in inventory? How did others find the stock to flip on sites like eBay?
Dealers and speculators are at it again. It is similar to the chaos they caused for the opening of the 2014 JFK 50th Anniversary Gold Proof Coin. They hired people to shand in line for them who caused a near riot. Now, they have taken these manners to cyberspace.
How can the U.S. Mint fix the issue?
The best answer I have heard came from William T. Gibbs at Coin World, who suggested a dedicated sales window for established customers. Gibbs wrote:
For popular limited edition coins like this one, the Mint should open the sales first to established customers — those individuals who qualify in some definable way as being loyal Mint customers. That could be based on such factors as dollars spent on Mint products over a period of time, or total years that a customer has bought items from the Mint. Open a 24-hour window catering to these customers only and then, if any coins remain, open sales to new customers.
What an excellent idea!
The U.S. Mint can create a “Collector’s Club” where non-commercial customers can earn points. The more points, the closer to the front of the line you get to access limited edition items. They can slowly add perqs for better customers, including levels for reduced and free shipping.
There is no reason to prevent the U.S. Mint from making the Collector’s Club a policy. The only question is whether they have the wherewithal to implement something like this. I do not think they do, but I hope they prove me wrong!
Nov 20, 2019 | advice, coins, commentary, Eagles, silver
Want more information about American Eagle Coins?
The Coin Collectors Handbook: American Eagle Coins has more information and is fully illustrated. Read more →
here;
Over the years, I have heard from many people regarding the problems with mailorder numismatics. Every few months, someone writes and asks about the value of something they bought from a non-numismatic magazine or from something they saw on television.
My answers tend to be upsetting because the market does not value these items as the television hucksters do.
Recently, I wrote about the experience with someone who brought in a box of coins he bought from television and magazines. I described his reaction as “The look on his face when I told him was as if I kicked his dog.” Then I was provided an example of why my words land very hard.
Sunday’s are my day off. Even though I have personal work to catch up on, I will play couch potato and watch television. This past Sunday, I entered the wrong number in the remote and landed on the Fox Business channel.
On the weekend, when the markets are not open, the business channels broadcast other programming. At this time, Fox Business was airing an infomercial for Coins TV.
When I tuned in, the camera was panning a display with graded American Silver Eagle coins. Of course, I stopped to stare at the shiny silver coins. Then I heard the pitch.
The pitchman is Rick Tomaska, owner of Rare Collectibles TV. Tomaska seemed pleasant and appeared knowledgable. His pitch was selling a date run of American Silver Eagle graded MS-69 by NGC for $1,995.00. It almost seemed reasonable until it was made clear that the pitch was for a date run of 31 coins from 1986-2016.
Is $1,995.00 a good deal for the 31 coins? My first instinct was to check the price guides. Since the online Greysheet does not include the retail price for graded bullion coins (why?), I used two other guides: Numismedia Fair Market Value Price Guide and the price guide from NGC. Based on a grade of MS-69, the guides provided the following information based on prices for the 1986-2016 34-coin set:
| |
Numismedia FMV
34 coins @ MS-69 |
NGC Price Guide
34 coins @ MS-69 |
RCTV Infomercial
31 coins @ MS-69 |
| Total |
$1,240.00 |
$1,679.00 |
$1,995.00 |
Average |
$40.00 |
$54.16 |
$64.35 |
But Numismedia and NGC are price guides. Guides are not the retail prices a collector would pay. So we turn to the interwebs to search for “date run American Silver Eagle coins.” The search returned several entries on the first page that was not RCTV.
Taking the top three entries from the search, only one dealer was sold out. The others offered a complete set of 34 coins, 1986-2019, graded MS-69 by NGC for considerably less than Tomaska’s price. To be fair, where there was a difference between the cash and credit prices, I used the credit card price, which is usually higher. Then I searched eBay and sorted for the lowest price. The following is what I found:
| Company |
Date Run |
Coins in Set |
Advertised Price |
Shipping |
Average per coin |
| RCTVcoins.com |
1986‑2016 |
31 |
$1995.00 |
|
$64.35 |
| JM Bullion |
1986‑2019 |
34 |
$1541.70 |
|
$45.34 |
| Mint Products.com |
1986‑2019 |
34 |
$1399.99 |
|
$41.18 |
| eBay Seller constitutionclct |
1986‑2019 |
34 |
$1299.00 |
$14.95 |
$38.65 |
For the eBay dealer who was charging for shipping, the cost per coin was the lowest even after adding the shipping costs to the total price.
JM Bullion and Mint Products.com are reputable companies. Both firms are worth considering if you do not feel comfortable making this purchase from an eBay seller. Note that these companies will base the price of their bullion coins on the current spot price of silver. Their retail prices may fluctuate.
When you buy from these television advertisements, you will overpay.
To help enforce the issue, the JM Bullion website said that they would buy a complete date set of American Silver Eagle bullion coins for $1,094.12 when I looked up the price. If you purchased the set advertised on television, you would be LOSING $900!
As part of the pitch, if you ordered the set, Tomaska would send a copy of the 4th Edition of American Silver Eagle: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program autographed by Miles Standish, the book’s co-author, who was present with Tomaska.
What is sad is that Miles Standish joined Tomaska as part of this infomercial. Although Standish did not assist Tomaska in his pitch for the set, his presence is an appearance of legitimacy. It is similar to the appearance of past ANA President David Ganz on an infomercial. Neither endorsed the product that was being sold, but their presence was used to suggest otherwise.
I would not recommend buying coins or any collectible from a television show. Every collectible I have seen being hawked on television was 45-60 percent over what might be considered wholesale value for its market.
As a small business owner, I would be foolish to criticize someone for making a profit. It’s the Ameican way. However, there is a difference between making a profit and price gouging. It is why I am warning you against purchasing collectibles from a pitch on television.
Nov 18, 2019 | coins, commentary, Eagles, news, US Mint
The biggest numismatic-related news of the week that not reported in many media outlets. It was the failure of the U.S. Mint to deal with a high volume of orders for what everyone anticipated would be a popular product.
On November 14, 2019, the numismatic community rushed to the U.S. Mint website. It flooded their call center attempting to purchase the 2019 American Eagle One Ounce Silver Enhanced Reverse Proof Coin. As with almost all of their past launches, the U.S. Mint e-commerce systems failed the collecting community.
Collectors reported web failures, outages, and disconnection on the telephone trying to order the product. I was first alerted of a problem by a family member and my mailbox filled with readers who experienced similar issues.
After hearing the criticism, the U.S. Mint issued the following statement:
At the moment of launch, there were 99,000 people online and 4700 callers waiting to purchase the American Eagle 2019 One Ounce Silver Enhanced Reverse Proof Coin (19XE). Completed orders were processed until all inventory was sold. We are constantly seeking feedback from our customers, and rest assured your voice is being heard.
To try to spin this further, on Friday, the U.S. Mint issued the following statement:
Yesterday, the Mint catalog website had more than 150,000 unique visitors and 1.6 million page views in the first hour of sales of the American Eagle 2019 One Ounce Silver Enhanced Reverse Proof Coin (19XE). For context, the catalog website’s previous highest traffic and page views were for the Apollo 11 product launch, when we had 124,000 visitors in one day and 863,000 page views in one hour. We are pleased with the numismatic community’s response to this product. The volume of traffic did briefly slow down our site response. However, after the first two minutes we were able to process over 1800 orders per minute on average. Completed orders were processed until all inventory was sold. Additionally, we identified approximately 5% of traffic as coming from bots, including 3% of traffic from a single IP address, of which zero orders were processed.
With all due respect to the U.S. Mint, if this is beyond your capacity, then the competence of the Mint and their contractor (aren’t they contracted with Pitney-Bowes?) are in question. There are e-commerce systems that have higher capacity requirements and service their customers better.
The failure of their e-commerce system is not a new problem for the U.S. Mint. We can go back through the history of this blog to note how badly they have implemented their e-commerce systems.
Frankly, I am not surprised. Years ago, when I was a contractor within the Department of the Treasury, I had to listen to how the U.S. Mint’s systems were built to be greater and better than anyone else in the department. Their technology directors touted their capacity and their capabilities over all the other bureaus. They used these reasons to allow them to separate themselves and to avoid integration with other systems, even suggesting that they be the central integrators for the department.
Even though I have not worked within the Treasury Department in many years, the results and the spin published by their public relations department demonstrates that the chutzpah continues.
For four years, the U.S. Mint has been holding forums to try to learn from collectors what they expect. One thing they have not learned is to fix the mechanisms that provide collector access to U.S. Mint products. It is time for the U.S. Mint to stop talking and do something. Their problems have surpassed annoying and are bordering on malfeasance!
And now the news…
November 12, 2019
We all have them, worth almost nothing, but still can be useful. They are the little button-sized ¢5 coins that fill up your pockets or coin jar, that the Banco Central (Central Bank) will stop minting starting January 1, 2020.
→ Read more at
qcostarica.com
November 12, 2019
LOWELL, Mich. — When 43-year-old Jason Faraj entered Collector’s Korner in Lowell, the smooth-talking antiques aficionado gained the trust of the store owner and left with more than $5,700 in merchandise.
→ Read more at
wzzm13.com
Nov 15, 2019 | coins, commentary, education
Someone walked into my shop today with a box full of items he said that he wanted to consign to one of our auctions. He said that someone mentioned that I was knowledgeable about coins and wanted me to help liquidate his collection.
I have to admit I was excited as he held a box that you would pack books in and not carry coins. We put the box down and opened the box and was instantly disappointed.
On the top was a complete set of the State Quarter packages from one of the television shopping networks. It was the type of stuff that was over-hyped by touting their “limited production” by the U.S. Mint.
Looking at a few of the packs, they contained two quarters for each state on a card. They appear that if they were graded, they would probably average MS-64 and be worth $5-7 each. If they grade higher, the coins could be worth more. It is not worth my time and money to have them graded. Further, in the liquidation auction business, I would doubt these would sell for more than $5 per card.
The look on his face when I told him was as if I kicked his dog. He then gave me the same familiar story: they cost so much; the guy on television said they were a limited run; they should be worth more; and many other tales as seen on TV.
Anyone who has worked in a coin shop or handled second-hand property has heard the stories. Someone with a slick marketing presence appears on television and spins the tale to sound better than it is. Sure, the State Quarter was a limited production, but the Mint produced hundreds of millions of each of those coins.
In addition to the State Quarters, he had coin sets produced by companies like the Franklin Mint and the National Collectors Mint. While I try not to promise what could happen in an auction and avoid asking how much they paid, he pulls out a Buffalo Nickel display still offered by one of these companies.
The display is a round wooden stand that can rotate on a base. Around the edges is a space for 25 Buffalo Nickels. The nickels on his stand looked to be in extra fine (XF) to almost uncirculated (AU) condition. On top of the stand is a pewter figure of a buffalo (bison) modeled after James Earle Fraser’s image.
It is a lovely display, but one that is not popular. A previous consignor had the display without the coins. We finally were able to sell it for $1.00 to someone who was going to take it apart and repurpose the wooden stand. Selling the nickels in today’s market should allow him to break even.
For the last 25 years, this gentleman bought these coins and medals at a premium above their value. The box had gold plated medals with micrograms of gold that are nearly worthless in the collector market. He did have some older sterling silver sets that he bought when silver was under $8 per ounce. He can make money on those items to make up with some of the losses.
After going through the box, I said that he would be lucky if I can get $500 for everything. That lead to the look as if I kicked his other dog.
He asked how these people get away with overcharging for their merchandise. Unfortunately, there are few laws regarding price gouging except in an emergency (like overcharging for gas during a crisis) or if done fraudulently. But these television hucksters are practiced and can afford the lawyers to tell them how far they can go before they cross the line.
There are no laws to prevent companies from calling themselves a mint. There are credible companies that use “Mint” as part of their business name (e.g., I have been a customer of Miller’s Mint from Long Island and highly recommend them). Others use the moniker to make their products sound more official than they are.
If you like the packaging and are willing to pay the premium for it, then enjoy your collectible. While the Buffalo Nickel stand is not my style, I can understand the appeal. But when it comes time to sell, the packaging has little to do with the numismatic value of the coins or medals.
Anything plated has less than a gram of the metal. There is so little plating that it is not worth the cost for someone to have melted.
Which reminds me, the “1933 Double Eagle Tribute Proof” plated with 14 micrograms of 24 karat gold is not worth the $19.95 they charge on television. Even at the current price of gold, the item contains less than 1-cent worth of gold ($0.00047).
It bothers me that I have to disappoint people like this. It is worse when I have to tell an older person, like the octogenarian gentlemen who was in my shop this week, that the collection he thought was an investment is not worth a lot.
I am not sure what can the industry can do to prevent this from happening. These are legitimate businesses whose marketing practices may be less than ethical but are legal.
Some might suggest that this is something the American Numismatic Association should try to deal with. The ANA may not be the right organization for this. Maybe a consortium that includes the Professional Numismatic Guild (PNG), the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA), and the ANA could work together to find a solution.
Until then, I am open to suggestions!
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