Is there a Merit Barge for dipping? - Wierd event at the Whitman Show in Atlanta

MrSpud

I witnessed a disturbing event take place last Saturday at the Whitman Show in Atlanta. During a trip to the restroom I first overheard and then saw an older Eagle Scout teaching some Cub Scouts how to clean coins with Jewelluster in the restroom sink. He was saying along the lines of "First you dip it in the Jewelluster, then you put it under the faucet, then you rub both sides with your fingers, then you dip it again in the Jewelluster again, then under the faucet again then you dry it off with a paper towel". There was a mini-assembly line going on there with 3 Cub Scouts doing the dipping. I later saw the Eagle Scout behind a Bourse Table selling coins. I noticed that all the coins he had on display were blast white....

sellsatan

There is a badge for Coin Collecting. One of my favorites. The book that guides you toward it specifically warns against whizzing and buffing and even touches on how to identify a cleaned coin. The BSA book was even smart enough to recomment not cleaning coins at all. This was in the early 80s.

MadMarty

and I thought we were bad when all we wanted to do was eat a brownie!!! Someone should have slapped that boy upside the head!!

fivecents

I noticed alot boy scouts were cleaning(with Windex) the dealer's display cases for a fee. Sounds like we have some coin doctors in training.

PerryHall

<< <i>and I thought we were bad when all we wanted to do was eat a brownie!!! Someone should have slapped that boy upside the head!! >>



Marty---You are soooooo bad!

XpipedreamR

Marty

SilverDollarMan

<< <i>and I thought we were bad when all we wanted to do was eat a brownie!!! Someone should have slapped that boy upside the head!! >>

p8nt

I am a Boy Scout and I have that merit badge. It was my first They do recommend against cleaning so this Eagle Scout got that from somewhere else.

PerryHall

You should have taken this Eagle Scout asside and explained to him the harm he is doing.

fullerfun4

Yeah. At least he should have been told to teach the youngins the "correct" way to clean coins, ala NCS and so many of our so called experienced dealers and sellers.

BuffQuarter

Everyone knows you're supposed to use a handi-wipe and amonia or acetone. Geeesh, where do people get their info from.

RickMilauskas

Wow...

I'd hate to see how that eagle scout would help a lady across the street!

meos1

Did this scout have an Eagle badge or Medal? What was his troop number and council? Was he selling the coins in a fraudulant attempt to profit from the dipping?

Dan

meos1

Subscribed.

MrSpud

I don't know if the Eagle scout was selling the exact coins that they were dipping in the restroom. I was in a stall listening to him give the instructions. As I left the stall I saw it was a much older Scout showing the Cubs how to dip coins. I am assuming he was an Eagle because he was so much older. I don't know what kinds of coins they were dipping. They could have ben collector coins, junk coins or pocket change. Although it is doubtful, it is conceivable that he was doing it to show them what dipped coins looked like. That is highly unlikely though and even so the fact that they weren't wearing any kinds of gloves is bad because of the potential toxicity of the Jewelluster. I thought it was pretty bizarre but I pretty much just shook my head in disbelief and went to the sinks on the other wall and washed my hands and left. It wasn't until later that I saw the older dipping instructor behind a Bourse Table selling coins. I don't know if he was the owner of the coins or if he was just helping out or what but at that point I started to get really disturbed by the whole situation.

meos1

MrSpud,

I understand your concerns considering the circumstances. I would also caution you not to whitewash with a wide brush. As an Eagle Scout, I take exception to the unfounded allegations. The Boy Scouts of America are not in the habit of handing out Eagle Scout badges based on the number of merit badges you earn. In fact, you must complete a approved service project and pass a board of review. These requirements make the likelyhood of a underhanded scout becoming an Eagle very small. The select few who have attained the Eagle Scout advancement include former president Gerald Ford and the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong. As an adult leader I would challenge you to step forward the next time you witness such an act. You could have interviened right thier and reminder them that dipping was not a recommended practice and that the chemicals were very dangerous to be exposing unprotected skin to. If that was beyond your comfort level you could have sought out thier leader and taken this up with him or her. To remove on step further a mental note of he troop number and council would yield a close aproximation of the individual if you contact the council for assistance.

Please make sure that the next Eagle Scout you see actually has the Eagle badge. We are a select group with high moral standards. I for one do not put up with fraudulant activity.

Dan Watson
Eagle Scout
Current Adult Leader
Brotherhood Arrowman

BuffQuarter

Regardless if he was an Eagle Scout or not, he was in a Scout Uniform at minimum. What is the age limit on selling coins on the bourse floor? I was an an Eagle Scout as well but don't feel I've been bagged by this thread. It was just an accomplishment when I was a kid. Life trucks on and the world doesn't care.

meos1

I certainly care. Sounds like the Whitman show should have limited the access to these minors. Where were the show organizers? I have yet to see anything but circumstantial evidence of wrongdoing. There is no crime in dipping coins. If there was most of the posters here would be in jail. There are a lot of "leaps of faith" in the original post. In fact I think we now know there were some inaccuracies. If your going to post against the BSA and particuliarly an Eagle Scout you need to have your facts straight. At this point I have serious doubts that the "eagle scout" as was posted was actually selling coins. He might have been just standing there.

My biggest concern here is, Why did the poster look the other way when he felt something undershanded was going on? Where were the Adult leaders? Were any authorities notified? As the poster states this was a "disturbing event". What year were the coins 1800 or did anyone bother to really look? This is what is known as a slippery slope arguement. Anything short of the unvarnished truth is unacceptable. You can't make a case out of supposition.

Dan

MrSpud

No disrespect to Boy Scouts was intended. I'm definately not sure that he was an Eagle Scout. I wouldn't know what an Eagle Merit Badge looked like if I tripped over it. I was a Cub Scout for a year when I was little but the group was dismantled because no adults in my area wanted to be Den Mothers or whatever they were called.

However, because of his advanced age the one teaching the Cubs how to dip with Jewelluster was either an Eagle Scout or was old enough to be one. He was in Uniform. Like I said earlier, I overheard the older one giving instructions on how to clean coins with Jewelluster in the sink while I was in a stall. I'm not sure what coins the Cubs were washing but when I came out of the stall I saw one of them rubbing a coin in a paper towel and saw another one holding a white jar with Jewelluster printed on it. Also, one of the cubs came over right next to me at the sink when I was washing my hands. He got more paper towels and went back over and assumed his role as the dryer in the assembly line as I was washing my hands.

And later on in the same day, the Older one who had been teaching the young ones how to dip was behind a Bourse table taking money from customers and handing them coins out of the case. I examined the coins and they were US coins and Commems of various denominations. I closely examined one case containing lots of classic commemoratives and all were blast white. In fact just scanning all the cases on the table I don't remember seeing any that weren't blast white. Of course, it might just be a coincedence that these coins were blast white.

Not trying to report a crime or create a scandal. I just wanted to comment on an event that I found to be disturbing. I know that Jewelluster is commonly used by many and that it is available at most Coin Shops and at most Coin Shows. I'm not really against dipping coins that have been improperly stored and legitamitely need conservation, I just didn't know that it had become so accepted that such an event as what I saw would even occur. I've heard stories though that some dealers buy it buy the gallon and I even remember reading that someone once saw a dealer dipping a coin in the bathroom sink at a coin show, but when even scouts are doing it....

meos1

I am also concerned too. It appears that the Adult leaders were no where to be found. I expect a high degree of professionalism from anyone that is wear the BSA uniform wheather they are behind the table or out in public. This was a good opportunity to teach the cub scouts that dipping is not really acceptable and to teach the older scout that winners never cheat and cheaters never win. Age does not define an Eagle Scout. I was 14 when I earned mine. I have adults all around me that were every bit of 18 when they earned thiers. I am not saying you are trying to create a scandal.

Dan

Rollerman

Did anyone say that the method described isn't even the proper way to dip a coin?
Pete

nesvt

I went through Wolf Cub, Cub Scout, Webelo, and Boy Scout... never got a demo like this. I still have lots of pins... though they all need a good cleaning.

Is it possible the older scout was a leader? It's been a few decades, but I think they have uniforms too.