Hypothetical #14 - The Cherrypicker's Widow

MrEureka

Suppose you are a dealer. You buy a nice old lot of Bust Half Dollars. A cherrypicker friend is there when you buy the coins and asks for first shot. He offers you $80 for a coin, assures you it's common, and you accept. A couple years later, the two of you are enjoying an extended happy hour when he boasts that the coin was really an R-8 worth $10,000. "Hey, you're a dealer, you should have known!" He starts laughing uncontrollably, turns beet red and keels over from a heart attack. A month later, his widow brings you his collection and wants to sell. She tells you that you are the only dealer her husband trusted and that she would never go to anyone else. Whatever you offer will be acceptable. The rare Bust Half is still in your original flip marked "paid $80". You look the coin up in Overton and find that you were indeed picked off. You now have a golden opportunity. Will you cherrypick the cherrypicker's widow?

291fifth

An ethical dealer will buy the coins for their true value...but how many ethical dealers are there?

MadMarty

Hell Yea

construct

I would not cherrypick the cherrypicker's widow. It would be unconscionable.

Steve27

"Will you cherrypick the cherrypicker's widow? "

Yes, but not as badly as her dead husband.

elwood

Yes, I THINK I would? Only because the cherrypicker lied about its rarity when he originally bought it, from me.

TerrapinWill

I would think this is a situation where both parties could be satisfied. Were I the dealer I would offer maybe $1500-$2000 less than I know it is worth. She turned a really nice profit, and you get a few bucks and a lesson learned. His estate made a profit of several thousand dollars, more than if another dealer were involved. JMHO

BillJones

I wouldn't cherry pick on the widow, but that's not to say that I would buy the coin either. The $10,000 price is only good if you can find a buyer. I've never cultivated the Bust half variety market. Therefore my best option would be to sell on of the specialist dealers, and since I'd get a less than $10 grand from them I'd have to pay accordingly or take the coin on consignment on a commission basis.

BTW as a dealer, if I blow it in the manner in which it was described here, I've no one to blame but myself. BUT still a guy who rubs it in after he has picked you off is an idiot and an "anal opening."

DHeath

I'd pay her a fair price after I finished marveling at the power of Karma.

my3cents

I'd be gald to make sure that she got her husbands original investment back

Longacre

I would pay the FMV and then try to marry the widow and succeed to the money in that manner.

ritepath

pay her 160 bucks for her loss.

billboat

Cherrypicker never made a profit on his $80 purchase as he never sold it.

cladking

Nice story. I liked the part where he turned red. The very fact that he chose that
time to suffer a massive coronary would seem to be an offer to give you a chance
to even up. In fact, it might be a good time to get a little ahead. So long as it's just
a little ahead there should be little concern he'll ever catch up again.

RYK

I would buy the particular coin back for $80 and the rest for FMV.

Nocerino18

The fact that he lied to me in the first place really would make me want to burn the lady on the purchase.

OffMetal

<< <i>The fact that he lied to me in the first place really would make me want to burn the lady on the purchase. >>





The fact that he lied to me gets me mad

Ben

Julian

If the cherrypicker lied to me, then I will purchase that coin, and that coin only, for a larger profit margin than normal. Probably not as common, but for a substantial discount, maybe 50% of what I believe that I can get for it.

Shamika

.

PTVETTER

it all comes down to ones own values and how they live thier lives, in this case the person knows that the dealer will end up with the coins back in thier possesion. Doing what is right is when no one else knows is what seperates most from the few.

IrishMike

Dunno, is she hot?

JadeRareCoin

I would have emptied his wallet after he croaked. Then, instead of buying the coins, I would start dating the widow. I would then marry her and, after a month or two, I would divorce her and take the coins for free as part of the divorce settlement.

ss350camaro

<< <i>I would have emptied his wallet after he croaked. Then, instead of buying the coins, I would start dating the widow. I would then marry her and, after a month or two, I would divorce her and take the coins for free as part of the divorce settlement. >>

CarlWohlforth

This is the first scenario to make me laugh. Sorry, I wouldn't really laugh if I didn't think it was a totally made up story.

If this far fetched scenario happened to me I'd try to make a fair profit so wouldn't treat that coin any differently than the others.

Of course if they guy hadn't keeled over I'd have a hard time deciding to punch him or simply insist he pay the bar tab and then I would start drinking French champagne.

csw

Will you cherrypick the cherrypicker's widow?

Legally speaking, I may well have a claim against the cherrypicker's estate (provided there is no statute of limitations issue) inasmuch as the cherrypicker deceived me into selling the coin to him two years ago. The 'proper' way to settle the score would be to tell the widow of the existence of my claim and buy the coin back for $80. If she refused, you'd have to file a claim against the estate.

Ethically speaking, though, I would hate to tell the widow that her beloved husband cheated me, so I confess I would be tempted to give her eighty bucks for the coin and keep my mouth shut.

On the other hand, I may have experienced $9,920 worth of enjoyment at seeing the cherrypicker drop dead after confessing his deed and would consider the debt paid. On my third hand, I guess I would have to take into account the fact that cherrypicker never sold the coin and could have returned it to me had I just asked him before he died.

This is a particularly interesting hypothetical.

mgoodm3

Probably take a small piece of the pie to ease the wound of her late husband's turd-like behavior, but give her most. You could also tell what the husband did and see if she gives you a cut.

BuffQuarter

IMHO, anyone not knowing about coins should bring them to an auction house and not a dealer. There's a better chance of getting a fair shake from an auctioneer.

morgannut2

I like JadeRareCoins answer, but wouldn't it be better if you claimed the coin in your holder was stolen, and talked her into returning it? What am I saying, I not a dealer!

JrGMan2004

Unethical collector... buy it for $100...

jcping

I will tell thw widow the whole story and ask for her to do consignment for me to sell and we will split the profit.

Robgetty

I'd say that the "friend" cheated me, rubbed it in, and now I can get the coin back.

Tell her it has gone up in value and give her $120 for it.

YOU ARE NOT SWINDLING A WIDOW; THE COIN WAS OBTAINED UNDER FALSE PRETENSES
AND YOU ARE JUST GETTING BACK YOUR COIN!

mozin

Since this so-called "friend" knowingly lied to me about the rarity of the coin I would simply buy it back for the $80 and not say anything to the widow. I think a dealer has a right to expect a straight answer from a friend that knows more about a very complicated series than most dealers. Had the friend not lied about the rarity the dealer most likely would have researched for the rarity on his own.

I certainly hope this hypothetical never happens.

csw

I'm surprised by the number of people who would go straight to the widow with the story....

PerryHall

I would never say anything to the widow other than what a great guy her husband was. How is hurting her going to make you feel any better? I would then throw the coins on a scale and give her 10% back of melt.

jdimmick

Why He!! yeah man!,

CoinAddict

I would offer her $1000 for the coin that he cherrypicked from me and then offer FMV for the rest of the collection.

michael

yes

Gator5220

If the widow is going to be living alone and relying on Social Security to barely stay above the poverty line, I would offer her $9,000 for the coin, and sleep well at night.

Coin Finder

No, here is why, the widow probably didnt even know about 90% of the coins in his collection, much less care, but she needs the money man and you would make a cutomer for life as well as everyone she talks to. Give her the truth, offer to get the most money for it though your contacts. She might even give you some of it.

Tbig

Trime

Andy,
This is too funny!

ddink

I'd pay $80. Her husband was a liar and his estate should not profit from his lies.

MrEureka

I'd pay 5K. That would net me the same profit as the deal I would have demanded from my "friend" if he had not keeled over at such an inopportune time.

CalGold

<< <i>"Hey, you're a dealer, you should have known!" >>



Is he wrong?

CG

Artist

If the guy who died was a freind (even a slimey friend) I would not want to besmirch his memory by explaining the situation to his widow - either for the sake of trying to arrive at a compromise, or for the sake of having her collect the full 10K. I think I would reason that legacy was more important than the money in this situation.

The fact that my 'friend' had betrayed my trust (he didn't just cherry pick me, he used his freindship with me to exploit a situation,) would just make it that much easier to live with the repercussions of my perspective.

RAD

Two mistakes were made during this scenario, and neither was made by the widow---the cherry picker made the first one by assuring you the coin was "common" (he should have just kept his mouth shut!); you made the second by not knowing what you were selling and verifying that indeed the coin was as the picker stated (what if he had not recognized the coin as a rare variety in the first place...then discovered it on later research?). On the other hand, the widow is approaching you to assess and pay her fair market value for the coins. As a dealer, and hopefully a reputable one, you have an obligation to pay her fair market value for the coins in her husband's collection. To do less would be dishonest, and dishonorable if not illegal.

MrEureka

As a dealer, and hopefully a reputable one, you have an obligation to pay her fair market value for the coins in her husband's collection. To do less would be dishonest, and dishonorable if not illegal.

Fair points, but you can also argue that you were defrauded and are entitled to compensation. Do you really think it's better to negotiate or sue for that compensation when you can simply take it?

CalGold

Andy, were you defrauded or did you just fail to exercise adequate diligence/research before you sold the coin to the cherry pickin' husband? As a dealer I think that you have not made a case for fraud.

CG

RAD

<< <i> As a dealer I think that you have not made a case for fraud.

CG >>

MrEureka

Andy, were you defrauded or did you just fail to exercise adequate diligence/research before you sold the coin to the cherry pickin' husband? As a dealer I think that you have not made a case for fraud.

I believe I was defrauded. My "friend" assured me that the coin was common. I relied on that representation in deciding to sell him the coin for $80. Fortunately, in this case, I don't have to convince a jury.

CalGold

<< <i>Fortunately, in this case, I don't have to convince a jury. >>



No, you just need better friends.

CG