We have heard of morally/ethically bankrupt coin dealers; how common are morally/ethically bankrupt

SanctionII

It seems like dealers in general often get a lot of bad press on the forums due to the slimey actions of some dealers that receive publicity.

I assume that collectors can and do act in similar slimey ways. However, collectors' bad conduct does not get publicized in the same way that dealers do.

Your comments (and your stories of "Collectors Gone Bad" if any you have), please. I can envision stories of collectors at coin club meetings trying to get a rip off of ther collectors, collectors offering to help out friends/coworkers who have inherited a collection and then ripping them, etc.

Cladiator

I know of at least one for sure.

Longacre

Yes, I am sure this happens all the time, but as you say, collector ethics do not get the press that dealer ethics do (it does not make as juicy a story, no circus hearings are held by the ANA governors, etc.).

I must say, though, that ethics are ingrained in a person, and whether they are a dealer or a collector, a person with strong ethics will always act ethical, and a person who is unethical will always act unethically. Two weeks ago, I had to take a 2 hour ethics class that is required of all NY licensed attorneys. Other than a waste of money, it was also a waste of time because you simply cannot teach ethics.

SanctionII

Longacre is correct.

You can not teach ethics. You either have them or you do not. You can increase the chance of a person having ethics by having that person raised in an environment where ethics and morals are exhibited on a daily basis. However this is no guaranty a person will be ethical.

The MCLE classes for attorneys in Calif, also "teach" ethics and are also a joke (as are the required classes for "elimination of bias" and other politically correct touchy/feely classes).

Still would like to hear some stories of "Collectors Gone Bad".

lathmach

Trying to teach a lawyer ethics is like trying to teach a horse to fly.

Ray

TomB

It is very common. There have been a number of instances where folks come to the boards to brag about the rip they have received at the expense of a less informed seller, who may or may not be a collector, which is something that would get a dealer roasted.

Longacre

I guess in a way you can teach ethics, even though people generally believe that lawyers have none. On a recent camping trip with the Little Longacres, my 6 year old daughter found a $100 bill at the campsite. I made sure that we went to all of the adjoining campers asking if they lost a $100 bill. I explained to my daughter that that was the right thing to do. Ultimately someone claimed it (I did not get the warm and fuzzies that the bill was really this person's, but that's just my opinion). My daughter learned a good ethics lesson that day, even though she "lost" the $100 and was a little disappointed. As a reward, I put $500 into her college fund the next day, which will be far more valuable to her in the future.

SanctionII

Lots of people love to harp about how corrupt lawyers are. I also enjoy poking fun at myself and other lawyers and love a funny lawyer joke.

However, like all other fields of human endeavor, you have lawyers who are ethical, moral and very good at what they do and you have unethical, immoral and lousy lawyers. If you ever need a lawyer, I hope you get a ethical, moral and very good one (unless you are unethical and immoral yourself; in that case go find a likeminded lawyer and both of you crawl under a rock).

storm888

"I guess in a way you can teach ethics, even though people generally believe that lawyers have none."

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Dealers, collectors, and lawyers ALL come from the same
population pool. There is no reason to think that the
pro-rata share of dirtbags is not evenly distributed
throughout all of the groups.

Lawyers have a huge investment in their "license to steal."
That same license also confers the ability to render aid
and justice onto the least among us; most lawyers attempt
do that. Most of the coin dealers that I know are MUCH
richer than most of the lawyers I know. Poverty and the
unequal distribution of monied-clients is the driving force
behind the bad acts of lawyers; they are NOT more evil
than the general pouplation.

Longacre

<< <i>Lots of people love to harp about how corrupt lawyers are. I also enjoy poking fun at myself and other lawyers and love a funny lawyer joke). >>



I love lawyer jokes too. Believe it or not, in my ethics class in law school, the professor required that at least one person tell a lawyer joke in the beginning of class!

storm888

"If you ever need a lawyer, I hope you get a ethical, moral and very good one
(unless you are unethical and immoral yourself; in that case go find a likeminded
lawyer and both of you crawl under a rock). "

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Folks in the parenthetical category need good lawyers
more than most folks. To deny them the same would
threaten each and every one of us in ways most
Americans cannot even begin to comprehend.

gamr0n

So you mean lawyers need to have ethics?? I had better change my post college plans.

WTCG

There are collectors who have questionable levels of morality and/or ethics. Ask around at a major coin show and chances are dealers can point those people out to you.