<< <i>There already are laws on the books regarding elderly abuse. I would think you could make a good case that this is what happened here.
That being said, during the last several months of my mother's life, one of my siblings or I had to attend doctor's visits with my mother. She would not understand or remember all of things she was told regarding medications, procedures, etc. Does that make her stupid?
What if the lady in your OP did some research and became confused about the 'true' worth of her items? >>
Ok then......you are basically saying that the elderly cannot clearly and intelligently negotiate their own financial transactions. We already prohibit minors from engaging in legally binding financial contracts (for their own protection). Is it time for a new law that treats seniors in a similar fashion?
<< <i>This is a classic case of people just agreeing to disagree.
Yeah, but "laziness" doesn't have a damn thing to do with it as has been implied. >>
Shopping the coins around........even taking them to just ONE other shop would have resulted in a much different offer, thus raising a red flag to the woman about the value of what she had. She apparently decided her time and convienence was worth more than an accurate appraisal of her collection. And she paid for that faulty evaluation.
<< <i>who's to say she wouldn't have gotten ripped at the next dealer? >>
And she most likely would have......but perhaps at 10x face rather than 3x. The point is that with at least one more offer, the discrepancy could have been enough to make her SLOW DOWN and actually do just some basic, simple research on what her stuff was really worth. Does that make sense to you?
The best analogy I can make is say you know nothing about antique carpets, but you inherit one. So you drive to pawn shop "a" and they offer you $40. You then drive to pawn shop "b" and they offer you $150. Now.....do you sell that carpet before doing just a little bit of research? With such a price difference between the 2 offers, you should immediately become curious as to what the carpet's real market value is. And if you sold that carpet to pawn shop "a" for $40......and its really worth $800......sorry, but young or old you get no sympathy from me.
My fiancee' doesn't like investing or finance and I do all of our money transactions out of virtual necessity. Nor is money important to her in any investment sense. Some people just aren't wired for dealing in a competitive business environment. Maybe the little old lady was the same way for her entire life, and she was obviously out of her league. My guess is that she didn't even have the capability or inclination to "research" the market for her stuff.
If you think that it's her fault, let's hope that none of your loved ones ever have a weak moment in their entire lives and get ripped by a common criminal masquerading as an investment advisor, a coin dealer, a realtor or a lawyer.
Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally
<< <i>My fiancee' doesn't like investing or finance and I do all of our money transactions out of virtual necessity. Nor is money important to her in any investment sense. Some people just aren't wired for dealing in a competitive business environment. Maybe the little old lady was the same way for her entire life, and she was obviously out of her league. My guess is that she didn't even have the capability or inclination to "research" the market for her stuff.
If you think that it's her fault, let's hope that none of your loved ones ever have a weak moment in their entire lives and get ripped by a common criminal masquerading as an investment advisor, a coin dealer, a realtor or a lawyer. >>
So a person of legal age is not responsible for their own actions....is that correct? Any bad financial decisions I make in life should be blamed on someone else? When do we say....."you are an adult, you made the decision, you live with the consequences"?
Im probably $50,000 upside down on my home (we bought in August of 2006). Should I provide a laundry list of who "screwed" me starting with the home appraiser, the mortgage company, the bank, the politicians who allowed deregulation of the entire financial industry? Nope! instead I say......"hey, I signed the papers and nobody put a gun to my head".
All of you who are making this lady out to be some sort of victim simply epitomize whats wrong with what we as a society have become. EVERYONE else is to blame. Its this mentality of a lack of personal responsibility for your personal actions that has so severely erroded the fabric of this nation. At what point do you stop pointing the finger at others, and take some accountability for your own actions? Or is that simply a relic of a bygone era?
So a person of legal age is not responsible for their own actions....is that correct?
Did I state that? No, I did not.
What I did say was, If you think that it's her fault, let's hope that none of your loved ones ever have a weak moment in their entire lives and get ripped by a common criminal masquerading as an investment advisor, a coin dealer, a realtor or a lawyer.
I don't agree with you when you assume that everyone thinks she wasn't responsible for her actions, nor do I agree with you when you say that this situation epitomizes what's wrong with our society as it pertains to the little old lady whether she was competant or not.
Of course it is technically her fault. But she's not the menace to society and the crook that took advantage of her for whatever reason - is still a menace to her and everyone else. If you don't see the distinction, then I would suggest you lack empathy for little old ladies who may not have any trustworthy family or friends left to depend on.
Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally
Guys forget it, Gecko doesn’t get it. You can talk to your blue in the face and it won’t do any good, Talking to him is like talking to a brick wall. He’s also continuing this because he needs the attention. He’s playing head games. He’s someone we don’t want to know, less deal with in a transaction.
If your house is worth $50k less it’s because of the economy and other factors. When you bought it and all the people you dealt with at that time, they did not RIP you off.
If you bought Gold and Silver today and it went down 50% in the future, it’s no one’s fault, it’s the economy or other factors. No one RIPPED you off.
When an old lady takes coins to a pawn shop and gets only 3 x its face or much less then its true value after an honest transaction, she got RIPPED off.
If you condone this kind of behavior, them you’re a scumbag like the pawn shop guy who RIPPED her off.
Don’t sent me anymore PM’s I didn’t answer your other two because you have nothing to say that’s important.
I stand corrected for blaming the wrong shop owner.
<< <i>Gecko You must be a BM guy who would rip off your mother as well as anyone else.
When you offer a lowball offer to anyone who doesnt know whats going on, its theft and your defrauding them. It might not be that as in the letter of the law but thats what your doing.
Sleep well my friend Im sure you will because you dont have a conscious. >>
<< <i>This excerpt taken from another thread in which the author recalls a recent real life experience:
"Haven't been around much..busy....but had to vent this... One born every minute...Pawn shop visit today..Older lady walks in with large heavy bank cloth bank bag...Bag full of silver coins....Morgans Barbers standing liberties mercuries all nice stuff...Pawn guy humped her unconcious...she got 3 times face....My GOD!!!!!! BTW I think siver was around 39 yesterday...could be wrong on that"
So......do you have any sympathy for the lady, or none at all? I personally feel that if someone gets ripped THAT bad, they obviously did no homework, nor did they put in the effort to get a couple offers before selling. No sympathy here.....you just cant fix stupid. >>
You are a reprehensible disgusting a$$hole and I hope you are not surprised when you get ripped off when you become elderly and possibly ill.
How does a person become as emotionally damaged as you are? Was it a case of child abuse?
Seriously, get help. You are deeply mentally damaged.
Happens every hour of every day and I don't want to do business with those types. Offering less than half of melt should be a crime. A local roadshow is offering 14X face for 90% here this weekend.
Now if melt is 28X and they offer 20X I'm fine with that.
No excuse for not researching what you have. Computers and coin books available at any library. She didn't get screwed, she received a butt fu@#$%^ of biblical proportion, with a 2x12. Anyone have any silver for 3x face, I'll give ya 10.
What a shame anyone in their right mind could possibly think there was any right done by the B&M in this particular case. Maybe the B&M will get a good feeling about himself when he helps out a Cub Scout learn about the hobby at a local coin show (said with dripping sarcasm). Think of the #1 lesson he could teach the youngster...screw old people & ignorant people every chance you get sonny and you can be just like me, sittin here at a coin show with mustard on my chin.
To forgive is to free a prisoner, and to discover that prisoner was you.
<< <i>What a shame anyone in their right mind could possibly think there was any right done by the B&M in this particular case. Maybe the B&M will get a good feeling about himself when he helps out a Cub Scout learn about the hobby at a local coin show (said with dripping sarcasm). Think of the #1 lesson he could teach the youngster...screw old people & ignorant people every chance you get sonny and you can be just like me, sittin here at a coin show with mustard on my chin. >>
First of all Rich, it was a pawn shop. Secondly, I dont see ANYONE here who thinks the pawn shop did the right thing. Could you please point that out to me Rich?
The crux of the thread is not whether the pawn shop was a bunch of pond scum sucking leeches....but whether or not you feel sorry for the person who was burned by them. I think that what the pawn shop did was sickening. But as Ive stated many times.....its hard to feel badly for any person who sells anything to a pawn shop without any knowlege of its value beforehand. Shame on them as well.
Rich, generally speaking, what usually happens to people who dont do any homework before engaging in financial transactions?
<< <i>And I will admit that the pawnshop that did this is a bunch of money hungry scumbag leeches. But thats irrelavent to how I feel about the "little old lady". >>
Dont forget, that little old lady probably grew up when men were men and the told the truth. That is what she knew, and she cashed in her chips.
The crux of the thread is not whether the pawn shop was a bunch of pond scum sucking leeches....but whether or not you feel sorry for the person who was burned by them.
So why then did you ask if she was lazy? by your own admission, that is not the point of your thread. To make it very clear, I feel very sorry for her and for anyone like her, whether I may know them or not. It's really a testament of the state of business/mind that we now live in. Really sad to me that anyone would think this remotely, in any way of thinking, was good for us as a race of human beings.
I wanted to edit this to say that: Phil, I hope you know that I mean no disrespect to you, the fact that you are a Firefighter means alot to me in that it takes a special kind of person to do that for a living. You defintely bring value to this Forum with your wealth of knowledge regarding PM's and your financial strategies and you have been a great trading partner, but on this one, I couldn't disagree more with some of the things you've said regarding this matter. That's what friends do sometimes (I hope that I can call you a friend). So with that said, I will refrain from further posting to this thread.
To forgive is to free a prisoner, and to discover that prisoner was you.
Dont forget, that little old lady probably grew up when men were men and the told the truth. That is what she knew, and she cashed in her chips.
this ... and not knowing the whole story as to her situation, I would tend to believe therein lies a big part of the problem.
When a man's (or a woman's, for that matter) word is solid, these things don't happen ... but our society as a whole rewards the fast buck, get everything you can every time mentality, over and over again, one way or another ... despite our outrage with the situation here. Someone is probably congratulating the pawn scum on the score.
10 cents on the dollar (okay, maybe 12 or 13 cents)?? Hell, we have TV shows that glamorize and promote this type of "picking".
Do I have sympathy for the "little old lady". Yes, I do. I wish someone, anyone, could have or would have taken the time to show her that probably 25x or better was the going rate.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
The best analogy I can make is say you know nothing about antique carpets, but you inherit one. So you drive to pawn shop "a" and they offer you $40. You then drive to pawn shop "b" and they offer you $150. Now.....do you sell that carpet before doing just a little bit of research? With such a price difference between the 2 offers, you should immediately become curious as to what the carpet's real market value is. And if you sold that carpet to pawn shop "a" for $40......and its really worth $800......sorry, but young or old you get no sympathy from me.
Not a good analogy. At what point should the old lady stop taking offers figuring she has bracketed the price? 2 offers? 3 offers? 5 offers? 10 offers? I would bet that most elderly would think they would be treated fairly by most retailers or shops when selling anything. At least that's my take. They grew up in a different time before the dollar was destroyed where merchants didn't prey on the public quite like they do today. Back in those days if you screwed someone word got around and you'd be out of business. These days, screwing seems to be a badge of honor. The reality TV shows glorify it.
Here's a true story from the late 1980's. This old lady got 2 offers following her husband's passing to get prices on his coins. She knew nothing about them.
1. Walked into a major dept store in downtown Hartford, CT that had a small coin booth in the back manned by a part-time dealer. She was offered $5,000 for all she had.
2. Proceeded to stop at another shop in Newington, CT where she was offered $50,000 for the collection. She took it. After all, it was 10X what the other guy offered. And for all I know she might have stopped at other shops in between these 2 as there were several others in the Hartford area back then. And if I can recall those other dealers it's unlikely she was offered much more than dealer #1, esp. if she used that $10K "offer" as a negotiating point.
Lesson learned: She probably would have had similar results even if she went to more coin shops. The collection was worth north of $500,000 in the end. It showed up at the Boston Bay State show that year where dealers lined up to buy this raw collection of desireable 19th century proofs, rolls of early Lincolns, etc. The choice RD BU rolls of 1910-s and 1911-s Lincolns were probably worth more than the $50,000 paid. Teletrade ended up with many of these cents as MS65/66's were seen for several years in their auctions in the early 1990's.
If she had approached a friend of mine who is the only honest dealer I can vouch for in my area, she would have ended up with at least 80% of the collection's value, maybe 90% if they worked out a slow consignment type arrangement. Even with dozens of offers by others around here, none would have offered even 50% of full value, probably not even 30%. Been there, done that, seen that. If you can't grade raw coins, how do you do research on line? Those not schooled in coin grading are lucky if they can come within 100% of a coin's real value. And even slabbed coins today have so much grading variability a novice still might be a mile off. The above coins were generally choice to gem BU/PF. Obviously the old man made a huge mistake in not schooling his wife in their rarity and value. Even a simple note as to what coin shop or auction house to take them to would have been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to her. I can only hope they were very well off such that this money wasn't critical for her remaining years. The wrong people got the money.
<< <i>This excerpt taken from another thread in which the author recalls a recent real life experience:
"Haven't been around much..busy....but had to vent this... One born every minute...Pawn shop visit today..Older Homeless Alcoholic Man walks in with large heavy bank cloth bank bag...Bag full of silver coins....Morgans Barbers standing liberties mercuries all nice stuff...Pawn guy humped him unconcious...he got 3 times face....My GOD!!!!!! BTW I think siver was around 39 yesterday...could be wrong on that"
So......do you have any sympathy for the Homeless Alcoholic Man, or none at all? I personally feel that if someone gets ripped THAT bad, they obviously did no homework, nor did they put in the effort to get a couple offers before selling. No sympathy here.....you just cant fix stupid. >>
Comments
Successful Trades: Swampboy,
<< <i>There already are laws on the books regarding elderly abuse. I would think you could make a good case that this is what happened here.
That being said, during the last several months of my mother's life, one of my siblings or I had to attend doctor's visits with my mother. She would not understand or remember all of things she was told regarding medications, procedures, etc. Does that make her stupid?
What if the lady in your OP did some research and became confused about the 'true' worth of her items? >>
Ok then......you are basically saying that the elderly cannot clearly and intelligently negotiate their own financial transactions. We already prohibit minors from engaging in legally binding financial contracts (for their own protection). Is it time for a new law that treats seniors in a similar fashion?
<< <i>This is a classic case of people just agreeing to disagree.
Yeah, but "laziness" doesn't have a damn thing to do with it as has been implied. >>
Shopping the coins around........even taking them to just ONE other shop would have resulted in a much different offer, thus raising a red flag to the woman about the value of what she had. She apparently decided her time and convienence was worth more than an accurate appraisal of her collection. And she paid for that faulty evaluation.
<< <i>who's to say she wouldn't have gotten ripped at the next dealer? >>
And she most likely would have......but perhaps at 10x face rather than 3x. The point is that with at least one more offer, the discrepancy could have been enough to make her SLOW DOWN and actually do just some basic, simple research on what her stuff was really worth. Does that make sense to you?
The best analogy I can make is say you know nothing about antique carpets, but you inherit one. So you drive to pawn shop "a" and they offer you $40. You then drive to pawn shop "b" and they offer you $150. Now.....do you sell that carpet before doing just a little bit of research? With such a price difference between the 2 offers, you should immediately become curious as to what the carpet's real market value is. And if you sold that carpet to pawn shop "a" for $40......and its really worth $800......sorry, but young or old you get no sympathy from me.
If you think that it's her fault, let's hope that none of your loved ones ever have a weak moment in their entire lives and get ripped by a common criminal masquerading as an investment advisor, a coin dealer, a realtor or a lawyer.
I knew it would happen.
<< <i>My fiancee' doesn't like investing or finance and I do all of our money transactions out of virtual necessity. Nor is money important to her in any investment sense. Some people just aren't wired for dealing in a competitive business environment. Maybe the little old lady was the same way for her entire life, and she was obviously out of her league. My guess is that she didn't even have the capability or inclination to "research" the market for her stuff.
If you think that it's her fault, let's hope that none of your loved ones ever have a weak moment in their entire lives and get ripped by a common criminal masquerading as an investment advisor, a coin dealer, a realtor or a lawyer. >>
So a person of legal age is not responsible for their own actions....is that correct? Any bad financial decisions I make in life should be blamed on someone else? When do we say....."you are an adult, you made the decision, you live with the consequences"?
Im probably $50,000 upside down on my home (we bought in August of 2006). Should I provide a laundry list of who "screwed" me starting with the home appraiser, the mortgage company, the bank, the politicians who allowed deregulation of the entire financial industry? Nope! instead I say......"hey, I signed the papers and nobody put a gun to my head".
All of you who are making this lady out to be some sort of victim simply epitomize whats wrong with what we as a society have become. EVERYONE else is to blame. Its this mentality of a lack of personal responsibility for your personal actions that has so severely erroded the fabric of this nation. At what point do you stop pointing the finger at others, and take some accountability for your own actions? Or is that simply a relic of a bygone era?
Did I state that? No, I did not.
What I did say was, If you think that it's her fault, let's hope that none of your loved ones ever have a weak moment in their entire lives and get ripped by a common criminal masquerading as an investment advisor, a coin dealer, a realtor or a lawyer.
I don't agree with you when you assume that everyone thinks she wasn't responsible for her actions, nor do I agree with you when you say that this situation epitomizes what's wrong with our society as it pertains to the little old lady whether she was competant or not.
Of course it is technically her fault. But she's not the menace to society and the crook that took advantage of her for whatever reason - is still a menace to her and everyone else. If you don't see the distinction, then I would suggest you lack empathy for little old ladies who may not have any trustworthy family or friends left to depend on.
I knew it would happen.
If your house is worth $50k less it’s because of the economy and other factors. When you bought it and all the people you dealt with at that time, they did not RIP you off.
If you bought Gold and Silver today and it went down 50% in the future, it’s no one’s fault, it’s the economy or other factors. No one RIPPED you off.
When an old lady takes coins to a pawn shop and gets only 3 x its face or much less then its true value after an honest transaction, she got RIPPED off.
If you condone this kind of behavior, them you’re a scumbag like the pawn shop guy who RIPPED her off.
Don’t sent me anymore PM’s I didn’t answer your other two because you have nothing to say that’s important.
I stand corrected for blaming the wrong shop owner.
<< <i>Gecko You must be a BM guy who would rip off your mother as well as anyone else.
When you offer a lowball offer to anyone who doesnt know whats going on, its theft and your defrauding them.
It might not be that as in the letter of the law but thats what your doing.
Sleep well my friend Im sure you will because you dont have a conscious. >>
This is pretty much all I need to see to know to completely dismiss your opinion of me.
<< <i> So you drive to pawn shop "a"... >>
i recently saw an episode of pawn stars where rick didnt bring in 'the expert' till the deal was done.
cue the WA-WA-WAAAHH music.
lost ~$1500 on that error.
opinions, while not always pleasant, can be valuable.
<< <i>Guys forget it
you’re a scumbag like the BM guy who RIPPED her off. >>
the scumbag was in a pawn shop.
the old lady never went to the B&M, like she should have.
<< <i>This excerpt taken from another thread in which the author recalls a recent real life experience:
"Haven't been around much..busy....but had to vent this...
One born every minute...Pawn shop visit today..Older lady walks in with large heavy bank cloth bank bag...Bag full of silver coins....Morgans Barbers standing liberties mercuries all nice stuff...Pawn guy humped her unconcious...she got 3 times face....My GOD!!!!!! BTW I think siver was around 39 yesterday...could be wrong on that"
So......do you have any sympathy for the lady, or none at all? I personally feel that if someone gets ripped THAT bad, they obviously did no homework, nor did they put in the effort to get a couple offers before selling. No sympathy here.....you just cant fix stupid. >>
You are a reprehensible disgusting a$$hole and I hope you are not surprised when you get ripped off when you become elderly and possibly ill.
How does a person become as emotionally damaged as you are? Was it a case of child abuse?
Seriously, get help. You are deeply mentally damaged.
Now if melt is 28X and they offer 20X I'm fine with that.
Suppose the market crashes over night? Like you I prefer not to do business with them.
However, anyone selling anything should have some idea as to it's value.
Computers and coin books available at any library.
She didn't get screwed, she received a butt fu@#$%^
of biblical proportion, with a 2x12.
Anyone have any silver for 3x face, I'll give ya 10.
Maybe the B&M will get a good feeling about himself when he helps out a Cub Scout learn about the hobby at a local coin show (said with dripping sarcasm).
Think of the #1 lesson he could teach the youngster...screw old people & ignorant people every chance you get sonny and you can be just like me, sittin here at a coin show with mustard on my chin.
<< <i>What a shame anyone in their right mind could possibly think there was any right done by the B&M in this particular case.
Maybe the B&M will get a good feeling about himself when he helps out a Cub Scout learn about the hobby at a local coin show (said with dripping sarcasm).
Think of the #1 lesson he could teach the youngster...screw old people & ignorant people every chance you get sonny and you can be just like me, sittin here at a coin show with mustard on my chin. >>
First of all Rich, it was a pawn shop. Secondly, I dont see ANYONE here who thinks the pawn shop did the right thing. Could you please point that out to me Rich?
The crux of the thread is not whether the pawn shop was a bunch of pond scum sucking leeches....but whether or not you feel sorry for the person who was burned by them. I think that what the pawn shop did was sickening. But as Ive stated many times.....its hard to feel badly for any person who sells anything to a pawn shop without any knowlege of its value beforehand. Shame on them as well.
Rich, generally speaking, what usually happens to people who dont do any homework before engaging in financial transactions?
<< <i>And I will admit that the pawnshop that did this is a bunch of money hungry scumbag leeches. But thats irrelavent to how I feel about the "little old lady".
Dont forget, that little old lady probably grew up when men were men and the told the truth. That is what she knew, and she cashed in her chips.
So why then did you ask if she was lazy? by your own admission, that is not the point of your thread.
To make it very clear, I feel very sorry for her and for anyone like her, whether I may know them or not. It's really a testament of the state of business/mind that we now live in. Really sad to me that anyone would think this remotely, in any way of thinking, was good for us as a race of human beings.
I wanted to edit this to say that:
Phil, I hope you know that I mean no disrespect to you, the fact that you are a Firefighter means alot to me in that it takes a special kind of person to do that for a living.
You defintely bring value to this Forum with your wealth of knowledge regarding PM's and your financial strategies and you have been a great trading partner, but on this one, I couldn't disagree more with some of the things you've said regarding this matter. That's what friends do sometimes (I hope that I can call you a friend). So with that said, I will refrain from further posting to this thread.
this ... and not knowing the whole story as to her situation, I would tend to believe therein lies a big part of the problem.
When a man's (or a woman's, for that matter) word is solid, these things don't happen ... but our society as a whole rewards the fast buck, get everything you can every time mentality, over and over again, one way or another ... despite our outrage with the situation here. Someone is probably congratulating the pawn scum on the score.
10 cents on the dollar (okay, maybe 12 or 13 cents)?? Hell, we have TV shows that glamorize and promote this type of "picking".
Do I have sympathy for the "little old lady". Yes, I do. I wish someone, anyone, could have or would have taken the time to show her that probably 25x or better was the going rate.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Not a good analogy. At what point should the old lady stop taking offers figuring she has bracketed the price? 2 offers? 3 offers? 5 offers? 10 offers?
I would bet that most elderly would think they would be treated fairly by most retailers or shops when selling anything. At least that's my take.
They grew up in a different time before the dollar was destroyed where merchants didn't prey on the public quite like they do today. Back in those days if
you screwed someone word got around and you'd be out of business. These days, screwing seems to be a badge of honor. The reality TV shows glorify it.
Here's a true story from the late 1980's. This old lady got 2 offers following her husband's passing to get prices on his coins. She knew nothing about them.
1. Walked into a major dept store in downtown Hartford, CT that had a small coin booth in the back manned by a part-time dealer. She was offered $5,000 for all she had.
2. Proceeded to stop at another shop in Newington, CT where she was offered $50,000 for the collection. She took it. After all, it was 10X what the other guy offered.
And for all I know she might have stopped at other shops in between these 2 as there were several others in the Hartford area back then. And if I can recall those other
dealers it's unlikely she was offered much more than dealer #1, esp. if she used that $10K "offer" as a negotiating point.
Lesson learned: She probably would have had similar results even if she went to more coin shops. The collection was worth north of $500,000 in the end.
It showed up at the Boston Bay State show that year where dealers lined up to buy this raw collection of desireable 19th century proofs, rolls of early Lincolns, etc.
The choice RD BU rolls of 1910-s and 1911-s Lincolns were probably worth more than the $50,000 paid. Teletrade ended up with many of these cents as MS65/66's
were seen for several years in their auctions in the early 1990's.
If she had approached a friend of mine who is the only honest dealer I can vouch for in my area, she would have ended up with at least 80% of the collection's value, maybe 90% if
they worked out a slow consignment type arrangement. Even with dozens of offers by others around here, none would have offered even 50% of full value, probably not even 30%.
Been there, done that, seen that. If you can't grade raw coins, how do you do research on line? Those not schooled in coin grading are lucky if they can come within 100% of a coin's
real value. And even slabbed coins today have so much grading variability a novice still might be a mile off. The above coins were generally choice to gem BU/PF. Obviously the old
man made a huge mistake in not schooling his wife in their rarity and value. Even a simple note as to what coin shop or auction house to take them to would have been worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars to her. I can only hope they were very well off such that this money wasn't critical for her remaining years. The wrong people got the money.
roadrunner
<< <i>This excerpt taken from another thread in which the author recalls a recent real life experience:
"Haven't been around much..busy....but had to vent this...
One born every minute...Pawn shop visit today..Older Homeless Alcoholic Man walks in with large heavy bank cloth bank bag...Bag full of silver coins....Morgans Barbers standing liberties mercuries all nice stuff...Pawn guy humped him unconcious...he got 3 times face....My GOD!!!!!! BTW I think siver was around 39 yesterday...could be wrong on that"
So......do you have any sympathy for the Homeless Alcoholic Man, or none at all? I personally feel that if someone gets ripped THAT bad, they obviously did no homework, nor did they put in the effort to get a couple offers before selling. No sympathy here.....you just cant fix stupid. >>
FIXED ^