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Important Consumer Questions

1. Daily Gold Video from KITCO
2. Learn To Sell Gold Scrap And Not Get Robbed In The Process
3. The Confiscation Myth and The Slime Gold Company
4. How To Sell Dad's Coin Collection And Guarantee You Get The Right Price
5. Avoid "Hotel Buyers" When You Sell

Common Sense Answers Which Will Save You Money

1. (August 10, 2010) Daily Gold Video from KITCO - For those looking for additional market commentary and a capsule look at the precious metals on a daily basis the live link posted below (Kitco Video News) is a great source. The commentator is balanced and presents both sides of the precious metals using well known national commentators. For example expert David Morgan might be interviewed regarding his bullish silver opinion but she will also present the bearish side using another commentator. This excellent video series is short, updated daily and posted so you can catch up if you miss an episode during the week.

Click for Daily Video News

2. Learn To Sell Gold Scrap And Not Get Robbed In The Process - (June 10, 2010)
Every time the gold market heats up I get a dozen Emails about where to sell gold scrap. We at CNI do not buy scrap gold, silver, or platinum but I can provide a few valuable tips which will insure you get all the money. (1) Forget about anything you hear on TV or radio, especially with names like Cash4Gold. These are the folks that offer a free shipping kit to uninformed customers. Also avoid those small operations in strip malls operating out of stores which used to sell shoes or hotel buyers that place full page ads in local papers. Places like these pay about half of what your gold is really worth, tell you what great prices they pay and laugh at you when you walk out with your “cash”. (2) Even coin dealers are not a great place to start because this is not their primary business and therefore are sometimes cheap bidders. (3) Figure the actual gold content of your old jewelry yourself. If you don’t know how learn by asking questions regarding carat content and pure weight. (4) Figure an honest refiner will pay you somewhere between 95% and 98% of the actual melt value, minus a small processing fee of around $50. (5) Let me also suggest two firms that specialize in melting and refining scrap precious metals: They have great reputations, good checks, can be trusted and have been around for years. NTR Metals in Los Angeles, Daniel Wynn runs the place and you can reach them at (213) 489-1508 (www.ntrmetals.com) and Dillon Gage in Addisen, Texas (800) 375-4653 Dillon Gage's Assay and Refining Services.

3. The Confiscation Myth And The Slime Gold Company - (June 21, 2010)
Every time the gold market heats up the gold hustlers of telemarketer fame try the same old dodge and it goes like this: The newbie customer sees gold in the headlines, goes on the net and picks a few companies that offer “a free investor’s kit”, gets to hear how this wonderful company has been around since Moses and offers an A+ rating with the BBB. By the way, it is not like the old days, the A+ rating can be purchased and means nothing as long as you are "informed" before the purchase. So this well meaning mark believes his friendly representative and listens carefully as he is told that buying gold is a great idea but you must avoid the common bullion coins because our Uncle Sam is just waiting to confiscate your holdings. But the large and well known A Slime Gold Company has the secret solution: “Invest in non-confiscatable gold like Swiss or French 20 Francs and you will be safe.” There are a number of holes in this all too common story: The Confiscation Myth is just that in my opinion and used extensively to “steer” the new buyer away from what he wants (bullion which produces little profit to honest dealers) into higher priced gold coin substitutes which produce the big commissions necessary to run high overhead national firms. But let me play Devil’s Advocate for a minute and suggest that even if there is a slight possibility the government is thinking about confiscation there are very legitimate and reasonable ways to protect your gold bullion investment without paying an arm and leg in trumped up broker commissions. In other words the same typically touted small gold coins are available elsewhere for significantly less money. But keep in mind that just because our government confiscated gold in the 1930’s does not mean it will today. Why? America is quite different now and much more pessimistic about its leaders. A typical response today would be to bury the stuff in the backyard and declare their gold was stolen years ago by crazy Uncle Joe. Now let’s say you are really paranoid and while you may not believe the story you want to do something to protect against this wild idea. There are a few alternatives which are not in any way proven but at least you have a story for Uncle Sam. The alternatives like pre-1933 Swiss or French 20 Francs are sold by most large bullion companies at prices similar to other small bullion coins. But the unfortunate new buyer does not do his pricing homework and believes A Slime Gold Company is quoting “fair” because they are so reliable looking. The truth is he is giving away about a 1/3 of his investment because he failed to “shop around”. Or look at it this way: The money he spent on the 100 coin lot of Swiss 20 Francs from his “friends in the gold business” would have produced 130 of the same coins at any large gold dealership nationwide. The moral here is to heavily discount any firm that leads with the confiscation issue as a selling point. Like I said, I personally don’t buy the logic here but if it is a concern to you there are plenty of ways around the problem without buying your commissioned broker a new car.

4. Sell Dad's Coin Collection And Guarantee You Get The Right Price - (June 9, 2010)
“My Dad had a coin collection and has since passed on giving the collection to the family. How can I be sure to get full value if we decide to sell?” It is amazing how often I get this Email so a general answer might help everyone: Most small family collections are not rare because the coins were either taken out of circulation or purchased from the local coin shops which were common 30 or 40 years ago. Buying quality coins during that period was hit or miss because there was not any independent certification and grading standards were evolving so in some cases the quality of the collection and therefore its value is a matter of good fortune. It is unlikely the collection will contain a true rarity but it is possible and there are a few signs which can give allow you to make an informed decision: (1) Do the coins show from whom they were purchased and what was paid? These type of records are important because if Dad was dealing with Harvey Stack of New York for example, a leading East Coast dealer at the time and recognized numismatic figure, the chances of having a valuable coin in your hand increases tremendously. (2) Regardless of the selling dealer do the coins appear to have been purchased for a premium when Dad was building the collection? This is important because during this time there were few rarities still in circulation. So by inference if he did not pay a big premium he must have just saved what came his way so the chances of having the key dates are smaller. This is not to say the collection is not valuable, it could be but chances are its value comes from its silver and gold content, not its collectable value. (3) Purchase a copy of A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman; it is available from any bookstore for about $15. Lay out the collection and see if you can match your coins to the examples shown in the book by date and mint mark. There is really a lot more to this but this step will give you a sense of what is valuable and what is not. (4) Finally take your treasure to more than one coin dealer and shop around before selling anything. This is important because while I believe there are more honest dealers than not, you could run into the wrong person and get killed (this is trade talk for selling your valuable coins for much less than they are worth). While all of this may sound daunting it can be a lot of fun and if you need help call me for a fast answer (1-800-225-7531) or Email a list of what you have and the prices offered and I can see if you are being treated fairly. Good luck and let’s hope your old coffee can contains one of the missing 1894 S Barber Dimes. The Mint struck 24 at the time and only about half are accounted for…the price tag for one of these in excellent condition could be well over a million dollars!

5. Avoid "Hotel Buyers" When You Sell - (July 6, 2010)
The Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) has taken aim at Hotel Buyers! For the uninformed these are the guys that take out large format print ads in local newspapers and tell readers they pay top dollar for gold coins, jewelry, silver dollars, commemoratives, medals, diamonds, old watches and “you name it” as far as buying collectable things of value. Their name, of course, comes from the fact that they set up for a day or two in local hotels. The fact that they are here today and gone today does not provide much financial reassurance to the seller but in the days of “fast everything” they seem to fit the bill. As far as the PNG is concerned most of these guys are simply the devil in disguise and folks who sell their valuable coins and paper money for next to nothing are either not well informed or just plain stupid. But how do the prices offered by Hotel Buyers match up with say your local coin shop or coin show? Actually many Hotel Buyers are what the coin trade calls “cheap bidders” because all that print ad and travel is expensive and the seller picks up the bill. The problem with some of these folks is that they get greedy and “low ball” the public (which is trade talk for offering virtually nothing in the hope that the uniformed will simply not question the offer). These extremely low offers are actually against the law and actionable if discovered. If you sell your coin collection to the guy across the street for nothing and you later find out it was worth a great deal you have little or no legal recourse because your neighbor is not a professional. If on the other hand you sell too cheap to a Hotel Buyer and for some inexplicable reason find out you have been taken, you have grounds for a law suit because you relied on his professional opinion as to value. But most Hotel Buyers are not related to the community and do not care anyway because they are soon gone. So does this make your local coin shop a better place to sell your treasure? Actually it is a much better place to start but because all is not what is seems in any business involving the exchange of money you should be cautious and test the waters until you establish a trusting relationship with any dealer. More than one professional opinion, especially in the beginning, is probably a good idea and always remember what President Reagan said about the Russians: “Trust but verify”. Also note that I am always around for questions (RSchwary@aol.com) as to whether a price quoted was friendly or someone was just interested in robbing you.