Coin dealer's ad--Chaim Greenberg

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Owle, Mar 12, 2012.

  1. fishwhacker

    fishwhacker Member

    Why would a family with millions of dollars in coins live in conditions warranting going hungry. Too many red flags.
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    Maybe they are living in a McMansion and are having trouble paying their taxes....
     
  4. xraydriver

    xraydriver New Member

    Ad That Was In "Coin World" by Chaim Greenberg

    Greenberg put an ad in Coin World for three silver dollars, Morgan, Peace, and a Silver Eagle. It had a picture of a graded Morgan in the ad. He made it look like all of them were graded. The ad said "BU to PCGS/NGC MS-69, $137.00 - $175.00 value." I ordered them and he charged me $152.00. They were common dates and they might have been BU ???? but they were not graded. I tried to get a refund but he said I waited to long. I don't know if CW will let him put any more ads in there. I would not buy a penny from him. I still have the ad and invoice.
     
  5. Kasia

    Kasia Got my learning hat on

    Anyone that would actually believe an honest seller to say that they are doing this out of the kindness of their hearts should probably be taken to the cleaners.

    What was quoted above is cow poop wrapped in lettuce and presented as a delicate treat. Still is cow poop.
     
  6. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    I mentioned it to warn others, too bad you were ripped off. The first I heard of Chaim Greenberg was on the Coinplex site where Heritage was sending out warnings on a deadbeat dealer. I bear Greenberg no ill will, but as with all unscrupulous dealers, there is only hope for them if they straighten out their ways and come into accepted dealer practice, as every numismatic membership organization and publication has specific guidelines. When I responded to one of his ads, he took down my address and number and called me night and day and refused to respond to emails. I hope he comes clean.
     
  7. Silverhouse

    Silverhouse Well-Known Member

    Back in 2010, I was at a friends house in Michigan. He had all those coin magazines. I'll be honest, it got me actively collecting again, but I knew enough not to purchase from any magazine without doing my research first. One evening while browsing online while visiting my friend a coin dealer telemarketer called my buddy's house. He wanted to sell my friend those 2 1/2 dollar gold indian coins. Now at the time I knew nothing about those types of coins, but decided to check out ebay. The coin dealer on the phone wanted $2700 dollars for 3 gold indian heads. If memory serves they were a 1911, 1913, and a 1926. All Philly mint. I showed my buddy that ebay was offering the same coins for much less and I advised against the purchase. He wouldn't hear of it. My buddy ended up sending the guy $2700 for those three coins. I repeatedly told him he was making a mistake and offered to take him to the local coin shop if he really wanted those coins. He wouldn't do it. For whatever reason he really trusted this guy on the phone. Since then I've lost touch with my friend. But I'll never forget that.
     
  8. xraydriver

    xraydriver New Member

    The Game Is A CON

    Greenberg sent me a few ads in the mail. I threw them in the trash. He called on a Sunday morning and tried to sell me some coins. I unloaded on him and didn't give him a chance to say anything. I heard a lady in the back ground say "Hurry up we are going to be late." I think it was his wife and they were on their way to church. If I went to the same church he goes to I would sit as far as I could from him!! He is a small time seller who works out of his house. He needs to be turned in to the "BBB."
     
  9. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    Three $2 1/2 Indians that are AU58/60 are worth around $300 currently, each, if common date. I have bought and sold these at auction as certified coins.

    The game that dealers like Greenberg play is sell them as "gem BU" or "MS63" when they are just sliders at best.

    They are just as much the con artists as the three card monty characters, or the shell game players. They rely on gullibility, human trust, the husband/wife team as somehow being a credible team.

    They should be reported to the District Attorney. So far I have reported them to Coin World where I got the response that they hadn't gotten many complaints recently, and John Albanese of CAC who found their ads "misleading"; initially they thought I was impugning the reputation of Hank Greenberg who is a good guy as far as I know. There are no advantages reporting crooks except the next customer may be protected and we have a clear conscience.
     
  10. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    This operation is a fake, phoney, two-bit fraud as well as the perpetrators. Eventually all predators run out of re-usable victims.
     
  11. TheCoinGeezer

    TheCoinGeezer Senex Bombulum

    I think it unlikely that a person name Chaim Greenburg would be attending church on Sunday. :D
     
  12. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    Who knows?

    What business calls on Sunday, and after 9pm at night without first clearing it with the customer?

    One thing's for sure, they have an allergy to emails, when I tried to get them on record as to what they were offering, what certified holder, what price, etc., they said that it had caused problems in the past, and they did not want to do it.

    The government, when doing an investigation can use emails, but has trouble doing phone taps with low-level perps.. Look at this recent indictment of a Pyramid Scheme where the Feds used emails:

    http://www.justice.gov/usao/ct/Press2012/20120502.html
     
  13. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    The ad is currently online: http://chaimgreenberg.com/selllist.html

    Mr. Greenberg has made a few changes to the original copy that was run in Coin World for quite a while.

    An experienced lawyer had this to say about the ad:

    "My take on this, is that if 'you all know' he is selling the coins at below market, and he is claiming he has to sell them to get liquidity for his client, then why doesn't he just take them to a reputable dealer and sell them for what he can get? If he were legit, he'd either sell to a dealer and be done with it, or sell at an auction, the problem is that the evaluations he is using wouldn't hold up, and he would get what the collection is really worth.

    "The whole thing reaks of scam as far as I am concerned, and I really have a hard time seeing why, as someone has pointed out, that complaints are not filed with his state AG, and preferably his local DA, and with the magazine for false and misleading advertising. I will further assume from what wasn't said, that there have obviously been a number of people stung on the 25% "cancellation fee" because the coins really aren't what they are advertised as. That is fraud. If someone is selling something and claiming it is in mint condition and charging mint condition prices for it, and the actual item has been worn smooth, that is fraud, any way you look at it. The racket here is in collecting the 25% fee for items that aren't worth what is claimed, and that is fraud as well."

    CU had a thread on similar issues eight years ago that is worth noting:

    http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=295472&STARTPAGE=2
     
  14. areich

    areich America*s Darling

    Oye

    He is a Lubavictch Hassid and I happen to know that block he lives on.
     
  15. TheCoinGeezer

    TheCoinGeezer Senex Bombulum

    I notice that Mr. Greenburg is using the ANA logo on his ad. Perhaps the ANA should be alerted to his behavior. If what has been said is true and can be PROVEN then he should be booted from the ANA.
     
  16. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

  17. BUncirculated

    BUncirculated Well-Known Member

    I was wondering the same thing.

    Doesn't seem likely that a large, and very reputable, auction house would disclose such information to just anyone.
     
  18. Owle

    Owle Junior Member

    All Coinplex members received the notice.
     
  19. medoraman

    medoraman Supporter! Supporter

    Anyone know who still accepts ads from this dealer? I was thinking of subscribing to Coin World, but refuse to subscribe to publications that will run ads from known scam artists.
     
  20. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    Here's the original add I managed to pull out of the CW archives......


    goldberg.JPG

    My personal feeling? Anybody who believes this dribble deserves having their pocket picked.
     
  21. silentnviolent

    silentnviolent accumulator--selling--make an offer I can't refuse

    Talk about a resurrection! :) Yeah, i'm a miser (when not adding to the collection :eek: ) and as such I get all cranked up when someone owes me even a small amount of money for too long. (Or has borrowed something of mine too long) You all should see me in retrieval mode! ;) I'm not ashamed of it either! I feel terrible when I owe someone money and take care of it ASAP every time, and I believe I should be as much of a priority as I make those I deal with.

    For that kinda money I'd make the (road) trip. Use no traceable forms of payment (all cash for everything in transit and return). Greet him before sunup. Money back by breakfast. I can be convincing if the need should arise. (The $700 still owed (if it were my money) consitutes a pressing urge in me to redeem personal.... pride? No, more than that.... redemption? No, more like putting an end to the taintedness I'd feel over every single BST I considered in future.

    I digress on this old, yet ongoing story of theft by mail. OP, good luck to you. PM me if you wanna deliver him an offer he can't refuse.....
    :)
    Thats enough of that for me!
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page