Numismatic Ethics

i wish i could nominate this for the post of the year hilarious

 

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Actually, when you go to the dentist and have a filling sometimes they have to remove an old filling or crown in the process and replace it. If that old repair was done with gold, the dentist will save the gold. Over time, a decent amount of gold will accumulate and they sell it to a smelter. A dentist will probably sell their gold a couple times a year, its standard procedure.

 

Sweet..... I am going to start chopping off heads of little old ladies....

What they don't know won't hurt them.....

That is not immoral is it?

I mean, they don't know their fillings are worth anything...

Wait I got a better idea... I'll just melt them, then I won't have to chop off any heads, or send the gold to a smelter.

 

thanks

yeah sure, just steal my kudos while you're at it.

when will you stop?



(but why dont they give the gold to the patient? You know, the owner of the gold?)

 

So, your good friend misidentified something he had and you willingly took advantage of his ignorance.

I'm glad I don't have any "good friends" like you.

 

Well, my good friend was still a dealer...and like any of you, I look for a good cherrypick. Plus, I'm sure he only paid $3 or so for it (the wholesale price for a type 1) since he was selling it for about $7.

 

You should create a separate thread for this. this is not as black and white as it sounds especially if it was dealer who was a dear friend as opposed to a dealer whom you knew well and did a lot of business with

 

You can ask for the dental gold back if it is extracted, it doesn't automatically become the property of the dentist unless you let it.

Similarly I had a water heater replaced last year in my home. Out came several feet of copper and galvanized pipe and several valves. The plumber started scooping them up into a bag to take with him No sirree, I will take those to Omnisource thank you very much!

Right now my old refrigerator is loafing in the buggy house waiting a trip to the scrap metal place.

Word of advice, if you can scrap it, do. Don't let someone else reap the profits on your metals.

 

Did I see the $100 drop out of someone's pocket?

 

If I knew whose it was I'd give it back, Doug. I expect you would, too. Real question in this thread is how deep does one's conscience go under these facts?

 

Or, more analagous to the present situation...what if you saw $100 about to fall out of someone's pocket? Do you tell them, or do you wait until it falls out, pick it up, and report your findings to everyone?

 

Nobody has a holier than thou additute that I have seen in this discussion, althought some have mentioned they would not rip an old lady, is that what you are talking about?

 

what about all those posts about ebay buys..
where CT'ers are pumped because they got a 20 dollar bill for 19.21$?
or when they are still getting silver for under melt?

 

See my post in the other thread about a relative of mine doing just that, all the silver dollars were were money.

It really is difficult to judge a situation when it is explained from one point of view, and then everybody else comes in and chimes with an opinion. I know what I would have done on the outset in the said situation that is the subject of this discourse, however, it might very well have turned out just as Doug has pointed out above. The customer may very well may not have cared one way or another.

 

Doug, I agree with most of what you say. But the fact pattern you mention is not the same as the one that brought up this whole discussion. Are you presuming the elderly lady knew that her roll of Walkers was worth $100 but didn't care? A lawyer would say, "Objection, facts not in evidence!"

I would say the presumption should always squarely be on the side of logic -- in this case (using your $100 bill analogy), who would knownigly sell a $100 bill for $10? Sure they may be some, but the burden to prove this would be on the buyer offering $10, not the seller offering the $100.