My son came home and told me that some kid at his high school tried to sell him a 1903 Barber dime. My son doesn’t know this kid but he does know coins. He said it was pretty worn and beat up. No real value to it but I suspect that this kid is probably dipping into his father’s coin collection. Not knowing this kid or his family, what do you think is the right thing to do here? What should I tell my son if this kid approaches him with more coins? Think ethically as coin collectors and let me know what you think.
Hmmm...thinking ehtically....I'd probably have my kid find out who the other kid is and then try to contact his parents to find out whats going on. I know a kid who comes into the shop I frequent who buys about 20 world currency notes a week in the $1 a note bin and takes them to school and sells them for between 5-10 dollars apiece. So it may be something like that going on, especially if what he's trying to sell is junk and nothing real special. Guy~
And therein lies the problem here. If this kid is just selling his own coins, or coins he picks up from a bin of junk coins, my son comes off as a narc. He doesn't know this kid but you never know what kind of pandora's box you are opening when you insert yourself into a situation like this. Are the risks to my son really worth it? I'm of the mind that you get the kids you raise and let the chips fall where they may for this other family. I don't know if that is wrong or if it is right but I'm willing to hear other opinions.
Maybe it is my cynicism coming out, but I would guess there is a high likelihood of you coming out on the wrong side of this if you try to play teh cop. Without proof of anything, IMHO drop it.
I agree, I probably wouldn't go that rout myself, but you seemed like you wanted that answer by your question. On the other hand, what if your kid was slowly selling your collection for pennies at school and nobody stepped in? I imagine things might be different. Like I said, seeing as it's junk coins I think the kid's just be entrepreneurial and buying stuff from the bargain bin at his local shop and trying to make a little profit. I think thats how a lot of coin dealers got started, including Q. David Bowers. Guy~
I used to sell ball cards at lunch in school. Made quite a bit of cash. Even had a supplier that sold me the cards at a discounted price. So the same thing with coins may not be out of the question.
I have no intention of letting my son buy anything from this kid. I don't collect Barbers and I'm not interested in starting a collection of them in this way anyway. I think what I'm hearing is that it is best just to walk on by and forget about this situation. That was my first instinct but then I began to feel sorry for a fellow coin collector. My kids wouldn't even consider such behavior because they know that they are going to be the recipients of my collection in the end anyway. Besides, I give them all of the money they need without selling off my/their coin collection. They call me "Daddy ATM" aren't they sweet? :crying:
Hi Moen1305: Why so suspicious of the kid with the Barber? Do you trust your own children's judgement? You should, because it sounds like your kid exercised restraint and didn't buy the coin without consulting you first. My own parents never knew all of my high school friends and acquaintances. Of the few they got to know, they didn't like all of them but they also never proved to be bad people after many years of relations either. I remember doing trades of comics, bb cards, Hot Wheels and whatever else amused us since I was in grade school. When I was in high school I was well into my own coin collection, which included a few Barbers, and the coins were mine to do with what I pleased. YN's are collectors and buyers too. I used to order out of the Numismatic magazines and also often had mail order coins on review long before the internet, but with all the YNs on forums like CT, it wouldn't surprize me if they have killer collections and lots of access to coins I never had at that age. Sure that kid could have dipped into his families collection, or stolen the coin(s) from some another kid's house, or from some coin shop, got them in a garage sale, who knows... they could well have been his own coins or something gifted to him at the recent holidays, or even heirloom coins he got but didn't want. A discussion on coins between your kid and the other kid you don't know could have prompted the idea between the kids to trade/sell whatever. It's always an excellent idea to know who you are buying from and it seems your kid did the right thing, exercised restraint, asked a more informed parent and bought time to consider dealing with this kid. That sounds like excellent parenting, but I hope you don't get too paranoid by the situation either. I know kids get irked by that sort of parental reaction or perceive the parent doesn't trust them and their personal (albeit juvenile) judgement. I think you did well but don't need to step in unless something more heinous is apparent regarding the source of those coins. Just my 2¢ :thumb:
it all depends on the kid Clearly, we don't know enough to offer much advice. Let's face it -- the seller could be like one of us when we were kids (selling baseball cards, or etc.), or he could be raiding his father's collection, or something even worse. But if you know anything about the kid, you could probably make a decent judgment about what might be really going on. If he's generally a good kid, then he's earned the benefit of the doubt. If he's been a trouble-maker for years, somebody ought to look into it a bit more carefully.
Best not to get involved, May cause a problem with kid and your son at School, Just tell him not buy and go about his business!
I would probably go ask the parents what coins the kid had for sale. If they are aware of it, they will be glad to help their kid, if they are not, it will raise a red flag without your son coming off as a snitch.
Uhhhh Have your son ask the boy where he got them and why is he selling them?? The direct approach usually works better than immediately running to the authorities.
Teenagers have a way of being less direct than adults. My son doesn't even know this kid outside of class nor any of this kids friends. I think the best advice I have gotten is to have my son just avoid this kid and his coin sales. I forgot to mention that this kid later asked my son for a quarter because he wanted to use the 35 cents in a vending machine.
Less Direct? My my, things certainly are different. When I was a kid and someone wanted to sell me a coin, my usual response was "Neat, where'd you get that?" I think the same scenario exists today.
I don't want to come accross as mean or insensitive but I think that you're over reacting. If someone wants to sell your son a coin, I don't think it's a big deal. Just say yes or no, and don't dwell on the situation. I personally think you're just wasting your time in formulating an idea of "what if this", or "what if that". Trust your sons judgement and who cares if he asked your son for a quarter? Maybe he's just trying to be friendly. It's high school, the last thing you should be concerned about is some dumb little coin sale. I would know, I'm a junior in high school.
It wasn't like this was keeping me awake at night; I just found it to be an interesting coin related topic. The situation where someone is losing their coin collection without even knowing it because their teenager has decided to "borrow a little change" has come up often in these forums. I've seen it happen to my own father's collection so maybe I am more sensitive to it and I've also been standing at the counter when shady looking people are digging through their torn and ragged clothing pulling out slabbed coins in perfect condition and selling them to dishonest dealers who had to know they were stolen. I just hate to see fellow coin collectors lose something that they are so passionate about but sometimes there is little you can do. It's a judgment call for sure.
