"Pawn Stars" Melts Stolen Collection

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Mat, Mar 12, 2014.

  1. bkozak33

    bkozak33 Collector

    That is a fair price to pay for an ounce of gold. Its a business, they are not coin collectors
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Detecto92

    Detecto92 Well-Known Member

    Pawn shops can be a noble business, it's just a lot of them get a bad rap.
     
  4. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title]

    I wouldn't say they are a noble business...but they aren't immoral either. My point is they are about convenience and that comes with a price. I don't believe the price they paid for what they considered gold worth scrapping was outrageous.
     
  5. drathbun

    drathbun Well-Known Member

    Their job is to buy something for as little as possible and turn around and sell it for as much as possible as quickly as possible. Pawn shops don't want to sit on inventory, they want to churn, baby, churn. :) If someone is willing to take a low-ball offer and walk away with cash, that's what Camaro is talking about. If someone balks at the low-ball offer and either negotiates upwards, or walks away to do their own research to become a more informed seller, that's their right. But they lose the immediate cash value.

    Time is money. Take more time to sell and potentially get more cash.

    But I bet you just about anything you're not going to find a pawn shop that will feature this conversation:

    Customer: I would like to get $1,000 for this coin collection.
    Pawn Store: But it's really worth much more, I can't offer you less than $2,500 for the entire thing.
     
    CamaroDMD likes this.
  6. flintcreek6412

    flintcreek6412 Active Member

    I'm not a huge fan of pawn shops because they do take in so much in stolen merchandise, but in my job I work with them a lot and we have a good relationship and they will set back anything I find that's stolen so I can work my case. Back in the day we(cops) used to walk in an confiscate stolen property but now the law has changed since the shops would be out the money(cost of doing business IMO) but legislators saw it different. They are really good at working with insurance companies and victims to let them buy back their stuff at cost at least. And I'd rather see it pawned or sold with them presenting ID that I can track down than selling it on the street with no record.

    But the fact is, they are in business to do this. I really see it as no different than a co-worker having money problems and coming to me to sell something. Happens a few times a year. They will come and offer to sell me a gun or something. I tell them I don't need it. They say they really need the money and don't have time to sell it themselves. I tell them again, I don't need it and my offer will insult them. They ask for an offer so I throw it out there and it's a real lowball because I don't want or need it. I know I can eventually make money on it but that's a hassle. Surprisingly most take my offer and are happy with the cash in hand. I have no guilt about it. They make really stupid financial decisions or purchases on a whim that they can't afford. Not my problem. And sadly most won't learn from these mistakes.

    Buying foreclosed or short sale houses, bankruptcy auctions, etc are all instances of buying low just like pawn shops. There is obviously a huge market for them or they wouldn't exist.

    As far as them taking coins out of a slab, not doubt these weren't top tier TPG. My God, at the last coin show I went to I bet PCGS/NGC only accounted for 10% of slabs I saw. And of those 10% probably 90% were details. Either way, I'm actually cool if they melt some pre 33 gold and silver. That just lessened the supply by .000001% and increased the value of my gold coins by .000000000000000000000001%.
     
    CamaroDMD likes this.
  7. LostDutchman

    LostDutchman Under Staffed & Overly Motivated Supporter

    Why would these people melt coins?!?!?!

    2 Possible scenarios:

    #1 The knew they were stolen... or at least had an inclining...

    #2 They are stupid...
     
    chip and spirityoda like this.
  8. drathbun

    drathbun Well-Known Member

    #3 They claimed they melted them because then they're no longer traceable.
     
    Kentucky and spirityoda like this.
  9. rzage

    rzage What Goes Around Comes Around .

    I really don't think you can compare buying and selling foreclosed homes to the way a pawn shop operates . Frankly I think most of them are one of the lowest businesses you could own . Same with lowballing a desperate "Friend".
     
  10. Detecto92

    Detecto92 Well-Known Member

    After reading over the variations in several news articles, and past experiences with own pawn brokers, and knowing someone who uses to run one, here are my opinions..

    1. The pawn shop does have a large volume of stuff that goes through it, they would send rings and other things into the smelters instead of having hundreds of them in cases to get maybe an extra 20 dollars over melt because it looks nice.

    2. The pawn shop cast [appears] to be half way knowledgeable about coins.

    However from the article it appears that there were indeed quite a few nice coins in there.

    The person robbed claimed some of the coins were worth 4 to 5 times the metal content, and were "untouched by human hands", so I assume we are talking about graded MS coins.

    I assume the pawn shop did not melt the coins down, but rather sold them and made the story up so they wouldn't get left holding the bag.

    The pawn shop also claims the "cases were cracked" due to the grades not being "worth anything".

    However most basement slabbers grade low value coins, so I'm wondering what TPG graded these coins and did not get their "seal of approval".
     
  11. CamaroDMD

    CamaroDMD [Insert Clever Title]

    This is a good reason as to why the coins appear to have been melted. Just like those rings, they figured it was faster to make a smaller profit by sending them to a smelter than it would be to sell them in their cases...with limited space. That limited space has value too.

    I'll bet with their new found fame (and fortune)...the only time the cast regularly appears in the shop is when they are filming. My guess is, they have a normal staff there handling day to day with business with the normal knowledge of a pawn shop. Plus, the cast we see on TV has plenty of time to research items prior to filming so they appear "knowledgeable."

    They do try and make that point...but there are a bunch of things that don't add up. For example, one of the coins was a 1903 St. Gaudens Double Eagle. The last time I checked, that coin was minted until 1907. It could be poor reporting...or perhaps the owner really doesn't know what he had.

    Either this is just an example of poor reporting...or again, the owner doesn't know much about coins. There is no such thing as a classic gold coin "untouched by human hands." My understanding is...even modern gold such as the First Lady coins are touched by hands when they are packaged.

    Why not? Your first comment in this post suggests a very good reason why they would have melted them.

    Several things in this story lead me to believe the collector was not terribly knowledgeable (unless again...it's bad reporting). It's entirely possible they were in lower tier slabs. Perhaps if that's the case, he may have paid too much for them because they were grossly overgraded. Also, some of the coins were moderns and could have been in original government packaging.

    Not necessarily...I have seen many rare and potentially valuable coins in low end slabs. Often times they are greatly overgraded, damaged, or both. Not necessarily basement slabbers like SGS...but others like SEGS or ANI.
     
    rzage likes this.
  12. jaceravone

    jaceravone Member

    Just ask Charmy about her experience on Pawn Stars.....she was on the show.
     
  13. flintcreek6412

    flintcreek6412 Active Member

    First I said "coworker". Big difference. Some of these guys I don't even know their first name. They know I've managed my personal affairs better than most in this business so they come to me knowing I can have cash in minutes. It's THEIR choice to accept the loss for the convenience. I could just say "no", send them to a pawn shop where they will get even less. I'll send them to you if you'd like to provide charity next time.
     
  14. Clutchy

    Clutchy Well-Known Member

    I think its just a insurance scam. Those boys are not stupid, if its just worth melt, then it was probably worth melt. I dont even think the coins were slabbed from what ive read.
     
  15. wcoins

    wcoins GEM-ber

    Most coins were slabbed by the four major TPG's.
     
  16. Eng

    Eng Senior Eng

    How many of you leave $12000 worth of coins laying around to be ripped off, i have heard this so many times, how some one came in a took there coin collection.
    I had a young man break into the house, i came home and chased him down, he took what i left out for someone like him. bags of pennies, nickles and dimes, he did get some of my wife's jewelry, we got everything back.
    He didn't even try to get into the safes, Please Lock up your Coins, if Uncle Dave would have had these coin in a safe or safety deposit box there would be no story!!!
     
    flintcreek6412 likes this.
  17. flintcreek6412

    flintcreek6412 Active Member

    How many guys won't think twice about dropping $500-2000 on a coin as this guy obviously did several times yet totally balk at buying a safe or spending $100/yr on a SDB. I had my stuff in a SDB until I came across a 20yr old gun safe built like a tank with solid plate door and thick walls. Happily paid $700. Moving it was another story. If you get a safe, spend a decent amount to protect your stuff. Most of todays $1000 safes are junk but still better than nothing. Just make sure you get one that 2 very determined burglars can't walk away with and pry into later. BOLT it down.

    I've carried PAPs(personal articles policies) on the wife's wedding ring, my guns and some coins for years. Pretty cheap insurance considering it's a no deductible replacement if lost or stolen. Most homeowners policies won't cover even close to the value of coins/guns/jewelry.
     
  18. midas1

    midas1 Exalted Member

    " . . . It's easy to understand. These guys are scumbags. . . "

    They are scumbags. I absolutely do not believe they melted all of those coins.
    What's to stop them from cherry picking the valuable coins then replacing them
    with bullion coins from their stock.
    They've been dealing in rare coins since that shop opened for business.
    They know the value of US Coins.
    I'm amazed the police haven't subpoenaed the staff and made them make statements
    claiming they melted all the coins without checking the value before melting them.
     
  19. Detecto92

    Detecto92 Well-Known Member

    Most safes are only good for fire protection or keeping little Johnny out of something.

    Doesn't matter if the safe has 1/2 thick steel walls, if two people can lift it, then it can be opened on their time.

    Most thieves don't spend over 8 minutes in a house. The longer they are in there, the quicker they can get caught, so they usually take anything of value that is small and not bolted down.

    I've even heard in some extreme cases where the thieves tied a chain and pulled the safe out of the house.

    Sadly most robberies are done by friends or family members. Usually you can tell if the door is busted open, and the stuff is missing, nothing is overturned or thrown a strew.

    That being said I am still surprised the owner of the collection did not invest in a SDB.

    I've heard of so many things being stolen due to lack of a safe or SDB.
     
  20. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I didn't know that...tell us Charmy. And what about lonegunlawyer...anything to say?
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page