Coin collector rant

channel surfing and HSN had Coin Collector on the air. I would never buy anything since it would just get in the way of little old ladies buying things for family and depleting their savings. I enjoy looking at coins and know the stuff is over priced. It angers me when the host just lies. Twice he referred to the proof gold eagle as a solid gold coin and not to confuse it with the mint state eagle. This would suggest one is solid and one is not. I also question the use of "solid" in that it doesn't differentiate between the purity. You say solid and I think .999

 

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I just think "below 2000 degrees".

 

Every time I see you I think of this.......



Dat said, don't sweat the small stuff. That guy is a jerk and we can't hope to save all of these uneducated folks who don't due their due diligence before pulling the trigger on purchasing something.........

 

Didn't you know that MM is a liar? You can tell because he opens his mouth.

Chris

 

Until someone like the Federal Trade Commission takes a interest in MM, absolutely nothing will be done.

 

Is MM the host? My husband put the show on to see how long before I noticed and saw the plastic looking man hawking 5 FULL OUNCES of silver WITH NUMISMATIC VALUE (aka ATB pucks that could be had on APMEX about 40% lower price). I was wondering who that was. Gave me the slimey-feels. What does MM stand for?

 

Mike Mezak. He's been selling overpriced coins on TV for years.

 

His terminology is that solid gold/silver means not layered or plated such as Morgan dollars are solid silver (90%) and pure silver is like ASEs (.999), same with gold. Yes he does twist the terminology to benefit his cause. But if it wasn't M.M., HSN. would have someone else doing the same. If only there were some way to inform the public of the overpriced offerings from HSN, and other overpriced tv shopping shows. But I bet some would still purchase from them anyway. It really saddens me to know that so many uninformed people are still paying almost double the price that they could Obtain the same coins for. And when they go to sell. The "heirlooms", they find out the true value, and their hearts are broken. JMHO.

 

When the buyers go to sell those coins is when the permanent damage is done to the hobby. Mezak and HSN just don't care as long as the phones are ringing.

 

He is laughing all the way to the bank

 

Hey guys. I am guilty of something that I hate to be guilty of: consistently ranting about a subject and not trying to do something about it.

I am giving myself a project this week.

I plan to write a letter to the American Numismatic Association, of which I and many of you guys and gals are members, suggesting that the ANA put out an education campaign about overpriced coins on television.

Another letter will go to the Federal Trade Commission, suggesting that agency investigate the sale of overpriced coins on TV as a consumer fraud.

Will it do any good? Likely not.

Will it make me feel better? Probably not.

But I've decided that if I don't try, perhaps I should never mention the topic again.

I'm going to reserve my right to criticize, I guess you could say.

 

I commend you, and your intentions. If more would join you in your campaign to help, maybe, MAYBE, something could be done about this fraudulent practice. Kudos to you, and good luck with your endeavor.

 

As I see it from 10,000 feet; the winner's of the coin show's antics are both the shows and the MINT! They are producing millions of ASEs to be sold way over price to under educated numismatists, as well as, Bullion pieces not worth their weight in precious metal.

 

First, there is no law against overcharging for any product. Does it constitute misrepresentation? No, because how do you define what is or isn't collectable?

What would be better would be to run a show on TV of HSN or Coin Vault alumni (suckers) who could tell of their losses when selling the items that were sold to them by the hucksters.

Even that would probably be useless because there is a sucker born every minute.

Chris

 

I think it would be great to at least have a few commercials played during the show stating that Chris. Would take some deep pockets and some pull with the network.
But would be awesome.

 

Maybe so, Chris. I am the first to admit that I am likely jousting with a windmill. But it won't take much time to try.

 

The network airing the coin shows would never let you air your own "special" because they make a lot more money off these regularly-aired programs.

Chris

 

HSN is not alone in airing made to sell offerings. What about Rick Tamaska?, Coin Vault, and Don Davis to name a few! They all claim to sell "RARE and VALUABLE" coins; all way above the going rate. Why, they always claim they use a national periodical for comparison pricing.

 

I won't be aiming my letters at one particular seller. There is a cottage industry in TV selling.

 

Hmmmm, so does the HSN meet the strict Minnesota guidelines for bullion dealers? Anyone here a resident of Minnesota and want to send THAT inquiry?

It was pretty appalling to watch.

Funny though, he kept throwing out the 'numismatic value' after the plastic lady kept saying 'it's a coin'. She finally came back with 'numismatic is another way of saying it's a coin'. Shot him down while sounding like the proper simpering sycophant.

Then moved on to the Star Trek Aurum notes and going on and on about the gold inside, while failing to mention it was 1/10 of a gram (or possibly 1/4, they make that size too). Suddenly numismatic value wasn't as important.

Changed the channel after that. Felt like I needed a shower.