Interesting article - not really sure what to make of it. Too much gold and silver mentioned for my tastes. Not sure why that bugged me so much.
I agree with Mark, too much about gold and not the Coin Shop. Nothing about the struggling average person who walks in and sells their inheritance to make ends meet. That's where the coins come from that coin shops sell. That article would have been well placed in the Wall Street Times but not the newspaper I read. Ribbit Ps: That's why it bugged you Mark.
Interesting article. I never pictured us coin collectors as revolutionary pioneers in "privatized secession" or thought we'd be the survivors after some great economical calamity. It kind of puts a bit of a romantic spin on what outsiders find a dull and unfulfilling hobby. Guy~
Here's an amusing quote : "The value of the coins amounts to far more than their marked value. Even dimes before a certain date sell for ten and fifteen times the face value. " Whoa ! Imagine paying $1.50 for a 1796 dime ! I'm sure he was talking about pre-1964 bullion value, but I couldn't resist poking fun. Yes, it's an interesting article, but not one to be taken seriously. Consider this quote : "And here we have the short history of how money came to be destroyed and how the modern world came to host the ghastly leviathans that dominate the world. Here is the basis of destructive and unnecessary wars that last and last, the character-shredding welfare state, and the swarms of bureaucrats who run our lives in every respect. It all comes down to the way money was destroyed." I suppose there are some who believe that; I am certainly not in that number. Some can be convinced the world is flat, or America never went to the moon. Whatevah.
I can see this article flew right over your head. IMO, that's a very poor comparison in this instance. The money was destroyed. If you don't believe it and you're so confident about it, go down to the coin shop today, whip out a $20 bill and try to buy a $20 double eagle. Once you're laughed out of the shop, maybe you'll read the story again.
I understand 900's point but I guess you didn't, Vess? The quote was: "It all comes down to the way money was destroyed." How does the way money is destoryed affect our market price? If it is melted into bullion or burns up in a fire, what's the difference to our market? Now how it's lost, can affect our market. A coin found in the ground is just another coin but one found on a famous shipwreck, can have more than a numismatic value to it but I don't recall hearing anything about that in that article but that was a lame article written in a Wall Street fashion, so what would Wall Street know about coin collecting? Ribbit
Wow, I didn't think you had to read into it that much to realize that when they're talking about money being 'destroyed' that it was a relative term. It's talking about the economic policy and changes that have destroyed it. Not melting coins.
But that was my point exactly! That article wasn't about a Coin Shop, it was about Wall Street and the likes. I don't go to Flea Markets to buy what I can get at Wal Mart and I don't go to the local Coin Shop to talk religion or politics, so that article had very little to do with a Coin Shop and more to do with world politics and thus, not my cup of pee. Ribbit
"Wow, I didn't think you had to read into it that much to realize that when they're talking about money being 'destroyed' that it was a relative term." To expand on that a bit, I believe what the author is emphasizing is that our current currency is really an IOU from our government, but has no significant tangible value. The same is true for paper money. Much of it used to be backed by gold or silver, but not any more. All you have is the promise of the Government that our money has any value (with the exception of the silver, gold, and platinum bullion and/or collector coins).
From a World Economics standpoint, that article managed nicely to incorporate a Coin Shop into that subject but like I said, it wasn't about a Coin Shop. The title lured me in to read about a Coin Shop and I thought I was going to be tasting sweet creamy honey but it was lemonade instead. Ever jump into the lake expecting the water to be warm and it isn't? The only thing worse is to jump into a lake expecting it to be cold and it's warm instead, cause I was there before you! Ribbit
