I would like to share a little information. Private mints and the coins they produce. You all have seen the ads in the Sunday papers, and even in some of our hobbies magazines. (Please note the following paragraph is made using some of their words) These wonderful recreations of famous coins, or what could have been. These coins are marketed wonderfully, with "fantastic" opportunities. They give us wonderful advanced prices. These 100 mil silver or gold plated coins. Now look at what exactly they are offering. 100 mil of any metal equals 100 millions of an inch. The contents of the coin is base metal clad. Certificates of authenticity? Authentic reproduction? Makes sense to me Pre-sale price? Well hopefully you members are falling for this one. Most of these private mints have very official sounding names that include the word "mint" in their name. They are not, and will not be associated with the United States Mint. They do offer that tidbit of info in the fine print. I guess it is a good thing that we coin people own a magnifying glass. Lastly, most of these privately minted coins or medals or tokens or fakes, or whatever you choose to call them will really have very little or no numimatic value. You are paying for the packaging and advertising. Be careful out there.
Thanks ND. Informative post for all of us. I have seen the TV ad for the 1933 gold eagle repleca. The one that was moved from the World Trade Center just before the terrorists attack. They advertise the pre-issue price of $19.95. That price is the give-a-way that it is junk. Thanks again, Jim
