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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2283145, member: 112&quot;]There was more than 1 fund, if memory serves Merrill Lynch started it off and other brokerage houses followed their lead. How this came about was a direct result of the inception of the TPGs, PCGS in particular. PCGS was founded in &#039;86, and a large part of their initial advertising campaign was based on claims the company made that coins could now be considered investments, purely because of what PCGS was doing - grading and slabbing the coins. </p><p><br /></p><p>To understand how and why this worked you&#039;d have to know and understand the previous history of the coin market. But to save me from writing a book here let&#039;s just acknowledge that it did happen. There had never been anything like PCGS before, and then the following year NGC came along, founded by the same people that started PCGS. Suddenly you had coins graded by those who were supposed to know how, backed up by a guarantee, and sealed in plastic holders that were touted to be tamper proof. The result, everybody felt better, more secure, about buying coins. And since the TPGs were using the word &quot;investment&quot; in their advertising, well, Wall St. decided they could, and should, jump on the bandwagon. And jump they did. And when they did the coin market rocketed upwards, as seen in that graph above. </p><p><br /></p><p>Problem was, it didn&#039;t stay there. It fell just as fast, maybe even faster, than it went up. People lost millions. And when people lose millions the same that always happens - happened. Somebody had to be blamed. PCGS and Wall St. were the culprits, suits were filed, initiated by the FTC in 1990. The Wall St. boys quickly closed down their funds and threw &#039;em on the scrap heap. PCGS agreed to settle, agreeing to never again use the word &quot;investment&quot; in their advertising. They further agreed to include statements in its newspaper and television advertising affirming that <i>&#039;&#039;the rare coin market is a highly speculative, unregulated market and certification by P.C.G.S. does not guarantee protection against the normal</i></p><p><i>risks associated with volatile markets.&#039;&#039;</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p>As a result of all this the coin market fell to levels even lower than it was before the TPGs came on the scene. And now, today, 25 years later it is still 64% lower than its peak. All of those people who bought coins back then are still losing money.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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