I assume this has been discussed here before: https://www.laweekly.com/news/rob-f...ncient-coin-dealers-then-he-broke-bad-8234006 Great illustration...
This story proves that one should ONLY acquire rare coins from (a) respected auction sites like CNG/ Roma/ Stack's/ Kunker/ Rauch etc. (b) Respected dealers. Then, it always comes back to the buyer, if it seems too good to be true/ it always turns out bad for the collector out for a steal of a deal. But.....there were times when coins were in auction that seemed 100 percent legit and it turned out they were expert fakes. NFA auction where a mint state Ahenobarbus Aureus fetched 300K and was proven not geniune/ back in 1990. That would be a million today.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-lis...?ie=UTF8&condition=used&qid=1543110142&sr=8-1 Some time ago I posted a recommendation to Bruce McNall's book Fun While it Lasted when it was available used on Amazon for one cent plus postage. Now it is a dollar more but still a fun read for those who like stories of coin dealers gone bad. Thanks for the article on Freeman. Some of us remember the days when ancient coin dealers were expected to be gentlemen of honor. History.
I bought this book a couple of years back on Doug's recommendation. It's absolutely worth a read, especially if you can get it for $5 or so. It's only partially about coins but is a fascinating look into a side of our hobby that many of us never see and I found even the non-coin-related portions of the book a worthwhile read.
Here's the BEAUTIFUL missing $2.2 million dollar head (worth more than my head by a cool $2 mil!) of Verus pops.
Freeman & Sear was a very respected dealer and was among the "respected auction sites" that you list above. That's the sad part of the story. I bought many coins from them and never had a bad experience - but I was not a high-value target.
Very interesting story and shows the potential dark side of coin collecting. Like the article states, people are often forced into behaviors they otherwise wouldn't consider because of financial problems. When you can't pay the mortgage or your kids' private school tuition suddenly then it is easier to get into Bernie Madoff style shenanigans, borrowing from Peter to pay Paul until finally the ponzi scheme is uncovered.
Years ago after a coin show I was out with Rob and a group of other dealers bar hopping in San Francisco. He made a comment something akin to how he wanted to be just like Bruce (McNall). I understood what he meant, he wanted to be the biggest and best dealer in the US and maybe the world. Unfortunately he turned out to me more like Bruce than even he probably anticipated. How he's stayed out of prison so far is a mystery. But his story is a rarity. His target was with collectors and dealers who either had no interest in the coins or did not expect to take possession of them.
In other words, high net worth investors who wouldn't ask any questions and expected 30% APR returns, without regard to possessing the coins themselves?
Essentially, yes, though there were more varied situations. A dealer friend of mine lost money with him and he was on something of a crusade. He collected all the court documents from all the public cases against him at the time and I read them all. Its a fascinating story.
