Beware of misleading advertising.....

This is something that seems to happen every time that precious metals experience a renewed sense of interest by the general public due to increasing prices in gold and silver.....Shysters trying to take advantage of the uneducated and/or the elderly by making offers to buy or sell that seem to good to be true.

The old adage is too often accurate.....If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.....

I cringe every time I'm flipping through the channels and catch a glimpse of the "coin shows" on QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Too often what they are selling will never have any real numismatic value....it's all hype. And on those rare occasions when they do offer something that has some value the items are hopelessly over-priced.....I end up thinking of that old Kurt Russell movie where he is selling used cars with the bumpers held on with chewing gum.....

Unfortunately the victims of this deceptive selling are often our elderly, who are generally trying to do one of two things.....A. Provide themselves with an added measure of security in their golden years, albeit a small one.....or B. To provide a gift to their loved ones (children/grandchildren etc.) that will grow in value as the years go by.....

The sad truth is that when it comes time to sell these items and they are taken to the local coin dealer he ends up being "the bad guy" because he is the one who has to tell these people that what they purchased is junk.....The REAL culprit is the disingenuous seller.....

I've been involved in coins for 35 years and I can't even begin to count the number of times I've seen this happen.....

Then we have the dishonest buyers.....usually advertising on the internet and on TV.....Telling you how they can make you money on all that old jewelry and loose dental gold you have laying around.....

I went to one of these websites not too long ago just to check it out.....I had to hunt for about 20 minutes to actually get to the page that told me what their buying prices were. On every click before that they were trying very hard to get me to "send for their free mailing kit" without investigating further.....It was easy to see why, since they were offering about 40 cents on the dollar for 24 karat .999 fine gold, and THAT price was only if you had ALOT of it. The buying price for that same gold in small quantities was about 20 cents on the dollar. The prices on silver and platinum were worse, and they had final say as to the quality of what you sent in.

The most disturbing part to me is that you had to REQUEST that any gem stones be returned.....So first they want to steal your gold for 20 cents on the dollar, and then they want to keep your diamonds, sapphires, and rubies as a gift for stealing your gold!

Personally, I know very little about jewelry, but I have an extensive knowledge of U.S. coins and I have a decent library to back me up if I need to do research. So if anyone reading this would like to know if a particular coin has any value send me a note in my comments section or send me an email with a photograph and I will try to give you an idea of what you have. In some instances I can steer you to a REPUTABLE dealer in your area who would give you an honest appraisal of what your coin or coins are worth.

If you are buying....do a little research and find out if you would be paying too much.....and remember caveat emptor.....let the buyer beware.....

If you are selling....always try to get more than one opinion, and NEVER send anything through the mail until you have an idea of what it is worth and are sure you can trust the person you are sending it to.....

And one last tip.....when you take something in to get it appraised.....Tell the person that you want an appraisal for INSURANCE purposes.....this way you will get the most honest answer. Generally the buying price will still be a little lower than the appraisal, but not 20 cents on the dollar like the thief I mentioned above.....

Have a great day!