I have my doubts.

I have to wonder about how great a dealer you had who is unable to sell a coin which:

1. Starts out as a MAXIMUM MINTAGE of 20,000 (Ok, let's be generous and say 40,000 -- 20,000 each Mint State and Proof).

2. Is graded by PCGS as MS69 (forgive me if you said yours was Proof 69). In "the trade," coins graded by either PCGS or NGC are considered easily moved commodities.

3. And which is .9999 Fine gold - and a full HALF OUNCE OF GOLD at that!

4. Not to mention that gold has been surging beyond $925 per ounce. Ok, some people take profits and it drops below $900, then it's back up again.

6. Previous issues of the First Spouse coins are listed in the PCGS price guide at a fair mark-up, in 69 grade.

http://www.pcgs.com/prices/PriceGuideDetail.aspx?c=1647

Granted, buyers really seem to want the MS70 and the PF70 coins for some reason, despite the limited quantity AND the bullion value. This part perplexes me. I can see why perfection is desirable, when when fair prices can be had at the 69 grade, to get half an ounce of .9999 of PURE GOLD, why the heck not?

7. It would strike me that this dealer, if he says he cannot SELL these coins, just doesn't have the right clients, doesn't know how to market, or just has a very LIMITED client base. If you check eBay, these coins ARE selling. As I mentioned, the 70 grade coins move faster and are commanding substantially higher prices, but they are selling.

8. In fairness, dealers do not generally buy collectible (even BULLION) coins at spot metal prices, nor at "book value" because they must allow themselves mark-up, for their profit, which is why so many people take to selling items themselves, on "the bay." Let's face it, they want to allow themselves a SUBSTANTIAL mark-up.

I'm not a dealer, but a 20% markup is probably not uncommon, I mean if he was to acquire it, then sell it on eBay, taking into account their new fees, re-sale, fluctuating gold price, and so forth, he'd probably need that cushion to make a modest profit in case the bidding isn't significant enough. Dealers could probably offer more insight here.

In my mind though, it's sort of like trading in your car with a dealer, or selling it yourself: Which way generally gets you more cash? If a car dealer SAYS they are giving you more, who actually believes that the price of the car you're buying is not then marked up to account for that? I think a page from the same playbook applies.

Just my opinion.