GoldFinger1969

Where IS the Isle of Man ? Also, is there an Isle of Woman ?

While you're on the call with the SS, ask him if the SS, Treasury, or Mint still adhere to the opinion of that Treasury official in the 1960's who said that seizure of all the patterns, Liberty Nickles, and other accidental releases (those not "officially" released) etc....was LEGAL. I forgot his name but can look it up.

Compared to the frauds out there, the accidental release of some Sacagawea Coins (how many ?) doesn't strike me as the kind of thing that will bring down the coin collecting hobby. This "coin" is a mistrike.....a double-strike of the Sacagawea Dollar and Lincoln Penny, is that right ?

Are you talking about crack-outs ? At times it's legitimate, at other times it's a game. Re-submitting a coin a dozen times in hopes of getting a higher grade at a price inflection point is unseemly, IMO. But it's not against the law. You just hope that the situation mentioned in that infamous Franklin Half Thread and others like it are the exception and not the norm.

And so in the last few weeks we have a couple of investment firms buying Collectors Universe (CLCT) for 5-times the price a year ago (probably for the collectibles business) and this BARRON'S piece on investing in artworks: https://www.barrons.com/articles/investing-in-art-looks-profitable-on-paperbut-looks-can-be-deceiving-51605914355

You wrote a bit eerily about what was going on and the end it with the "value" of CLCT -- could you perhaps gives us a bit more color here in this thread ? Thanks....

Yup...and the allegations against Martoma were very questionable. I forgot the details, but it wasn't a slam-dunk case. Never forget that the SEC wanted to send Ray Dirks -- of Dirks vs. SEC (1982) -- to go to jail for "insider trading." He exposed a fraud....was a hero...was thanked by the SEC and Feds....and then told to pack his suitcase, he was going to jail for 15-20 years. Only a 6-3 SCOTUS decision that controls to this day saved him. Got to sit next to Ray years ago at an analyst dinner -- nice guy.

He never faced a permanent ban, the sanctions applied only to SAC Capital. Insider trading violations are VERY tough to prove. I suspect that was why the fine was so high -- though it was higher than I ever thought it would be (Drexel Burnham Lambert, an entire company, got fined only $600 MM). The SEC often has an expansive view of "insider trading" and they often get shot down by the courts, including the SCOTUS.

This probably means that they'll have the biggest best FUN in 2022. I know myself even if the virus had disappeared I wasn't sure about going and if I did, wouldn't have much to spend. Hopefully a year from now I'll have some serious $$$ saved.

OK that's plausible....but we would never send working dies or currency plates for U.S. coins or currency overseas...I think that is what Insider was implying. Blanks, I understand....but not from-the-Mint official U.S. dies/plates.

No you didn't....Insider asked the question and you responded but I don't know why he even asked it and you weren't even more dismissive. I think that is what was confusing -- you seemed to think the question was plausible but no evidence had been found. The United States Mint/Treasury should not be sending dies to ANYBODY, IMO. If they ever did, wow. Like sending currency plates which would allow a foreign power to counterfeit.

Gold tones much much less than silver.

Yeah, I think Roger must have mis-typed.....sending them $20 DE dies would be like sending them plates for $20 or $50 or $100 bills. Ridiculous. Wouldn't send those to ANYBODY even our friends in the UK, let alone the USSR. Maybe he meant blank dies.

Why would closely-guarded and protected $20 dies -- any dies -- be sent to Russia to strike ANYTHING I would think they would be destroyed if not stored in locked vaults for historical reasons.

For general coin looking, I use one of those green-shade banker lamps with an LED light (no heat).

WHO can go to hell, AFAIC. They lied and are in the tank for the CCP.

Fair point.....I'm a quality over quantity guy so for me having the protection is important. I guess if I had thousands of coins and many were low-value I might not need them on a few dozen or few hundred or maybe even few thousand coins if I didn't care about condition, preservation, etc.

Yeah, I don't think you need AI for modern grading....maybe for more complex, die and other varieties on older classics....all you need is a 4K or HD-quality scanner/camera, lasers, and software. They've been using this stuff to look for tumours in healthcare or even to look for asteroids/planets in astrophotography CCDs for years.

Much of the descriptive information I see is so basic as to be useless....the exceptions are the borrowed material from Akers' book and yours. The detailed Saints info on high-end coins at HA comes from your book and is outstanding.

The LB Show is put on/sponsored by PCGS/CU ? Didn't know that.

I don't understand how anybody can want unslabbed coins or unprotected currency. Not only do you know have a professional estimate for the underlying grade, the coin or bill is not in a position to be properly handled and stored. Do overseas people -- and some Americans -- really want to finger-up their coins...have friends touching them....risk damage to their coins/bills ? Even if there weren't grades attached, I value the slabs and currency plastic holders.

Let's stick to the CU deal and implications for the hobby, guys..........

Possible, but again, that doesn't move the needle on a purchase like this after the stock is up 3-fold from a year ago and 5-fold from the March lows. Unless the private equity guys see something to move top-line revenue growth substantially, not sure where they see the opportunity to earn a decent ROIC.

Any comments on the popularity of $2.50, $3, $5, and $10 gold coins ? I know $20 DEs were tough to justify handling on a daily basis.

D1 and Steve Cohen see something the rest of us haven't. I'm not sure if it's global expansion or the stay-at-home thing. Clearly, they must see top-line growth somewhere because this isn't a cost-cutting thing you can make money on, not when the stock price is up 3-fold from a year ago and 5x from the March lows.