Pasco County, Florida Oppressive Coin Legislation

[Syngraphic]

Pasco County, Florida has passed a more restrictive Second Hand Dealer

law, which includes having to hold all coin purchases 30 days, along

with impossible reporting requirements. Requirements that include

taking digital pictures of every item, describe every item, and then

electronically filing all the information within 24 hours to local law

enforcement or you will be guilty of buying stolen goods. Definition

of Coin Dealer "means any person or entity who engages in the purchase,

collecting or trading in coins or other forms of minted legal tender".

As this is written this also includes collectors as well as dealers,

and also includes other personal property previously owned or used,

and will most likely close down every Coin Dealer, Coin Show, Antique

Dealer, Antique Show, Flea Market, Auction House, and Swap Shop in

Pasco County, Florida if this law is not overturned. There has also

been similiar oppressive legislation passed in Sarasota County, FL.

[Oldtrader3]

Sounds as though you got an ex-ATF, federal beaucrat attorney as County Attorney. This sounds like an issue for the Chamber of Commerce as a political pressure point and somebody needs to sue the County to stop them.

 

This is pretty onerous and misguided.

[RWB]

Sounds like a business development plan for the other counties.

[leeg]

What do you feel has brought this about?

 

Have their been many robberies in the area pertaining to coins?

 

I can see some merit in this but one has to consider a Business Owners point of view.

 

Any county meetings held around this before passing it so concerned citizens could have voiced an opinion?

[Syngraphic]

We have been told that a large pawn company in Florida is pushing for more

oppressive legislation to force coin dealers out of business. Then folks can

take their numismatic items to pawn shops and get 5% of the value for them.

[mtnstyne]

there is always the civil disobenience aspect of things to make a point. I say buy 50 lbs of wheat pennies and take large pictures of them all and upload so much that it shuts down their servers. Get everyone you can find that is into numismatics to try to "comply" with the law.

 

Just out of curiosity how are you supposed to "file" the digital records?

 

Also, I think a lawyer could have a field day about being "guilty of buying stolen goods" if they weren't actually stolen. It's a BS law I agree.

 

Related Story in Tampa Tribune

[Crohnos01]

Wow... that is terrible... someone should tell them "coins don't kill people, people kill people"... oh wait... I got confused... it certainly sounds like ATF restrictive type language.... Maybe it will become ATFC? Alchohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Coins?

[Oldtrader3]

Ever since the Patriot Act was passed, law enforcement agencies have been overstepping their charters into areas that overload small businesses with bureaucracy that is only marginally effective (they solved one crime with it) and now it is law.

 

When you consider that local law enforcement will not even issue a private citizen a case number for cases of private, common fraud or ID theft, let alone investigate it. I guess as long as they can get others (small businesses) to do their work for them instead of doing anything themselves, they are all for it!

 

This is a bad law when bullion dealers already have to conform to federal statutes on reporting most larger transactions to the IRS. Where does this end?

[Kamillion]

good thing i dont live in florida

 

although the taxes are low there

[Raisethis2]

Florida is as backwards thinking a state as any. This nonsense should surprise nobody.

 

Go to the City Council Meeting and raise hell.

[coinman_23885]

good thing i dont live in florida

 

although the taxes are low there

 

It's not all of Florida; only one particular municipality within the State of Florida. There are a large number of short sighted or unintelligent (you pick your choice of word) people in every jurisdiction.

[thebeav]

That's such a misguided joke.....

There is no way law enforcement can possibly keep up with tracking every transaction of every dealer in the county. The police barely have the manpower to do their normal jobs, let alone sift through thousands of pages of coin transactions.

Laws like this do nothing except make the dealers lives difficult.

 

Paul