Silly hypothetical musing

[pendragon1998]

Last night as I was falling asleep, a scenereo popped into my mind:

 

Say there was a rare and valuable coin out there, for example an early 19th century silver dollar, that had only 5 examples in pristine condition. This coin would be highly desirable to wealthy collectors who could afford it. Then imagine one person who goes around and purchases all 5 of these coins, then melts down 4 of them, leaving only one single example of this coin in existence. Now he's got a one of a kind coin, rare to begin with, and which is now completely unique in the world. Would the value of this single coin skyrocket to the point at which it becomes more valuable than the collective five were originally? Only one person in all the world could own it.

 

See what I think about when I'm falling asleep? Weird, huh?

[MunkyMan95]

I think about stuff like this all the time before I go to sleep!

[chinook]

I think about Shania Twain and Faith Hill. And I dont even listen to country music.

 

In answer to your question--I dont know.

[mhardin2413]

you are thinking hard enough. buy all five and tell everyone that you've melted teh other four. wait ten years, sell the first for more than the original five. then wait a few more years and release the second through an auction house as if you are someone else who discovered another one. a few more years, release a third. you then still have one for your collection and one to carry around in your pocket as your very very lucky charm.

[relicsncoins]

Someone who can afford to buy all 5 of said early 19th century coins, probably wouldn't be too concerned about making a few extra million off of the lone remaining survivor. Example: They pay 6 million a piece for the coins....Initial investment of 30 million. They then destroy 4 of them ( I shudder to even think of this) I can't imagine the lone survivor would bring much more that 15 to 20 % over the combined total of the 5. Heck, they could just invest in a lucrative stock and get that return.

 

JJ

[physics-fan3.14]

There was a Duck Tales cartoon about this once. Scrooge McDuck bought all the examples of a certain coin (some fictional duck coin) and then hoarded them. When he tried to sell one, they were so rare and expensive that he was the only one who could afford it. So, his plan backfired.

[MunkyMan95]