'After a legal battle, the dealer was permitted to sell the coin at auction on the condition he split the proceeds with the Mint.'
Hehe... I'm suprised no one pointed that out.
Government: He stole from us!
Seller: No I didn't. These coins are mine.
Gov't: Ok then, sell the coins and give us a cut.
The Mint is acting like a mob racket. Harass and shake down money.
'After a legal battle, the dealer was permitted to sell the coin at auction on the condition he split the proceeds with the Mint.'
This jumped out at me right away, Bogey! Un-freakin'-believable! The Mint gets a cut just because???? No way!
BTW -- what is the government going to do with their windfall??? Reduce the debt??? Doubt it!!!