U.S. Mint Confiscates 10 Rare Gold Coins

Yahoo | AP ^ | 8/25/05

[VRWCmember]

If I'm willing to pay you $1 million for your ounce of gold, then its value is $1 million - and that's neither mythical nor magical...

Don't go introducing economic truth into an emotional argument.

[Skooz]

Yes, it was a theft . . . by this woman's father and some Mint employee in the '30s. And the Mint did get their (our) property back from the thieves who stole it.

Conjecture. No evidence whatsoever that that is the case. The government employees stole this woman's property. Period.

[aQ_code_initiate]

LOL! I'm sure the poor fool didn't ralize what he was doing, but it still should stand as an object lesson in possessing gold. There are, unfortunately, people out there who will obey the government when it uses its self-declared authority to confiscate precious metals:

Turning in their gold.

[newgeezer]

Shouldn't the government have to prove in a court of law that the coins were obtained illegally?

Thus, that post of mine began with a big, bold "if".

Due process of law, comin' right up.

[TigersEye]

Quite frankly if I were to come into possession of one of these coins I would make a quality impression of it and from that make my own stamp. I would then turn in the coin, publically so they would have to destroy it, and take my stamp offshore and start making "authentic reproductions" of the Double Eagle. Sure, it would sell for a lot less but it would still mint you a fortune.

[SittinYonder]

You both definitely have a point that the coins were stolen property and taking it back is what the government does with stolen property. I still think the disparity between King Farouk's (or whoever's) coin and these coins is unfair.

I guess the thing that really kicks me in the gut is that they handed them over to the Mint or announced even that they had them. I wonder, because they couldn't be so ignorant of what these coins represented, if maybe they've got 20 more back at the jewelry store.

[joesnuffy]

all ur stuff r belong to us

[dljordan]

"The value of gold is a myth."

So's the value of the dollar. Would you rather have a $20 bill or a $20 gold piece?

[zeugma]

I would have obtained the services of an attorney first.

They did. Didn't help. FedGov does what it wants to do.

[Polyxene]

'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!!!

[Chode]

Free Republic is FREE to those who don't pay for it... but yet THEY get worth out of it, yes???

[houeto]

[jpl]

The value of gold is a myth.

If that's really true, then why did our government order almost all of it to be confiscated?

[VRing]

"Owning full auto machine guns is illegal. ..."

"someone is sure to point out all you need is a Class III license, residence in a state that permits it, a $500 per gun license, etc. OK, granted."

Actually, you don't need any form of license. All it takes is permission from the local top cop and the payment of a 200 dollar tax.

[tortoise]

Huh? $440 an oz. That's not mythical it's pretty real.

The intrinsic cost of producing an ounce of gold is ~$175 and falling rapidly (new production is around $125 per oz). One could argue that the spot price, which tends to reflect cartel pricing unless the central banks are dumping stock, does not reflect its true and reasonable value.

[nickcarraway]

No problem. If you are offering me $1 million for an ounce of gold, let me know when and where and I will have it...

[zeugma]

Supposedly... but the burden of proof is on the Government here. They've already admitted that they can't prove it.

I think that's the point. THey can't prove that the coins were stolen. There was a three or four day window when they could have been legally purchased. I think that given as much time has passed the burden of proof on FedGov should be fairly high. Problem is, FedGov has lots of guns and has demonstrated time and time again that they are more than willing to use them.

[LexBaird]

Not conjecture. No 1933 gold coins were publically issued. Some were stolen and sold on the black market. This woman's dad admitted to selling some of the stolen coins in 1944. Now more show up, passed down from the admitted fence. Q.E.D.

They are either stolen from the Mint or are counterfeit currency, either of which case deserves confiscation. If the latter, she deserves arrest as well.

[evets]

Switt admitted in 1944 that he had sold nine Double Eagle coins,
but he was not charged in connection with those transactions, according to the Mint.
Fool me once...

[Skooz]

You got me.

It doesn't happen often.

Relish this victory. :0)