What I Should Have Done Differently in This Coin Telemarketing Scam

 What I Should Have Done Differently in This Coin Telemarketing Scam

In 1985, I was surprised when a man whose name I will never forget called my office and introduced himself as Gordon Carl. At first, I was most taken aback by the polished Mr. Carl's strong New York accent, which sounded like something out of a mafia film. He called me to offer me a "great deal" on some rare coins. After our discussion, I consented to buy five 1943 Walking Liberty half dollars that Mr. Carl said were MS-65 examples. I also had his word that his company would buy my coins back whenever I wanted, for 5% less than the "Grey Sheet" offer price. Since I am a single "yuppie" (a term that isn't used very often anymore), I determined that I could afford to pay the $1375 needed to buy it. I trusted Mr. Carl and sent a check the next day because, more than anything else, my avarice made me a fool.

The name of Mr. Carl's business changed later that year, 1985. I didn't see this as a caution light and instead searched for opportunities to increase my coin holdings. I made an effort to become friendly with Mr. Carl and his associates as I am an outgoing type of guy. What has annoyed me the most, even after all this time has passed, is the thought that this con artist must have grinned every time he heard my voice; I was such a naive and easy target.

I contacted Mr. Carl in 1989 because I had finally resolved to pay in my coins. The fact that the business was using a different name is hardly surprising. I spoke with Mr. Carl's brother, Maurice, whom I had never spoken to before because I couldn't reach Mr. Carl. Following the terms of the buy-back program, I let him know that I would like to sell my Walking Liberty half dollars. I was repulsed by his icy rejection, which he justified by saying his company had no ties to the previous businesses and was therefore under no obligation. He even went so far as to suggest he was unfamiliar with these companies, even though his brother Gordon played a significant role in them. My vision became clear at that instant: I had been conned! Because I was at a loss for what to do next, I courteously ended the call and hung up. I stared at the phone in astonished astonishment for what felt like an age.

I started the process of sending my 1943 Walkers to an independent grading firm a few days later when I took them to a neighborhood coin dealer. Even if they came back with a grade of MS-60 or MS-63, I could start cutting my losses at that point—I certainly didn't anticipate them finishing as MS-65. Upon careful examination under magnification, the dealer concluded that the coins had suffered damage as a result of inadequate cleaning. The value of the coins would have been outweighed by the expense of professional grading, he said, so I should pass. I swore I would never let this happen again and stashed the poisoned Walkers in storage because I had few other choices.

Now let's jump ahead to the present. It was with some hesitation that I turned on the computer and started playing the game "What If?" as I usually avoid making myself angry. Put another way, in 1985, I could have bought Walking Liberty half dollars from a respectable dealer for $1375. If I had been more astute in the past, what kind of gains in value would I be reaping now? In order to get the answer to this issue, I went back to the Walking Liberty half dollar historical value trend tables that I had investigated in late 2005. I took note of the 1985 values of each date, mintmark, and condition, and then I put them side by side with their 2005 matching numbers to show you the difference. Approximately four hundred and fifty such comparisons were made. After that, I ranked the data pairs according to their annual compounded percentage return rates. I proceeded to compile a list of the top 20 for further analysis:

Date...........Condition..........Price..........2005 Price.......... The ROR for the year

1917-D Obv….MS-65……….…..$3000……………..$27500………….…..11.13% 1921-S………...F-12……….…....$30.00……..…….…..$250………….…..10.62% 1919-D…….…..MS-65………...$15000……….....$115000……….…....10.19% 1917-S Obv….MS-65…………...$5250……….…....$35000………………..9.45% 1918-S………...MS-65…………...$3000………..…...$17500………………..8.76% 1916-S…….…..VG-8………..…..$30.00………….……..$150…………….…..7.97% 1917-S Rev…. MS-65……….…..$3500……………..$17500………………..7.97% 1921-S…….…..VF-20………….…..$200…………..…..$1000…………..…..7.97% 1921-S…….…..XF-40…………....$1000…………..…..$5000………….…..7.97% 1921-S…….…..MS-65……..…..$22500…………..$110000…………..…..7.85% 1918-D…….…..F-12………………..$8.50……………..$40.00…………..…..7.65% 1918-D…….…..MS-65…………...$5500…………....$25000…………..…..7.48% 1921-S………...VG-8…………....$17.50………….…..$75.00…………..…..7.18% 1921-D…….…..MS-65……….…..$6500………..…..$27500…………..…..7.11% 1916-D…….…..VG-8………..…..$12.50……………...$50.00…………..…..6.82% 1938-D…….…..F-12……………..$25.00………………....$100…………..…..6.82% 1938-D The VG-8 is priced at $20.00, $80.00, 6.82% 1920-S $3,750, $15,000, 6.82%
The 1917-D The following is the price breakdown for the 1938-D model: $45.00, $175, 6.68% $36.50, $125, and 6.62% are the values of VF-20.

In MS-65 condition, the 1917-D (MM on Obverse) Walker has the best return since 1985. The three thousand dollars it cost was out of my price range for numismatics in 1985, as were all nine of the MS-65 coins that made it into the top twenty. But the other nineteen coins in the top twenty were all in circulating condition and were within my budget. A real example of each of these coins would have cost me $1421 if I had spent my hard-earned money on them instead of what I gave Mr. Carl. The current market value of those identical Walking Liberty halves exceeds $7,000. For all intents and purposes, this growth amounts to a compounded return rate of almost 8.00% per annum. I wish I had known back then...

Note that the Walking Liberty half dollar series recognizes all eleven Walkers that I regret not adding to my collection in 1985 as significant or semi-key dates. It appears that the constant demand from collectors is the driving force behind the ever-increasing prices of these coins, given that they are for well-circulated examples, which are usually not the focus of enthusiasm among promoters and speculators. Similar patterns are likely to be observed going forward. The top 20 would likely be very similar to the top 20 in 2005 if I were to repeat this study in 2025 and compare retail values then to what they were in 2005.

How did the 1943 Walking Liberty half dollars that Mr. Carl managed to convince me to purchase end up in circulation? I have them stashed away in a safe deposit box somewhere. Over the past ten years, I have hardly given them a second glance. Just as I was about to finish this piece, another thought crossed my mind: how would my investment have fared if these had been authentic MS-65 specimens? I began to thumb through the list using the same set of data that was used to produce the Top 20 up there. descending further and further. On page 419, I did manage to locate the 1943 in MS-65 condition. This coin has had a pitiful yearly return of -2.13% since 1985. The percentage is 2.13% negative. I should have known better than to invest in it, even if Mr. Carl had been an upright businessman.

Two things can be gleaned from this: (1) Only deal with trustworthy individuals if you want your coins' value to skyrocket in the future, and (2) only buy coins that have a history of steady price increases, such as those from a series' key or semi-key dates.

Then what became of the sleazy Mr. Carl and his gang of criminals? Well, it's possible that justice does exist in this world. Around the time I realized I was a victim in late 1989, the US Postal Inspection Service launched an undercover sting operation against the company. My losses were little in comparison to the sums swindled from other customers, but apparently I wasn't the only one. After receiving a complaint about the alleged fraudulent sale of coins through the mail, postal agents executed a federal search warrant in February 1991 and stormed the "boiler room" establishment. Handcuffs were slung around as Mr. Carl and others were taken into custody.

In order to strengthen their case against the defendants, postal officials publicly requested that anyone having complaints against the corporation get in touch with them. My thorough record-keeping made it easy for me to compile incriminating evidence, which I then sent to the Inspector's office, all of which was bound together by my personal account. I don't know the specifics of the case's outcome, but it appears these dishonest telemarketers probably got what was coming to them. For my part, I may take some solace in the fact that I was able to contribute to their downfall by revealing crucial facts. Currently, all I need is a solution for the tainted Walkers from 1943.

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