1886-Sydney Early Head GOLD Victoria SOVEREIGN--A GEM 

OFFERED NEAR ITS GOLD CONTENT--1886 Sydney, Australia mint EARLY HEAD  Queen Victoria GOLD SOVEREIGN A WELL STRUCK LUSTROUS OLD GOLD COIN --   buy it now   -- THANK YOU  RALPH FOSTER -- 2189 BANCROFT WAY - BERKELEY CA 94704 --INSURANCE INCLUDED.
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BY FAR ONE OF BEST GOLD BUYS IN THE WORLD--A SCARCE [AND SELDOM OFFERED]  COLLECTORS COIN OFFERED NEAR ITS GOLD CONTENT!!

My new book, Fiat Paper Money-The History and Evolution of our Currency©, [also available on e-bay auctions] documents the evolution of paper currency since the first national notes of 1024 A.D.   Perhaps the most important discovery from our research is how gold and silver coins have proven a consistent and reliable way to circumvent the inevitable collapse of fiat paper notes and the personal devastation that accompanies their loss of value.   The value of gold and silver coins endures-they have always provided.    Conversely all fiat monetary units eventually and always become totally worthless.   The same goes for anything that depends on fiat units for its value, whether stocks, bonds, derivatives, annuities, any paper or electronic obligations.©    In the spirit of George Washington himself over 200 years ago, be careful not to trade something that is tangible for something that is intangible [SEE CHAPTER SEVEN].   RALPH FOSTER

Your book, Fiat Paper Money, The History and Evolution of Our Currency© will save lives. 

JODY MARIANI 

FORMER SENIOR MANAGING

DIRECTOR OF BEAR STEARNS

 

 

 

 

BEWARE OF THE SLABBED COIN

 

Each year, millions of coins are submitted to companies that provide opinions as to their grade.  They grade and encapsulate them in hard plastic holders—(slabs).  The buying and selling of encapsulated coins has itself become a lucrative market.  In recent months it has come to light that collector coins are increasingly being widely counterfeited and the slabs themselves are being mass-counterfeited.  And when a coin is in a slab, there is no way to touch it and tell for oneself that it is the genuine article—one must rely on the reputation of the grading service and hope that the slab itself is not a counterfeit.  What does it mean to touch a coin?

Sixty-one years ago, when I was just 8 years old, I was buying and sorting through rolls of coins from the local banks.  Countless thousands of cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, and other coins have trickled through my fingers.  Over the years I built up a substantial inventory and eventually started my own business.  The physical handling of each coin reveals a wealth of information.  I learned about the "feel" of a coin.  Today, nearly all the coin books warn us not to handle coins—they might get soiled, fingerprinted, or worse, dropped on a hard surface and damaged!  Instead we have developed all manner of holders, inert plastic sleeves, and hard plastic shells to contain our coins.  With each step, we have further removed ourselves from the most critical aspects of those coins—how they feel in our hands, weigh, sound, and glimmer in varying degrees of light.  Today I am an eBay Power Seller, [ralpht.foster] and have a solid five-figure volume each month.  Yet most of my coins are still sold near the melt value of their metallic content. 

I question the almost universal obsession with these holders.  Whenever I encounter a coin encapsulated in plastic—regardless of who put it there—I have to wonder as to its authenticity.  In my experience I have seen many long-time dealers fooled and defrauded by some of the latest slabbed counterfeits—in holders bearing the names of established reputable grading companies.  A true coin will always ring true—long after slabs, grading services and eBay itself have passed into history.©  The March 29^th 2010 Coin World posted an article indicating that the New York State Senate is considering a consumer protection bill where coins, including certified "slabbed" coins can be opened and removed from their packaging to established authenticity.  In December, 2010 even I was contacted by a United States Secret Service Agent, as even I had become a victim of a counterfeiter.

 

 

 

Ralph T. Foster