U.S. Mint’s response to members of Congress lacks commitment

Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Mint David Motl’s November 17 response to an October 27 letter from U.S. Representatives Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Alex Mooney (R-WV) requesting information regarding the Mint’s efforts to combat the rising tide of counterfeit coins entering the United States lacks commitment.

“While the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (ACTF) appreciates Acting Deputy Director Motl’s acknowledgement that counterfeiting represents a serious threat to the nation’s coinage, we are nevertheless disheartened that the U.S. Mint’s efforts on the anti-counterfeiting front do not reflect a serious commitment to act against this threat,” said Beth Deisher, Industry Council for Tangible Assets’ Director of Anti-Counterfeiting who also coordinates the ACTF.

In his letter to congressmen Lucas and Mooney, Motl points to the Mint’s Second Annual Numismatic Forum, held on October 17 to discuss marketplace issues with 68 industry leaders. In fact, this forum would have been an excellent venue for U.S. Mint officials to describe the U.S. Mint’s anti-counterfeiting efforts, but the subject was never raised.

ACTF’s concern is that Mint leaders did not raise the subject because the U.S. Mint is doing little to address the surge of counterfeit U.S. coins now entering the United States. The Mint has long held the position that protecting the nation’s coinage from counterfeiters is the responsibility of the U.S. Secret Service; thus, it has remained inactive when it comes to developing and employing modern anti-counterfeiting technology to protect the coins it manufactures.

On November 9, 2017, eight days prior to Motl writing his letter to Reps. Lucas and Mooney, ACTF representatives met with the acting deputy director and other senior staff at U.S. Mint headquarters. In that meeting, ACTF described three important steps the U.S. Mint has the authority and the financial resources to use today to fight the counterfeiters:

  • Respond to the long-standing request from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to register U.S. Mint products with CBP to allow it to identify and interdict counterfeits as they enter the country. To-date, the U.S. Mint has not done so.

ACTF News Release, Page 2

  • Incorporate (as other sovereign mints have done) state-of-the-art anti-counterfeiting features into the packaging and certificates of authenticity that accompany its numismatic products.
  • Launch a research and development program to determine the most effective anti-counterfeiting features to incorporate into its precious metals coins. Other sovereign mints are far ahead of the U. S. Mint in exploring these options and incorporating them into their coinage. As soon as practicable the U.S. Mint should draw upon other national mints’ experience and tap private-sector expertise in order to identify and implement the best anti-counterfeiting technology.



In his letter, Motl states that “in the past two years, we have not received any complaints about current-issue gold, platinum, or silver coins.” In fact, in the November 9 meeting with Mr. Motl, ACTF representatives informed him and other Mint staff of evidence of counterfeiters producing fake American Eagle, American Buffalo, and U.S. commemorative coins, all of which are composed of precious metals.

David Ryder, who awaits U.S. Senate confirmation as the next director of the Mint, identified the counterfeiting threat as one of his top priorities. Ryder has deep experience in the field of anti-counterfeiting technology, and the U.S. Mint is in dire need of leadership that takes this threat seriously. ACTF encourages the U.S. Senate to act quickly to confirm him.

The Industry Council for Tangible Assets formed the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force’s in January 2017. ACTF’s mission is to educate law enforcement authorities and policymakers about the rising threat of counterfeiting, mobilize law enforcement to attack counterfeiters where they are most vulnerable and provide expertise and other resources in the investigation and prosecution of counterfeiters and those involved at all levels of their distribution networks.

ACTF is totally funded through donations from businesses and individuals. For information about donating to support the work of the task force, visit the website of the ICTA or contact Beth Deisher at 567-202-1795; email beth.deisher@ictaonline.org. Make checks payable to ICTA Anti-Counterfeiting, P.O. Box 237, Dacula, GA 30019.

Press release courtesy of the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force.

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Comments

  1. KEITHSTER says

    Ya wish that Regan I got yesterday was an S but that would just be pushing the luck a little Well Good Luck And Day All”>”>”> <"

  2. cagcrisp says

    @ John Q. Coinage “As to the PROOF Boys Town, they are also in the 3 coins Bpy$ Town (Subject Zzzzz set) & the number I think in reality is about 7,000 CAG???? ”

    Total Sales of the Proof Gold Boys Town as of 12/03/2017 was 6,820…

    Which is on track to be ANOTHER Low Mintage Wonder Gold…

  3. Einbahnstrasse says

    What’ll be interesting is next Tuesday’s sales numbers for the *other* five Boys Town commems, besides the sold-out $5 BU. I wonder whether the sellout will goose the demand for the rest of the coins in any significant way…. And if it does, how many of them might *also* sell out before the year is over?

  4. MarkInFlorida says

    Anti-counterfeiting features in the packaging doesn’t help because people slab their Mint coins and sell the packaging to someone who could use it for a fake coin.

  5. MarkInFlorida says

    Fake US postage stamps from China are being sold on Ebay and the PO is not doing anything about it even after people complained and provided evidence, I’ve read.

  6. earthling says

    I’ve always wanted those Zeppelin Stamps but have never felt like dropping all THAT money on them. Hmmmm… counterfeits from China? Might be exactly what I want. But how would I know they were genuine Chinese Counterfeits and not some N Korean knockoff?

    Id settle for Chinese stuff. But dont need no puppet NK recycled tp counterfeits.

  7. Jerry Diekmann says

    NOT SURPRISING, AT LEAST TO ME, THAT THE MINT SAYS IT ISN’T THEIR JOB TO WORRY ABOUT COUNTERFEIT COINS. THEY’RE TOO BUSY DESIGNING POLITICALLY CORRECT AND UNATTRACTIVE COINS THAT MANY COLLECTORS ARE STAYING AWAY FROM, AS EVIDENCED BY THE LOW NUMBER OF COMMEMS NOW BEING SOLD.

  8. So Krates says

    What did one poster comment a while back about how advanced the US Mint is compared to other world mints? Something like, “They’re so far ahead that they’re in another league…or… they can’t even see the other mints in the rear view mirror they’re left so far behind”. Seems not to be the case in this important category

  9. So Krates says

    Thanks Joe. I looked at a few short ones late last night and the one you just posted. There must be tons of info in 90 videos, wow. Glad you gave us till the end of the year!

    Got my Bausch and Lomb 14x triplet but kinda disappointed. It’s so freakin small I thought the pouch it came in was empty at first. Unlike the three lens combo type, you had in your vid, this is a Hastings triplet which means there are three lenses fused together to make one thick lens. Supposedly this type of construction produces the least amount of image distortion. Unlike the Coddington doublet style (two fused lenses with a corrective groove), the Hastings triplet lenses have tiny diameters in higher magnifications. The Bausch & Lomb I bought is 12 mm wide while the Belomo 15x Hastings triplet I was considering was only 9.5 mm wide.

    I can get past the dinkiness and the smaller field of view but I was quite surprised by the lens quality. While slowly circling hundreds of dime reverses looking for doubled lettering, I was noticing that maybe 2/3 of the way between the center of the lens and the edge, there was a distorted area out of focus. I expected there to be a bit of out of focus area around the edge but it seems OK there. In addition when looking at this loupe with another loupe, lol, I observed sloppy internal adhesive along the edge on the backside and a very small scuff on the bottom of the lens. The scuff is on the glass but is too small to appear in the image when using the loupe. I’m wondering if I got a knock-off, or more likely a “second”. If I did’t have to pay to ship both ways I would definitely return/exchange but still deciding whether to keep it or not. Considering all the recommendations the B&L gets I am underwhelmed and disappointed.

    I guess I’m spoiled by my Zeiss Hastings Triplet type 6x loupe. It’s got a perfect, crystal clear image and I couldn’t be happier with it. I posted here some time ago during a Belomo discussion that I probably went overboard on the Zeiss ($95) and should have just bought the Bausch and Lomb or Belomo, but after this experience with the Bausch I’m glad I stepped up and bought the Zeiss for my go to general examination loupe. It’s to bad they don’t make anything stronger than 10x. There are some vintage 20x Zeiss loupes made in bakelite that start at over $500 but I’m not going there.

    PS like the percussion!

  10. cagcrisp says

    Let’s see…

    In 2016 IF you wanted a Silver Medal from the Mint you paid $34.95 for an American Liberty Silver Medal

    In 2017 IF you wanted a Silver Medal from the Mint you paid $59.95 for an American Liberty Silver Medal

    In 2018 IF you want a 2018 Silver Medal from the Mint you will pay $99.95 for a Military Silver Medal plus a Centennial Silver Dollar

    No Current way to purchase Any of the Military Silver Medal’s separately.

    …SO…IF you just collect Silver Medals…Your progression has gone from $34.95 to $59.95 to $99.95

    The Fed can’t find 2% Inflation

    The Mint seems to have found what the Fed is missing…

  11. cagcrisp says

    Second Chance Offer: For those that think the 2017 Boys Town Uncirculated Gold is worth $1,500.00

    Simple Second Chance Offer. There is One Currently on Sale on the bay for $799.00 or BO

    Simply buy for $799.00 (or BO) and Flip for $1,500.00.

    Seems Simple.

    You have taken a Gold coin that you Could have purchased for $412.60 on Wednesday and Paid $799.00 for it on Saturday with the Hope of Flipping for $1,500.00

    By doing this you have Bailed One guy out, Now all you need is to find someone to Bail You out.

    But then again, IF you sell for $1,500.00 Who is going to Bail the $1,500.00 guy out?

    But I guess you’re not worried about the $1,500.00 guy…

  12. Buzz Killington says

    The mintage of those medals has to be TINY. Otherwise, they’ll have to re-bundle them later, and people who spent $500 to get the complete set will be understandably furious.

    I notice on the current USM Commem page, they are bundling Lions Club dollars and Boys Town dollars (I didn’t do the math to see if you got a discount.) But there is precedent for last minute bundling to try to push a product.

    I think it might be easier to make 2017 the last year of buying new USM products.

  13. Joe M. says

    @ So Krates..
    I’m no expert on magnifying glasses. In my experience, it comes to ones personal choice. I haven’t tried the Hastings loupe…is it clearer than Bausch & Lomb? The Bausch & Lomb triplet might be hard to find because they stopped making them a while back(unless they started again). I’ve had my B&L loupes for over 23 years now and the triplet has a crack on two of the plastic rings holding the lenses. Other than that, I am very happy with them for the cost…fairly reasonable price………$500 for a magnifying glass??? Wow!
    The video about the doubled dies I made Jan 17, 2012. I was sooooo nervous when I started my channel, it shows in the video(my voice was suffering from dry mouth). I also lost track of where I was when stating Master Hub, Master Die, Working Hub, Working die. I also for got to mention that not only is the mintmark added at the working die, but 1989 was the last year for repunched mintmarks due to the mint adding it to the Working Hub. The single-squeeze method started in 1996, which is why the 1997 doubled ear cent was controversial when it first appeared. Doubled dies were supposed to never occur because one hubbing was allowed…well that went well 🙂 It also allowed for less stages during the die making process. Well, when you see the 1990s proof quarter ddo, you’ll notice the mintmark is doubled too, but it’s only a doubled die because the die already had the mintmark on the Master Hub, not adding the mintmark to the working die pre-1990.
    The USB Digital Celestron Microscope is starting to break, but just the plastic portions near the dial. It’s not bad for what I paid(about $39.00 7 years ago), but it had problems showing it was focused. While taking pictures, sometimes it shows a little bit of blurriness, but the pic is actually in focus. Do you know of any better digital microscopes? I might need to buy another one. I’ve just went over 24,000 pictures taken since I owned it…not bad for the price again 🙂
    Also, if you or anyone requests a video stay longer, or need any info, just ask and I’ll help out. The reason I don’t want to keep them up there, mainly, is I don’t have the time to maintain my channel, WHILE DEALING WITH YOUTUBES ALGORITHMS….that’s a whole issue I’ll leave at Youtube…hehehehe

  14. JohnT58 says

    I woke up earlier this morning and logged into the mint website hoping to pick up a couple of Ellis Island pucks. Bingo!!! (and they were not made available until exactly 5:30 mountain time). There were over 100 available at the time but I see that they are back in CU status again. Still not sure why I waited so long to pick this one up. Thanks to whomever it was that alerted the board to the unavailable status earlier this week.

  15. Leo S. says

    @CagCrisp

    With all the talk about Comm Silver coins, what do you think of this idea. I’ve been purchasing the silver comm.s between 2008 and 2015. As far as I can see, most have gone up in value very little or not at all. Some are worth less than I paid the Mint.
    My Plan – Wait till silver hits $50 again (God only know when) and sell all of them at spot and get out.

    Leo S.

  16. Tom P. - MA says

    Ebay is incredibly slow at stopping counterfeits. It took them years to stop Chinese counterfeit coins. It’s all about the $$$. Good luck stamp collectors. It could take you years before Ebay wakes up. They do not care about fakes, they care about $$$.

    In any case I bought a 1948 (yes not a typo) Morgan “silver” dollar on Ebay years ago for research purposes. For under $5 I had a Morgan “silver” dollar shipped to me direct from China. Without touching, it looked authentic. Of course touching was another thing. The weight was off. The nice silverly color also tarnished pretty quickly.

    Flipping only works now for a few weeks after issue date. After that you are on your own.

    Holiday sale on PM’s. Bitcoin still has a ways to go especially if the price pulls back. What do I want to give myself this holiday? Eagle? Double Eagle? Note First Spouse or modern comms are not under consideration. I didn’t buy bitcoin when it was at $300. I’m on the sidelines but may throw a few hundred in. The problem now is that for my money to double, bitcon has to reach $38,000. Misspelling intentional.

  17. mgm says

    Has anyone noticed the difference for the close of Gold on Friday from Provident Metals to APMEX. $3.35 is the amount. So if you bought gold over the weekend I hope you bought it from APMEX.

  18. Hidalgo says

    Someone had mentioned that they were waiting for the price of a 2017 one ounce silver Krugerrand coin to fall. When first introduced, the coin was selling for the pricey amount of $50. I’ve seen prices fall to the $42 – $45 range (with shipping). How low will it go?

    If you want to buy a 2017 one ounce silver Krugerrand, check out ebay. Here’s one you can explore that is selling for $45 (with shipping)

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/South-Africa-2017-Krugerrand-PU-1oz-Premium-Uncirculated-Silver-Coin/252834170807?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3D541c0ae68f30404a93ad3d1b5d7cd0fa%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D292358463623&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

  19. cagcrisp says

    @Leo S. I don’t ever see Silver getting to $50 unless we have a Black Swan event. With current supply/demand I don’t see any reason Silver would get above $20 in the foreseeable future. With a Lot of variables , I see Silver in a trading range and that’s about it…

  20. Erik H says

    Hidalgo, I bought some Krugerrands a few months back for around $42 with free shipping from a dealer (not eBay). I’m sure they’ll get cheaper but I still made a few bucks and cherry picked a couple of nice ones.

  21. So Krates says

    @ Joe M. – I know next to nothing about microscopes but it sounds like you definitely got your money’s worth out of that Celestron!

    As for loupes, I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. Let me attempt to clarify.

    There seems to be three basic types of loupes most used for coin viewing.

    The least expensive is a single lens. These tend to be used for lower magnification due to higher degrees of optical aberration. Sometimes single lenses are used in combination in the same loupe. The most common “combo” single lens loupes have two separate lenses; a 3x lens and a 6x lens. You can swing out either from the housing and use by itself or swing them both out and align them to give you 9x magnification (3x + 6x = 9x). This is the type you show in your video. Technically, all three of the loupes in your video are single lens (with two being single lens combo types), not doublets or triplets,

    The next step up is called a Coddington. This is a type of lens, not a brand. It was developed in 1829 by Henry Coddington. It is also a single lens (not two as I mistakenly wrote in the last post) but thicker and with a deep groove running through the middle to cut down on the aberration. These can magnify without distortion at a higher power than a standard single lens.

    The best loupes are called Hastings triplets. Again this is a type of lens, NOT a brand. They take three separate single lenses and bond them together to form a single, highly corrected lens with the the least amount of aberration. There are doublets and quadruplets but the concept is the same. The multiple lenses are cemented together to form a single superior lens.

    Bausch & Lomb makes all three types…single lens (and single lens combos), Coddingtons, and Hastings triplets. I bought the Bausch & Lomb Hastings triplet 14x for just under $40.

    In addition to being of superior quality, those ultra pricey Zeiss 20x loupes I mentioned are vintage and collectible. There’s one on eBay for $999. High quality, antique German optics (e.g., Leica camera lenses) bring good money. If they still made one in that power today it would probably cost around $150. I think they only make 6x and 10x now and you can get them at just under a hundred. In fifty plus years they too might be worth $999, lol

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Carl-Zeiss-Jena-folding-magnifier-20X-loupe-bakelite-black-rare/332480350771?hash=item4d695f8a33:g:2UwAAOSwsBtaKvgd

  22. cagcrisp says

    For those interested in Bitcoin..

    Bitcoin futures goes Live on the CBOE at 6:00 PM TODAY. The CME will have a futures contract that goes Live later in the month.

    What does this mean for Bitcoin? For the First time you will be able to go SHORT Bitcoin.

    This Should take some of the volatility out of trading.

    Most of the brokerage firms CURRENTLY will Not let you trade the futures tonight and Most of the Big Banks will Not settle funds…

    …Thus Most ordinary people will Not be able to participate tonight, however, you can Bet all the Institution investors will or could be involved.

    Depending on what happens tonight, I’m sure all the brokerage firms will make a decision as to whether they will let customers trade the futures contract of Bitcoin…

  23. Daveinswfl says

    In that case, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them run up the price even farther and then start the dump when Joe Average gets into the game.
    Disruptive technologies are always difficult to fully understand, and thus, even more difficult to correctly judge viability for investment. Bubbles add to the confusion, making timing really tricky once they are noticeably inflated.
    Good luck if you’re in the bubble. I will just enjoy the fireworks.

  24. says

    Joe M.
    I use the Leuchtturm (Lighthouse) usb digital microscope, which is kinda pricey but you can find deals on them. I got one brand new with the adjustable stand for $39 off ebay.

  25. earthling says

    Shock of the new millennium – when the masses find out their bitcoin is really worth 1 Bit … .. hmmmmm , what’s that – 12.5 Cents? What sort of headlines will greet the new day? 184 Bitcoin Millionaires/ Billionaires bit the dust in NYC alone, last night.

    Maybe a bit overdramatic but the news won’t be happy, be assured of that.

    😱😨😵😭😖

    💩

  26. Dustyroads says

    cagcrisp, I’m just focusing on TA and Elliot Waves. I could not care less about the news. Although present target is for the time being $26,000. at the end of wave 5. As I’m sue you know, price sentiment is a far better indicator of price than news since news is always lagging.

  27. Buzz Killington says

    @SK —

    I have been very happy with my Belomo triplet, for whatever its worth. I think the price on those has been creeping up over the years. At one time, it seemed like a great value, but that may be less true now.

    I took a chance on it because it was billed at being made by old Soviet hi-tech factory that was retrofitted to make consumer goods such as this.

    When some SUPER tiny ants were coming out from the top of my dishwasher, it was amazing how the loupe turned them from specks into tiny delicate creatures.

    Hopefully, with the progress of science, we will see the prices of fancy optics like these come down. As I get older, magnifying lenses have become more and more necessary.

  28. So Krates says

    Hey Buzz, thanks for the input. Which one do you have? I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about them. I would’ve bought the 15x Belomo but the diameter is only 9.5 mm compared to the B&L 14x @ 12mm. I will most likely get the 20x Belomo quadruplet which has a tiny 7mm viewing area but it can’t be helped with these higher power mags.

    Ah yes, what a drag it is gettin old.. I used to be able to see such tiny things in detail with my naked eye it was scary, I’m suspicious all the coin viewing in the last few years has diminished my eyesight. In 6th grade I had a contest with two friends as to who could write the smallest on a spelling test. I won our game, but got an F on the test because the teacher claimed it was illegible. Just another brick

  29. Joe M. says

    @ So Krates
    WOW!!! Thank you!! That info on magnifying glasses is VERY useful to me! I realize how little I know of magnifying glasses now. I appreciate the info!!
    @ Old Big Bird
    You’re welcome! I would like to keep them up longer, but I don’t have the time to maintain a channel and keep up with my work right now. Maybe in the future I’ll start another channel, but Youtube makes it VERY difficult over the past 4 years. I mainly listen to music when I work 🙂
    @ Longarm
    I will check it out…THANK YOU! Is the software compatible with Windows 7?
    @ cagcrisp
    Thank you VERY much for your analysis as to why the dollar holds it’s strength! That was awesome!! 🙂
    Awhile back I was watching vids about Russia, China, and a couple other countries(can’t remember) trying to have a currency pegged to oil, not the US Dollar. If that happens, what would happen to gold and silver on the US market?

  30. cagcrisp says

    @Joe M. “Awhile back I was watching vids about Russia, China, and a couple other countries(can’t remember) trying to have a currency pegged to oil, not the US Dollar. If that happens, what would happen to gold and silver on the US market?”

    Two different camps. One camp thinks as the Dollar would weaken then it would Force Gold and Silver Upward. That’s One camp.

    The other camp thinks as the Strength of an alternate Worldwide currency emerges the Demand for Gold and Silver would Diminish.

    You can look at worldwide Demand for physical Gold and Silver that has occurred in 2017 as the rise in crypto currencies have taken off and see which way the markets are leaning.

    Personally I recommend between 5-10% of a Total portfolio to be in Gold. IF and only IF there was a VIABLE alternative crypto currency was to rise then I would recommend getting out of Gold and getting 5-10% in a crypto currency…

    …SO…For me an alternate would not be good for Gold or Silver.

    We are moving to a cashless society and crypto appears to be A way to go. I just don’t think it will be Bitcoin…

  31. cagcrisp says

    Update on the Boys Town Gold Uncirculated in OGP…

    …There were 2 Sold over the weekend at Best Offers Accepted…

    One was Sold on the Bay December 11th for $625.00 (Listed for $725.00)

    One was Sold on the Bay December 11th for $675.00 (Listed for $799.00)

  32. Larry says

    Once upon a time currency was backed by gold and silver. Gold and silver don’t need any backing, they have real value. Then we had currency backed by the mystical ” full faith and credit of the government”. Whatever the heck that is. Now we have Bitcoin, which is backed up on a hard drive somewhere. If you take your Bitcoins to the person that issued them, will they give you something of value in return? If not, it is not “real” money. At least not to me.

  33. datadave says

    I think a crypto currency will eventually come to be. Bit coin is not viable because it is not scalable. It has already hit its limit of transactions per minute and Visa handles 1000x that limit (and can be scaled higher).

    But I have no idea how things proceed from here.

  34. cagcrisp says

    For anyone Thinking about Buying Gold from the Mint…

    We have a Possibility of a Gold price Drop on Wednesday.

    To Get a Gold price Decrease on Wednesday we need:

    1. The Final 3 Gold fixes to Average $1,247.72 of less
    2. Wednesday PM fix to be Under $1,250.00…

  35. Sith says

    Provident Metals accepts Bitcoin for payment. Then add I guess getting cash is not valuable ? ” Full faith and credit of the government”, just means they will tax you, and everyone you know to death, in order to pay the underlying bond\debt back.

    Their are a number of proposals to increase the block limit size, or you can just use Bitcoin Cash.

  36. cagcrisp says

    The Mint is Now offering “Special offer: $10 off expedited shipping”

    Between 12/11-12/19…

  37. John Q. Coinage says

    As to the WWI Coins & Medal, WTF is all I can say how does the mint have the ball$ to RAISE the price, silver has not touched $20 & is rangebound @ 15-19 pretty solid. The dollar is so fugly it is not funny. We have either cruddy artists or demented CACC members, Kareem et l., need to get some style back. The WW1 Medals are awesome IMHO but the prcing is ridiculous. I got the 2o17 HR Ag for $34 on ebay this Sat w/free shipping even, maybe to much but want to see one, if I don’t care I 4it I have lots of female friends who might like it! The mint/Cingre$$ sem to be wanting to just kill collecting” anohter Kennedy commen for his 100th birthday! Huh he would be 100 THIS YEAR ?! Maybe a 100th anniversary of Woody Wilson’s stroke & our first female President! Maybe a bitcon commem, 10 year of BITCOINS!!!! yeah baby!!!

  38. Buzz Killington says

    @SK —

    My Belomo is a 10x — I got it 5 years ago, according to my order history. I think I settled on this, as opposed to a higher factor, because of the viewing area. I have never wished that I have more magnification for my purposes, but that might change as my eyesight continues to worsen.

    I remember concluding at the time that 10x was the sweet spot between useful magnification and viewing area. However, this is a personal decision.

  39. Joe M. says

    @ cagcrisp
    Your info is causing me to worry about silver. I’m still liquidating about 80% and buying 90% silver halves, quarters, and dimes to search through for varieties. On one hand silver staying low the next year would be beneficial to me, but I’m also worried it might drop further. I guess my hopes of $20 by July won’t come close….or the $60 in 5 years 🙂
    Thank you again for the info! You and So Krates have taught me a lot over the years of reading your comments…AND OTHERS HERE TOO 🙂

  40. John Q. Coinage says

    Joe I want $50 an oz but looks like $5 may be more likely…… in reality I think $12 is the bad bottom base……so much for my retirement sta$h

  41. Joe M. says

    @ John Q. Coinage
    Yes, I think my retirement silver will tank. All I can hope for is it rises after I sell most of my collection…
    I still have about 10 years to invest before I stop. I just hope I don’t need to sell the house to survive comfortably 🙂

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