Gold coins, just what I was afraid of.

[DIGDIG]

Recently I been buying older gold coins to put away for my kids, even though I don't have much money when I get extra- such as overtime or tax time I try to pick one up. Today I went into a pawn/thrift store and asked the scum behind the counter if he ever gets gold coins- the first thing out of his mouth was "yeah, I melt them" UGH!!.
So I tried to explain to the dumb @$$ that the melt value on a old gold coin is nothing compared to it's numistic value.
So now I wonder how many stupid people take gold coins to the "we buy gold" place and sell them for the gold value, how many are getting melted down.
Now I am seeing it even more as a wise investment. Gold coins being melted merely for the gold makes the coins left even more rare but I just don't get the stupidity. I see these coins as a fantastic piece of art and history, I wonder all the things that coin traded hands for over the years. Keep in mind most of your gold coins are 100+ years old. The fact that they don't tarnish or corrode like silver and copper keeps them looking great. Unless a coin is total FUBAR, melting it should be crime.

 

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[Minrelica]

I don't think that's commonplace with thrift stores in this day and age.. For the most part, the owners generally do research on items now before putting a price tag on them.. A few years ago Goodwill started putting some of the "nicer" (open for interpretation) items behind glass for their silent auctions and in some case even eBay auctions. Owners have become much smarter and more aware of what they have due to being able to search things online, just like we do. Many of these people are just like you and I, they just happen to run a business.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Any gold coins sold to a pawn shop is probably stolen. Melting them makes it impossible to trace, and they are probably only giving them 1/4 of melt anyway.

 

[DIGDIG]

Hopefully this guy was a rarity then.

 

[G.I.B.]

Offer him 5% over the melted weight value.

You would be getting a great deal then, and so would he.