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GoldFinger1969

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Everything posted by GoldFinger1969

  1. Discussing survivors and hoards towards the back of the book, Roger states: "After the Gillio/Wells Fargo hoard reached market there was a pause in the growth of authentication for this date coin, then, quantities began to increase. The present (early 2015) quantities, in excess of 260,000 authentication events, are more than seven times the Gil-lio/Wells Fargo hoard quantities. Although some rise due to resubmissions is expected, an in-crease of this magnitude, among only one date/mint, suggests thousands of new coins coming on the market from the same source. With this in mind, it is posited that the total quantity of double eagles in the original group was at approximately 150,000 pieces, possibly more." I'm now seeing in excess of 364,000 grading events combined PCGS+NGC (193K + 170K) for the 1908 No-Motto Saint. Since this is a coin that except in Superb Gem or higher it is NOT worth it to crack-out and re-submit, I wonder if this is additional proof that the original hoard may have been much larger and/or if other 1908 NM's have just come out even after 2015 when Roger first wrote that section above.
  2. Total Graded Wells Fargo: My understanding is that all or nearly all of the 19,900 coins were given to PCGS and/or NGC to grade, with the exception of a few of the clearly heavily-circulated coins. But when I combine the PCGS (7,767) and NGC (5,535) census totals for Wells Fargo 1908 NM, I get just over 13,300. I can't believe they didn't grade/certify over 6,000 of the coins. They wouldn't have sold them raw. Anybody able to help reconcile the numbers ?
  3. Thanks....I'll look at the auction pics closer as well as the pics in Roger's book. I didn't know what to look for.
  4. Or...in my case.....you watch politics for the last 45 years. Better than watching the Jets.......
  5. Anybody familiar with a "Triple Die Obverse" TDO FS-101 ? It's mentioned in the book, and one is up for sale, but I'm not sure what exactly it is. Roger has pictures and descriptions, but I'm not seeing it. https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1255122/1926-Saint-Gaudens-Gold-Double-Eagle-Tripled-Die-Obverse-FS-101-PCGS-MS-66
  6. Right, but the same prohibitions on campaigning are supposed to apply to them. And they have 501(c)-3 tie-ins. You think Harvard is paying taxes on their $40 billion endowment ? You think they aren't taking public policy issues on "diversity".....college pension issues and funding...etc. ?
  7. I guess I have a fast and loose relationship with REALITY. A general descriptive from the IRS does not overule standard practice or an IRS Private Letter Ruling (PLR). Of which MANY have been granted to the point where it is standard knowledge about what is allowed and what is not allowed. You think churches aren't lobbying on hunger issues, Kurt ? You think black churches aren't lobbying on voting rights issues, Kurt ? You think the NEA isn't speaking out about tuition tax credits or vouchers, Kurt ? In many cases, they even endorse specific federal/state/local candidates....endorse presidential candidates....run phone banks....etc. And setting up a 501(c)-4 or other quasi-tax exempt affiliate is a Chinese Wall with no walls.
  8. Sorry, but if you think the colleges, universities, AND their trade organizations (i.e, AAUW) aren't engaged in lobbying, think again. The AAUW even advocated on blatantly political legislation that had nothing to do with "education" or colleges/universities. The AFT and NEA both have done it for decades for public education or so they say. No fiction, Kurt. Facts....just the facts.
  9. Nothing has happened in decades....the key is whether a significant amount of resources and time and $$$ goes to endorsing a specific political candidate. Talking about ISSUES or lobbying for relevant legislation has always been OK. Without knowing the details of your organization....the funds you raised under certain conditions were then given to an affiliated organization for other activities....depends on the relative amounts raised and given and for what purpose.
  10. My understanding is they are tax-exempt and most/all probably have 501(c)-3 status....certainly, their endowments do NOT pay income taxes. https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU Files/Key Issues/Taxation %26 Finance/Tax-Exempt-Status-of-Universities-FINAL.pdf
  11. The statement on "attempting to influence legislation" is so wide and broad you can drive a fleet of Suezmax and Panamax boats through it.
  12. OK, but I'm just saying that the notion that tax-exempts don't lobby or speak out is nonsense. They do it ALL the time. Biggest example is churches, esp. black churches. Synagogues, too (Israel). This statement is contradicted by what Kurt posted before it. It really is saying STOP and GO at the same time: "Organizations may, however, involve themselves in issues of public policy without the activity being considered as lobbying. For example, organizations may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.”
  13. That's preposterous. That goes to the very nature of the organization. It would be like colleges and universities not lobbying on educational matters or churches/synagogues not speaking out on legislation or foundations or charities not speaking out. They do it ALL the time. Direct endorsements of specific political candidates or lining up with 1 party are the issue, NOT speaking out or lobbying on relevant legislation. Now, if the ANA decided to campaign in favor of cutting the capital gains tax and using resources and $$$ that would be another thing (although even here if you can prove a link 5-6% was said decades ago to be OK on political spending by the IRS). But lobbying against sales tax on coin sales -- direct interest and no problem.
  14. This is boilerplate. Tax-exempts lobby and support all kinds of legislation all of the time. Providing direct political assistance to specific political candidates is trickier. But I suspect your citataion above is outdated or superseded by other clauses.
  15. I do not believe the IRS is going to have a problem with any of those advocacy positions. Plenty of 501(c)-3's do that all the time.
  16. Unless it's politics or personal enrichment via excessive compensation, the 501(c)-3 rules are very flexible. What are you saying is off-limits ?
  17. Saint-Gaudens Hoards By Date: More hoard tidbits for the next 3 coins in the series. 1908-D Type 3 / Long Rays, With Motto: Several hundred coins for this particular type came from Central America in 1983. The Manfra, Tordella, and Brookes Hoard (1983) is probably the largest gold coin hoard ever found. Most of the 47,000 coins consisted of U.S. Double Eagles, mostly Saints, but many Liberty Heads, too. The rest (<5,000) were smaller denomination gold coins.Discovered in Central America -- El Salvador -- more than 90% of the coins were uncirculated. Thousands graded MS64, MS65, and even higher. Stack’s co-sold the coins and they say they were contacted by a major foreign bank to gauge interest in acquiring a large holding of U.S. gold coins consisting mostly of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles. It was one of the major banks who received and stored U.S. gold coins as payment from the U.S. government.There were over 100 MS64, MS65, and MS66 specimens for this particular 1908-D WM LR. Subsequently other uncirculated examples of the 1908-D WM including many choice specimens, were located in Europe and sold in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Because of this increased supply, as many as 250-300 Gem Mints are now known of this previously impossible-to-find issue, although no more than a few, perhaps 12-15 at most, are Superb Gems (MS-67 and up).1908-D No-Motto: The same MTB 1983 El Salvador Hoard contained many uncirculated examples of the 1908-D No Motto, many of them grading choice to gem uncirculated with some superb MS66. Before the hoard, the 1908-D NM was very scarce in high grades.1908 No-Motto: The famous "Wells Fargo Saint-Gaudens Hoard" was comprised of 19,900 coins from Central or South American. The hoard's Saint DEs had been kept in sealed bags since 1917. These bags had been temporarily stored in the vault of a Wells Fargo Bank, to which the hoard owes its name.The 1908 No-Motto Saints from the "Wells Fargo Hoard" are of nearly uniform high quality, most grading out in the MS65 to MS67 range when they were submitted to the major certification services. Even more significantly, the hoard contained 10 MS-69s, 101 MS-68's, and over 1,000 MS-67's.There's more details to the story, but Ron Gillio has never given specifics on the nature of the hoard: who owned the coins, which country they came from, bank or private investor or military personnel or govt agency, etc. It's understandable why he would remain quiet when the coins came out in the late-1990's; you would hope he would not be as constrained 25 years later.
  18. I would think that even a small diamond -- while easier to smuggle -- would have cost a few hundred dollars in the 1920's or 1930's, right ?
  19. Where did you get it ? It looks like corrosive damage. Welcome to the forum. Hope you stick around a while !
  20. Not a bad idea....I believe I have a 1982 MS or PF67 Red Penny that I picked up at FUN 2020 for like $20 when I just wanted to wipe out my allocated $$$ for coins on the final Sunday.
  21. European Jews seemed to have an affinity for gold and gold coins. Probably because many were businessmen and/or involved in the jewelry trade. Plus, when you needed to travel or flee persecution....gold coins were universally accepted. Stories abound of many immigrants hiding gold coins inside the linings of clothing, which I am sure you are aware of. I agree with you on the overall use of gold coinage -- most sat in vaults. But lots were hoarded by various groups and I think that's why we continue to see a drip-drip-drip out of SDBs in the U.S. and more so European banks. Doug Winter and others with contacts overseas continue to track a steady flow from Europe to the U.S. of Liberty and Saint DEs. Nothing compared to decades ago....but enough to impact select pricing in certain dates.