Minnesota Law Prevents Buying Gold and Silver
Sorry Minnesota Customers — Law Effectives Today Deprives Citizens Of Their Choice Of Coin Dealers
Liberty Coin Service’s Monthly Review of Precious Metals and Numismatics
Volume 20 Issue 7 July 1, 2014
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Last year, the Minnesota legislature and the governor worked together to enact a law imposing horrendous regulatory burdens on coin dealers buying and selling “bullion coins” with Minnesota consumers, even if such transactions were conducted face-to-face outside of the state. The pretext for passing this law was an allegedly unacceptable level of deceptive and fraudulent practices by Minnesota coin dealers inflicted on consumers in the state.
As of yesterday, only about 30 Minnesota coin dealers had registered with that state’s Department of Commerce and only one dealer outside of the state had registered.
A survey taken in the past 24 hours by the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, the national coin and precious metals dealers trade association, revealed that about 85% of non-Minnesota dealers were going to cease doing any business with consumers in Minnesota.
Other information revealed that a significant percentage of existing Minnesota coin dealers were going to close their businesses. Many others were changing their operations to no longer handle any coins that have a gold, silver, platinum, or palladium content of 1% or more.
The two Minnesota coin shows scheduled to take place in July have seen table rentals fall sharply. Almost no out-of-state dealers are willing to enter Minnesota to take a booth at a coin show.
Unfortunately, in the name of trying to protect consumers, the politicians in Minnesota have actually deprived the state’s citizens of the opportunity to work with a large number of reputable coin dealers.
For now, Liberty Coin Service, like most non-Minnesota coin dealers, will no longer buy or sell to Minnesota customers, even if they physically come to our store in Michigan.
Registration and compliance would cost thousands of dollars per year and generate oodles of detailed paperwork for each transaction.
We pray that the damage inflicted on Minnesota citizens from the unintended consequences of this law will encourage a quick repeal or a major reduction in the paperwork and financial burden imposed on coin dealers. We hope that it may be possible to resume serving our much appreciated customers in Minnesota before too long.
http://libertycoinservice.com/images/sto...
[Will be archived after 31 July 2014 as http://libertycoinservice.com/images/sto...
Liberty Coin Service’s Monthly Review of Precious Metals and Numismatics
Volume 20 Issue 7 July 1, 2014
http://libertycoinservice.com/images/sto...
[Will be archived after 31 July 2014 as http://libertycoinservice.com/images/sto...
Last year, the Minnesota legislature and the governor worked together to enact a law imposing horrendous regulatory burdens on coin dealers buying and selling “bullion coins” with Minnesota consumers, even if such transactions were conducted face-to-face outside of the state. The pretext for passing this law was an allegedly unacceptable level of deceptive and fraudulent practices by Minnesota coin dealers inflicted on consumers in the state.
As of yesterday, only about 30 Minnesota coin dealers had registered with that state’s Department of Commerce and only one dealer outside of the state had registered.
A survey taken in the past 24 hours by the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, the national coin and precious metals dealers trade association, revealed that about 85% of non-Minnesota dealers were going to cease doing any business with consumers in Minnesota.
Other information revealed that a significant percentage of existing Minnesota coin dealers were going to close their businesses. Many others were changing their operations to no longer handle any coins that have a gold, silver, platinum, or palladium content of 1% or more.
The two Minnesota coin shows scheduled to take place in July have seen table rentals fall sharply. Almost no out-of-state dealers are willing to enter Minnesota to take a booth at a coin show.
Unfortunately, in the name of trying to protect consumers, the politicians in Minnesota have actually deprived the state’s citizens of the opportunity to work with a large number of reputable coin dealers.
For now, Liberty Coin Service, like most non-Minnesota coin dealers, will no longer buy or sell to Minnesota customers, even if they physically come to our store in Michigan.
Registration and compliance would cost thousands of dollars per year and generate oodles of detailed paperwork for each transaction.
We pray that the damage inflicted on Minnesota citizens from the unintended consequences of this law will encourage a quick repeal or a major reduction in the paperwork and financial burden imposed on coin dealers. We hope that it may be possible to resume serving our much appreciated customers in Minnesota before too long.
http://libertycoinservice.com/images/sto...
[Will be archived after 31 July 2014 as http://libertycoinservice.com/images/sto...
Later, I received an email: "No we do not deal with clients that are residence of Minnesota."
"Dealers close down in Minnesota" -- Posted on August 11, 2014 by Pat Heller. Numismatic News. Online http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/ne...
Heritage Auctions is offering a rare 1792 Silver-Center cent, technically a pattern coin of the US Mint, in its upcoming September 3-7, 2014, Long Beach Sale. All 26 known specimens have been accounted for, and tallied at auctions. Of those 14 have been "plated" (photographed and published). Walter Breen's _Encyclopedia_ asserted that only 12 were genuine, the others being "dangerous counterfeits" by which Breen might have meant that they were struck later at the Mint from original dies for friends of the Mint management, a common practice of the time.
These Silver Center "Birch" Cent coins range in condition from Very Fine to Uncirculated and price between $250,000 and an expected One MIllion Dollars for this Uncirculated (PCGS 61) example. This coin weighs about 70 grains and contains about 2.48 grains of silver. It is BULLION by Minnesota law and to be sold, the seller has to inform of the buyer of the precious metal content and the MARKET value of the precious metal content. At today's price of silver ($22 high), that is about 11 cents of silver.
Realize that this law was passed to protect Minnesotans from "scams" run by "bullion investment" firms. So, if you are from Minnesota, and have a million dollars, do not buy this coin. It might have been one of the two given to President Washington, but it is only "worth" 11 cents, not a million dollars.
"Minnesota Residents Beware
Your state statute 2013 80G which became effective July 1st 2014 is prohibitively cumbersome. Therefore we will no longer accept any retail orders from Minnesota residents for any items containing gold , silver, platinum or palladium. We are sorry but the costs of complying with this regulation far outweigh any benefits.
Miller's Mint Inc., 200 East Broadway Ave Suite 315, Maryville, TN 37804"
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?yea...1...
Here is the plain text
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/?id=...a...
When the bill was enacted a year ago, the American Numismatic Association and the Industry Council for Tangible Assets united to get it repealed, but failed, of course.
This is from CoinTalk from last year. The comments are what you would expect: most people angry, but some complacent with one strong advocate. (Most numismatists have pretty good values, but you find idiots in all walks of life.)
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/minneso...
This is from Collector's Universe when the bill was enacted
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview...
and now a year later
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview...
another thread on the same subject
http://forums.collectors.com/messageview...
Again, the comments are what you would expect, right out of Atlas Shrugged, with many people upset but powerless and a few totally clueless about what this really means.