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Accused of running a $40 million boiler-room scam on New York's Long Island, Joseph Romano posted bond, headed to Delray Beach and continued preying on elderly victims, federal authorities said Friday.

Romano and a co-conspirator, Russell Barnes, used a slick website, cold calls and high-pressure sales tactics to sell rolls of coins to unsuspecting buyers, according to court documents filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz. Now, Gatz is arguing the duo should be jailed until their cases are resolved.

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I’ve been hearing a lot about the Numis Network lately. There’s a lot of talk about this one-of-a-kind Network Marketing company. It certainly is unique in that it’s the only one, at least to my knowledge, that sells numismatic coins.

I also hear lots of ’slogans’ — “Autoship that increases your net worth.” and “Why Not Buy Money”. These are coupled with lots of comparisons to other traditional network marketing products because, “You don’t have to test it, learn how to use it, drink it, develop a taste for it or demonstrate it — Because IT’S MONEY!”

Seems that the slogans boil down to the comparison that with everyone else you get ‘useless’ stuff that can pile up in your garage, but who wouldn’t want a garage full of MONEY!

This concept troubled me, so I did a little research.

Buying money looks like a good idea. On the surface, it sounds like a no-brainer.

But is it?

I’m a numbers guy because I believe that in dieting and business, the figures never lie.

So I went to an expert. A gentleman I know right here in San Diego who has been buying and selling coins for over 30 years. Makes a VERY GOOD living at it, I might add.

Here’s what he told me:

Most uninformed consumers purchase these coins at retail. They have four values:
1. Retail
2. Wholesale
3. Spot
4. Currency.
Retail is what most consumers will pay for the coin. Wholesale is how much a dealer will pay for them either from another dealer or from a consumer who wants to “cash in” his coins. Spot is simply the value of the metal. Currency is the value of the coin to buy something at Walmart.
He also gave me the wholesale values of the two coins described below – AKA; Reality.
(I encourage you to check this out for yourself with a coin dealer in your area. Just call a local coin shop.)

The true value of any asset is the amount of dollars you can get in exchange. Your house is worth what a buyer will pay you for it in dollars. A car lists for $2900 in the Auto Trader for 3 weeks and the seller finally takes the best offer of $2000. That car is worth $2000. Doesn’t matter what the seller paid for it.

The 2009 MS 70 PCGS Silver Eagle sells at the Numis Network for 149.95.
Let’s look at it’s four values:
Retail: 149.95
Wholesale: $25-50
Spot: $15.54 (1 oz of Silver 2/9/10)
Currency: $1

The 2009-W PR70 ANACS $50 Gold Buffalo sells at the Numis Network for $1,899.95.
Let’s look at it’s four values:
Retail: $1,899.95
Wholesale: About $100 over Spot ($1180)
Spot: $1080 (1 oz of Gold 2/9/10)
Currency: $50

If these numbers are correct and unless a collector can unload his entire collection at retail prices (unlikely) then his “assets” from The Numis Network are worth 1/3-2/3 of what he paid and likely never to recover back to the retail price.

If you’re spending $150+ a month on an autoship, do you want to be buying anything with a liquidation value that’s 1/3-2/3 of what you paid for it?

That’s NOT increasing your net worth. That’s destroying it.

NUMIS STATEMENT (from their website):
Investment Disclaimer:
Collectors purchasing coins from Numis Network should view such purchases strictly in the context of purchasing coins as collector coins. Numis Network does not promote the collecting of numismatic coins for investment purposes, nor provides any investment advice whatsoever. Numismatic coins may decrease or appreciate in value based on numerous factors, including spot price of silver, gold and collector’s demand. Collectors should consult their own financial expert for any investment advice.

Seems to me that Numis Network is selling “money” at an inflated price. They make it clear in the above statement that you should be in this as a COLLECTOR not an INVESTOR. They seem to be saying to get these if you like to collect them, but don’t expect to break even or much less make a profit.

Spending $2000 over a year on numismatic coins to find that you have a set of coins worth $700 or $800 can be a little disturbing.

Let’s keep our eyes wide open here in the marketplace…

Source: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1493971/numis-network-a-scam-numis-network-review-some-hard-questions

Rare coin and precious metal hawker Monex, which can be seen on television soliciting investments in gold and rare coins, has apparently left many customers unhappy.  If one searches on the Internet, one can find many negative postings about the firm, which makes its money regardless of whether its customers lose theirs.  Lately, the firm has started to defend fraud claims by playing a tape recording of its customers being read boilerplate disclaimers over the telephone.  Customers who feel defrauded and file a lawsuit may be dismayed to find that the telephone sales pitch, which they relied upon in deciding to invest, was not recorded by the firm.  However, if the case otherwise has merit, this defense tactic should not prevent a just outcome, as the firm has difficulty giving a good explanation for why it only tapes material favorable for its legal defense.

If you invested in precious metals like gold or silver, or bought rare coins from Monex, you most likely lost money.  If you are wondering how it happened, the answer is that Monex, unlike other firms, pushes highly leveraged margin transactions, as high as 5 to 1, and has commissions and spreads at 5% or more.  Thus, Monex customers are often liquidated after a surprise margin a call.   Normally, a commodities firm charges a fixed commission and has no spread, so the costs of doing business with Monex is vastly higher than at most firms, and the risks much greater.

Source: http://www.timkaren.com/lawyer-attorney-1305138.html