Those who have been to a raffle drawing understand the concept of unbridled hope. Everyone holds tickets eager to hear their number announced confirming they won. Anticipation is on every face. Of course, the vast majority don’t win.
Anyone who has been to a taping of the TV show Antiques Roadshow also knows this. The ones get lucky enough to get tickets hold their “treasures” waiting to be told they have untold riches....
Last year, I was invited to attend a Roadshow taping. I couldn’t help but glance around at what people had brought. I had been on several similar PBS shows with the Keno Brothers as one of the appraisers so I knew something of what to look and not look for.
Countless people waited for hours. For most, I knew the outcome. Their beloved possessions were not rare – curious maybe, but not rare. The value was invariably sentimental. That became especially evident in the crestfallen faces of so many as they left.
That came to mind last week when I saw an ad in a major publication. The headline read, “Residents snap up Gold Bars…” Under a photo of uniformed guards, the ad went on to say, “Heavy Gold Vault Bricks…layered in 24 Karat Gold are up for grabs.” The copy said thousands might miss the deadline to claim the gold bars and that they would, “make most impressive gifts for Christmas.”
The full-page ad copy mentioned the word “gold” over 50 times. The bars in the ad’s photo all had “.999 GOLD” and “Property Of First Bank Of The United States” stamped into them. Hmmm. That bank had closed in 1811.
The “gold fee” as they referred to it was just $49 per ounce. The total cost for the 20 ounces in the “four massive bars” in the “Gold Vault Brick” was $980.
The day I saw the ad, the spot price of gold was $1,850 per ounce. Did that mean these “gold” bars were a true deal? The ad said people could obtain the “…four massive bars weighing a full 20 ounces of high demand bullion copper layered in 24 Karat Gold.” Wait…copper? It turned out the “Jumbo Gold Bars” were actually made from copper merely coated in gold.
The copy in the ad posed the question, “How much are the Gold Vault Bricks worth?” It went on, “The answer is, it’s impossible to say. But, it would be foolish for anyone to try and determine the value of these Gold Vault Bricks based on today’s price of gold.” How true! No different from gold-plated jewelry, a micro coating of actual gold is so negligible it’s almost impossible to measure.
I don’t buy or sell precious metals so I thought the best source to learn the value would be actual coin dealers. After all, they are the ones to whom people turn to sell such things. I visited two in one of the states the ad claimed the bars would be sold.
The first dealer shook his head and said, “Oh, wow.” The other was more reflective. “Sometimes we have people bring in items similar to these hoping for a big return. They always leave disappointed, angry or both.” When asked if either of the dealers would want the bars each said “no.”
I pressed. If forced to buy them the dealers said they could only pay the copper value. Currently, copper is priced at $3.31 per pound or 21-cents per ounce. Those 20-ounce bars would be worth roughly $4.20. The dealers with whom I spoke said they would pay less than that – maybe “a buck per ingot, if that.” The ad declares this is, “…a real steal…” OK. But by whom?
One upside is that, by law, there is a 30-day money back guarantee. Anyone dissatisfied with their purchase can return them for a full refund. I would take quick advantage of that Christmas miracle. Plus, in the future, always check with a dealer or collector before ordering anything.
I give the people who write the copy for these ads credit. Their words are compelling. And, if someone is looking to pay a lot for inexpensive copper covered in a micro-coating of gold, these fit the bill. Just remember all those losers at a raffle. Blind hope rarely translates to riches.
For more collecting advice, visit www.peterexford.blogspot.com