Are the transactions kept confidential?

Question: The bottom line; Does the government have access to purchase

records? Are all coins exempt from confiscation? i.e. those
without mint marks.

Thanks

Kent

My Answer: Whew!! Do you know how to ask a question or what?!?!?! This has to be one of the most controversial topics in coin collecting or precious metal investment.

First off, let me point out that my answers to these questions are purely my opinion, so seek the advice of your lawyer and accountant before making any major decisions.

Your first question (Does the government have access to purchase records?) is fairly easy to answer. Some dealers will try to convince you to buy form them by saying that certain gold coins are exempt from being reported when you buy or sell them - This is just a sales ploy.

It is all exempt from reporting when you buy it unless you pay more than $10,000 cash. Even then, the gold or silver coins are not what the government is interested in. They want to know about large cash transactions.

Don't fall for scare tactics - Under 26 CFR 1.6045-1 and Rev.Proc. 92-103, dealers only need to report customer sales of 25 or more (but not fewer) Krugerrands, Maple Leaves, or Mexican Onzas, five bag lots ($5,000 face value) of US 90% silver coin, kilo gold bars, 100 oz. gold bars, 1,000 oz. silver bars, or 50 oz. or 100 oz. of platinum. The dealer does not report anything if you sell smaller lots than these.

As far as your second question goes (Are all coins exempt from confiscation?), I would say no. The government passed a law to confiscate them the first time and there is no reason why they could not do the same thing again if they so choose to.

Another sales ploy that dealers like to use is that you should buy numismatic coins rather than bullion because "they say" that numismatic coins cannot be confiscated. But the language written in the Executive Order of 1933 did not exempt "Numismatic" coins but rather "gold coins having a recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins."

Well now, who is going to interpret that statement? I bet it won't be me or you or the coin dealers. What do you think?

Talk about a loop hole, that one is big enough to drive a train through!

(Food for Thought - These coins that the dealers are trying to pass off as coins that cannot be confiscated are the very exact same coins that were confiscated in 1933. Most are now returning to the U.S. after being hidden away in other countries all these years.....something to think about.)

It is my opinion however, that the government would not have anything to gain by confiscating gold again. In 1933, gold coins were used in everyday commerce and every household had some. These days only a very, very small number of people own gold and an even smaller number own enough to even make it worth the bother.

I also believe that the government would have a very hard time getting the gold from the people who do have it. All they would have to do is claim that they got into a financial bind and had to sell it at a loss or something along those lines.

Again, this is just my personal opinion.