Another hotel gold buyer- Gold & Silver Extravaganza of Mississippi- descended on Southeast Texas this past week in hopes of buying precious metals and other items at rock-bottom prices, an investigation discovered. The Examiner has discovered. This marked the fifth such company to do so in the past eight months.
The company set up shop inside a conference room at the Holiday Inn Express near Central Mall. On its first visit, the newspaper brought about $1,500 worth of scrap gold and silver coins and two gold chains to see what the company was willing to pay for the items. The offer-- $315. But after some haggling, the price increased to $355, or about 24 percent of its scrap metal value. On the wholesale market, the items would fetch about $2000, according to similar items found purchased on eBay, U.S. Coin in Houston and Universal Coin and Bullion in Beaumont.
(Boston, Massachusetts) -- An on-going series of investigative stories urging consumers to be cautious when selling gold coins and jewelry to some traveling gold buyers now have won five national journalism awards. During the "seller beware" investigation conducted in five Southeastern states, one of the so-called "hotel gold buyers" offered only $60 for a rare U.S. gold coin valued by experts at $10,000. The stories also reported that scales used by some itinerant buyers to weigh gold jewelry may not be lawfully registered with government agencies, and in many cases the buyers refused to give receipts for their purchases.
How To Protect Yourself from Rare Coin Scams If you intend to buy rare or bullion coins for investment, your best protection is to spend time learning about the coins you are being asked to buy. In the past, most investment gains have gone to collectors, often known as numismatists, who have taken the time to carefully study various aspects of coins, including rarity, grading, market availability, and price trends.
Investment success over the years is the result of prudently acquiring coins of selected quality, proven rarity, and established numismatic desirability. Many careful buyers study coins for some time before buying even a single coin. Success also can be enhanced by researching dealers, as well as coins.
Published on: July 24, 2010 at 16:00 By Dr Jeffrey Lewis
With silver attracting headlines, cult-like following, and higher prices, silver investors should be on high alert for a scam being perpetrated on the internet. Newly minted fake coins are finding their way from Chinese counterfeiters to Ebay and then to investors who unknowingly purchase $20 rounds that are in reality only a few dollars worth of metals. As prices tread higher, these scams will only continue to grow in their influence. Here's a simple guide to evaluate silver, and whether or not it is indeed real:
Home
(Boston, Massachusetts) -- An on-going series of investigative stories urging consumers to be cautious when selling gold coins and jewelry to some traveling gold buyers now have won five national journalism awards. 
