Goldline Defends Itself On ABC

The cloud over Goldline, a now-controversial sponsor of Glenn Beck's show, got the company's executive vice-president Scott Carter on ABC's Good Morning America for an interview - particularly since investigators in Santa Monica and Los Angeles are investigating the company for illicit sales practices.

The controversy hinges around Goldline selling semi-numismatic coins with the pitch about possible government confiscation of gold coins. When done in 1933, collectors' coins were exempt. [Trivia: so were $100, or about five ounces' worth, of then-regular gold coins.] That exemption is the base for Goldline pushing the semi-numismatics. The story linked to contains two complaints from customers who found out that other gold dealers buy semi-numismatics only at spot value. [From what I've seen, the same thing goes for private buyers on eBay.] Carter defended his mark-ups by saying they're disclosed, and he intimated that the premiums won't be that big a deal if the coins are held for the long term.


I have to say I'm partial to tracking down the lowest price that's practicable for gold coins. I don't know if Goldline sells to Canadians, and it would be highly unlikely I'd buy from them had I been an American. Had I wanted numismatic coins, lived in America and could swing a way to meet the minimums, I'd likely buy from Tulving.

Here's a cautionary thought for any Glenn Beck supporter: if the crackdown on Goldline is political, then the (current) government is clearly aggravated by Beck. If the aggravation sticks, and a later government decides to confiscate gold coins, what's to stop government officials from confiscating semi-numismatics this time 'round? If the crackdown really is political, "Beck Nation" has a lot at stake when it comes to winning this one - and, I suggest, the mattter of how to win this one.