Mourning the 90th Anniversary

This week we observed the 90th anniversary of one of the most important events in the history of precious metals. On April 5, 1933, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102. This ordered U.S. citizens to turn in their gold coins and gold certificates that they owned in excess of $100 face value to be fully compensated with Federal Reserve Notes of the same face value and purchasing power.

The order did provide an exclusion to not turn in gold coins and gold certificates that might have collector value higher than face value. The reason for that was Roosevelt had received legal advice that calling in such coins and currency might require the government to pay out the collector value instead of face value. At the time, only a very tiny percentage of gold coins and gold certificates qualified for this exemption.

This order also prohibited Americans from acquiring bullion gold. This prohibition against purchasing gold lasted until the end of 1974, although toward the end the list of prohibited items was not as far reaching as it was in 1933.

Toward the end of this prohibition, the U.S. government considered coins struck with dies created before 1960 to be exempt collector coins. This made it legal for Americans to own all U.S. gold coins. It also encouraged Austria, France, Hungary, Mexico, Switzerland and elsewhere to “restrike” coins with pre-1960 dates that would be legal for Americans to own. It was therefore possible for the Austrian Mint to create new dies and strike more of their 1915-dated 100-coronas coins that were legal to sell to Americans, so long as that mint pretended that the dies were created before 1960.

At the time gold coins and gold certificates were called in 90 years ago, those who did were 100 percent compensated for what they redeemed. It wasn’t until 1934 that the U.S. government raised the price of gold from $20.67 per ounce to $35.00, effectively stealing vast wealth from the American people who complied with the gold redemption.

One consequence of the long prohibition against Americans purchasing gold is that gold ownership in the U.S. is much lower than in other developed nations. This is one reason why it is extremely unlikely that the U.S. government would ever again repeat Roosevelt’s mandatory gold redemption program – it just could not pull in enough value to be worth the negative reactions (especial from foreign governments and people) to such a move.

*******

Ohio Law Requires an Auctioneer’s License For Those Who Sell Merchandise in Online Auctions

Ohio House Bill 321 was signed by that state’s governor last June, with an effective date of Sept. 14, 2022. It changes the law about which Ohio residents are allowed to conduct auctions, whether online or otherwise.

Almost any Ohio business or resident who conducts a sale online is now required to have an auctioneer’s license. The license fee is $200 for the two-year license, but is only $100 for a one-year licenses if acquired in the second year of a cycle. To obtain a license requires that the applicant meet the educational and personal requirements stated in the law. You can read the law here.

There are various exemptions from being required to obtain a license such as for non-profit entities and individuals selling property that was not acquired for resale purposes.

However, Ohio-based coin and currency dealers who offer their merchandise in online auctions, either directly or through facilitating organizations such as eBay, must now first obtain an Ohio auctioneer’s license. Even individuals who try making a little extra income by putting their own numismatic collections or numismatic items they acquired from others in online auctions must now obtain an Ohio auctioneer’s license.

Those making online sales at fixed prices do not appear to be subject to getting this license. Those who have questions should contact either the Ohio Department of Agriculture or the Ohio Auctioneer’s Commission.

Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, 2017 Exemplary Service Award, 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award and 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild (including in 2021 for Best Investment Newsletter), Professional Numismatists Guild, Industry Council for Tangible Assets and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Mich., and writes Liberty’s Outlook, a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries titled “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).