This is a brief guide to purchasing Coins or other collectibles from a Television shopping network or show. Unfortunatly there are many uninformed people who are willing to believe what these hosts say and show on there shows. There are many times the items they are showing the viewer are of better quality than the item you will receive. Now this is not a large concern as many of the coins and bullion they offer is slabbed by one of the three top grading companies. ICG , PCGS , and NGC . We have yet to see ANACS or NTC coins offered on these channels. Many of these coins are sold at more than double their retail value. Due to numbers that are quoted by the hosts, sometimes related to other coins or even over priced coins sold elsewhere, these items can sound like great deal. The best defense to these onslaughts of misinformation is to educate yourself. Invest in either a recent periodical of coin prices such as Coin Magazine, or a 2007 Whitman's Red Book of retail coin prices. If you don't have the time log on to the internet and view the price quotes at www.pcgs.com.
    Yet another trick of these sellers is to offer coins of a series in a particular grade yet not specify the year or mint you will receive. Take for instance if you bought a pre-21Morgan in MS64 by NGC for $150. While advertising this item they showed a hand full of slabs such as 1891 and the 1885-S. Both a resonable price to pay. Unfortunately the actual coin you may receive could be an 1884-O or an 1888 both with a retail three times less than the price paid. This is just an example of a crooked misrepresntation you may view on one of these networks.
    Another grave and unforgivable means of robbing people of there money is the Gold 'layered' and Platinum series Statehood Quarters.First things first 'layered' actually means plated which also means very little almost no gold. The Platinum Series has also been tested and found to contain no platinum at all. Here's the key to this. If a coin is not the same metal make up as when it leaves the US Mint it's actual worth is probably the face value of the coin. Another tool is to view the US mint web site and see if a coin set has actually been issued by them in the material offered. In this case Silver is the only other metal the Statehood Quarters have been made in beyond their circulation alloy combination.
    Over all it is a shame that these companies are able to continue to swindel the public and unassuming investors. Many people have been dupped by these'crooks'. The have actually hurt the numismatic hobby in many respects. One being many people start to believe that all dealers are crooked. They have found ways to get around the false advertising. The only defense against them is to inform yourself and let those around you know that they need to seek the appropriate information before proceeding to buy or invest in precious metals or coins.