Hey everyone. 7:30 AM on the East Coast, from the usual place, I remembered that a year ago, I wrote my first blog on coins, and all things coins. It was about the Mega Red Book of Coins, and I got some stuff from y'all, including a Mike who thought I had blocked him (still, I say, no I did not). Well, me or you guys couldn't of seen what happened next. A series of blogs, running through the United States, that actually reaches the half-way point (well, 22 out 50 is close). A long set of articles of me throwing pot-shots at the mint director. And most importantly, I found a footing in this great hobby. This needs to be thanked. First, Mike (B), who gave me the encouragement to keep writing these. John (longstrider), Charlie (sly), and Mokie for occasional bombs in the message section. Fellow YN Preston (numismaster) for bombing me in the message box, 7:00 PM at night, telling me to answer something, which helped me learn more about the hobby. Overall, though, this section is dedicated to three people; you, my family for dealing with this, and God himself. Only he knows the true reason I do this. I have changed my avatar, but you will still see the smiling face of Patton on it. It says "Coinfodder: One Year of Blogs". I can't stress it enough, this is because of you. On a side note, note the Godfather Reference in my last post. 

Well today, I ran into HSN trying to pedal me a coin on YouTube. So, I threw a brick at the computer and broke it. OK, I am exaggerating, but sometimes I do really want to.Like some of us, people around the world stick on TV until 1:00 in the Morning. Maybe they just checked the nightly news, maybe they just watched the Braves lose a 3-1 lead over the Dodgers in the NLCS (/:-( WHY!), or they just home after a party and want to burn time until the morning watching TV. Whatever the case, there is a chance that you may run into a Coin Infomercial, a massively annoying ad telling you to buy a coin. Listening closely, you see that the wording of the script is purposely crafted to make you slobber over this coin.Let us do an example.Mike Browning Colt was sitting on his couch one day after watching the Falcons not know how to return an onside kick. He flipped to Fox Business channel right after the game ended. As the stock market is closed on Sunday, the channel broadcast ads instead. On of these ads featured Chuck Woolery advertising gold (no kidding- this is a real ad) at using buzzwords galore to make you attracted to gold. The next ad in the loop told this retired individual that if the economy struggled, the value of gold would go up, and selling it would help steady the guy's economic problem. Colt broke down and picked up the phone, buying a set of 2016 AGE's, for the cost of $6000.What is wrong with this?He fell for the infomercial. Now, we are going to break down the trap one by one.1)- The infomercial targeted him. I said earlier that Colt was an elderly man. The infomercial targeted elderly retirees like him, with no easy source of income.  They target the financial vulnerability of the elderly retiree, and told him to buy something that would stabilize his retirement income. Because of this, the company took the desperation of the elderly, and translated them into higher prices. 2)- His lack of Knowledge- As the biggest pitfall, many people pull the trigger and buy the coins before they do their research. This is the biggest pitfall of Colt. He should of done his research before he picked up the phone and bought his set of AGE's. This is a huge pitfall because if he did his research, he could of gotten the set for cheaper at another place. The company saw this and targeted him with the buzzwords and the higher price. Now that he has realized he has been scammed, he would be mad, and probably turn his back on the hobby,3)- Bait and Switch- Our friend Colt didn't fall into this, but some others did. What companies will do when you call them up is tell you that you should buy historical pieces instead. The theorize to you that the historical coins will gain in value faster than the bullion coins would, which is what most people sign up for. The company then sells those coins at ridiculous markups, which takes a long time to recover from and actually make a real profit. Now, some companies, such as the "King of Cameo" and his court, will try to trap you using a combo of buzzwords and knowledge, while also using career accolades to create the myth that this is a reputable seller. This is an even harder trap to avoid. On places like HSN, the folks there sound stupid, acting like they know something when they really don't. But people like the "King of Cameo" will swindle you and trick the unknowing customer into believing they are shopping from a reputable dealer. While they are rather trustworthy, the "reputable" look fools people into buying overpriced goods they think are at a bargain.So what do ya'll think? See ya'll later!

Hey Folks.During COVID-19, quarantines and other jolly stuff is forcing places to close. Restaurants, Small Businesses, and the ilk. But what about coin stores? Most of these don't fall under the "essential" business label, and are forced to shut down.So want do we do?Help them, of course! Donate meals to them. Some of these folks only get money from the store they own, and because of that, may have trouble providing food to them and there families.Help them when their store opens back up. Make a big purchase to keep them afloat.Thanks,YN and Boy ScoutUser 77959