RAISING THE BAR ON HOBBY ETHICS

I manage the Convention / Coin Show for the Central States Numismatic Society. We are one of the big 3 non-profit coin shows that exist to serve the hobby. During my career I have been appalled by the frequency that dealers, collectors and hobby organizations tolerate bad, sometimes unscrupulous behavior, when performed by someone with a fat checkbook.

If you have been a loyal reader on this site, you know that I have often called out dealers and numismatic organizations for looking the other way. With the position I have at Central States, I decided it was time for someone to take the lead, and that we should be the ones to do it. The segment below was part of my column in the Summer edition of the Centinel, Central States' quarterly magazine for its membership:

We are Raising the Bar

We are a Midwestern organization, and Midwestern values will stand at the heart of everything we do. We believe in honesty, ethics, fairness and transparency; good people and the Golden Rule.

We've all seen numismatic organizations, groups, and individual dealers look away, or hide their head in the sand at shady or unfair practices; especially when the offending party has a check in their hand. It is our intent to take the lead and to raise the bar on those matters.

For example, a well-known dealer, a fixture at most large shows, despite being notorious for many years for bad checks and bad deals, will no longer be allowed to enter our show to do business. Another big-time dealer, whose parent company was a firm that became the focus of a massive Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation for ripping off the public, will not be welcome as a table holder, regardless of his status as a Coin World Top 60.

We intend to enforce a message, If ripping off seniors, retirees and the uneducated public is part of your business model, don't come around us with your check — not for tables, not for sponsorships, not for donations. We don't value finance over integrity.

End of segment.

To read the complete article, see:
It's Time to Stop Looking the Other Way on Ethics (http://www.simcocoins.com/its-time-to-stop-looking-the-other-way-on-ethics/)

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