anyone want to go in on the 99% complete t206 set

[botn]

Assuming the auction is not still in the 15 minute rule and Bill ends up having won it, I have heard JP would be willing to drive to pick up a cash payment.

[calvindog]

Greg, there are no cash payments in the hobby. Such payments would suggest that perhaps sellers might not have records of their sales and might be hiding such information from the IRS. When I was at the National no one would accept cash and checkbooks and credit cards were being flashed left and right. I'm sure that JP and the rest of the dealers out there wouldn't want to have an IRS problem.

[botn]

Jeff you mean if a dealer, like JP, were carrying around a duffel bag of cash at a show he would not just take it to the bank to deposit it to his account?

[WhenItWasAHobby]

It is indeed a perplexing decision when to regard someone who for past indiscretions and has paid their "debt to society" to be considered trustworthy.

Fortunately, Professional Sports Authenticators, (PSA), the guardians and protectors of sports hobbyists for corruption, fraud and all other nefarious activities brings clear and concise moral guidance to these issues.

JP Cohen is a PSA Authorized Dealer. According to PSA's rigorous and stringent standards for authorized dealers, one critieria that must be met is that an "Applicant and key employees must not have been convicted of a felony in the past five years".

http://www.psacard.com/about/faq.chtml#faqid71

Can anyone here enlighten me why it's 5 years and not 4 or 6 or 10? What happens at 5 years that makes someone trustworthy beyond reproach?

I do rest at ease recalling Collector Universe president and PSA founder David Hall's famous quote, "We are dedicated to protecting collectibles consumers from fraud and misrepresentation in any form. We also fervently value our brand name. We will continue to work to protect collectors, and our own reputation, zealously."

[Peter_Spaeth]

Dan it's probably somewhat arbitrary but I also wonder how rigorously it's enforced?

[calvindog]

That's hilarious! Sounds like PSA should be in a leadership role in any trade association created to zealously enforce standards and ethics in our hobby.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by calvindog

That's hilarious! Sounds like PSA should be in a leadership role in any trade association created to zealously enforce standards and ethics in our hobby.

Jeff,

I'm not sure if you saw that thread where Collectors Universe and PCGS (the coin grading division) has filed suit against a group of coin doctors. Here's the news release and actual complaint:

http://coinsblog.blogspot.com/2010/0...n-doctors.html

http://www.coinlink.com/News/pdf/CU_vs_Coin_doctors.pdf

One of the causes of action is unfair competition. The question then begs to be asked, "Unfair to whom"? Well as it turns out, the same David Hall, president of Collectors Universe as mentioned above, runs a huge coin business, humbly called, "David Hall Rare Coins".

Using that logic, it would follow what this hobby needs as a safeguard is for PSA president Joe Orlando to start up his own PSA graded card business and call it something like, "Joe Orlando Rare Cards", then we'd see a big crackdown on these alleged card doctors that are rumored to exist in this hobby.

[Peter_Spaeth]

The suit alleges that over time, the chemicals used in doctoring cause changes in the surface of the coins, making it apparent that they have been doctored. So at least in that realm, the problem may be self-lmiting. It's interesting that PSA admits it can't detect the alterations though...

[botn]

The threads from 2007, when the JP Cohen fraud story broke, made the point that Memory Lane Inc was registered to someone other than JP, PSA’s site did not list JP as a contact nor did Memory Lane’s site refer to him. I suppose that was the way PSA justified Memory Lane being able to maintain their dealership even while JP was in jail, I mean the mortgage business. Reassuring, isn’t it?

Before this turns into a PSA bashing session let's not forget the corporate structure at SGC and their associated scandals. It is nothing more than a dog and pony show for both companies and both have severely compromised their product.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Dan it's probably somewhat arbitrary but I also wonder how rigorously it's enforced?

Peter,

That's a good question. I have no idea. For some odd reason I didn't get my annual invite to the PSA Registry Luncheon at the National and it would have been a nice question for Joe Orlando's Q&A session.

I think there's something mystical about the number "5" in this hobby. I recall one prominant PSA registry collector once admitting on the CU message board: "I bought a lot of raw cards in early 1990s which came back trimmed on first submission. If upon inspection it is far from obvious to me that they are in fact trimmed I resubmit 2, 3 or even 4 times.--never more than 4 though."

Yeah, there's definitely something special about the number "5" that separates good from evil.