Ever eager to make a quick buck, Burris suddenly had a devious idea. The scheme came to him in a moment of disappointment, disproportionately motivated by desperation. Being nearly five grand in the hole, it would take at least that amount, plus another $60k to get him through the year. So, $120,000 would undoubtedly be much sweeter.
Even better, such a score would nicely set him up for the next big thing – the one to put him so far into the black side of the ledger, he could give up the game for good. All he had to do was find the right event in a far away venue. Somewhere he could easily drop in, cash in, and pull a fast escape.
Sadly, it had come to this. Now in his late forties, Burris left the nine-to-five life more than twenty years ago, regarding such circumstances as dull with no real possibility to get rich. His aspirations unfulfilled, this situation presented a genuine opportunity to open a path to his dreams, and it was right there in his hand, courtesy of a clever, albeit deceitful, stranger. Still, someone, whoever it might be, was a like-minded individual.
Burris came into possession of the coin only days ago. It was part of a lot he purchased with some promising pieces. Some turned out to be worth a few thousand, but one among them, in particular, had much greater value due to its double misprint by the Treasury decades and decades ago.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the expertise to verify its authenticity. So, Burris sent several pictures of the entire lot to a reputable numismatologist. Shortly thereafter, he received an invitation to meet in person. Burris enthusiastically accepted and met with the specialist, who explained he needed to examine the coin in person.
The numismatologist quickly valued the coins in the lot and then studied the most interesting carefully, looking for two specific marks. If the coin contained one, it was worth $60,000, perhaps a little more. But, if it had two minting errors, it would easily be worth twice as much, maybe even $130,000 or more, to the right person.
Burris was ecstatic. And his mood briefly elevated to new heights when the collector took another look at the coin – it contained a third anomaly. He thought to himself, if one is good and two is better, three is paydirt. Shockingly, that wasn’t the case whatsoever. The expert explained a lot of fakes and forgeries make their way into the collection and trading world and this coin was one of them.
If the extra irregularity was in fact authentic, its value would be extraordinarily high. However, the numismatologist told him these incidents of the treasury making such mistakes were very well documented. And, since the third one has never been previously reported or even rumored, meant that it was not a collectible. The specialist went on to lament that it was truly unfortunate unscrupulous people make a lot of money ripping off unsuspecting amateur collectors by passing off fakes as real.
Disappointed and discouraged by the thoroughly unwelcome news, Burris scooped up his lot and went home. As he looked at the phony coin, all he could think about was missing his chance to make a huge profit. If only there were a way to sell the supposedly rare coin for its ostensible value, he’d do it. But, how?
Then, it occurred to him that collector shows were held all over, usually on weekends. Since Saturday was soon approaching, he began searching for such events and found a few, preferably quite a distance from his location so he could use an alias and remain anonymous. The most suitable way to unload the coin for the biggest amount and slip quietly away.
At the busy venue, people mingled, exchanged small talk, and shared their mutual interests. Burris made a few inquiries with different vendors and all showed interest in purchasing what they believed to be a genuine rarity. One seemed more serious – and more ardent than his peers – a long-time collector named Ronson.
Just as Burris was about to reapproach Ronson to sell the fake coin, another man approached and introduced himself as Groél, a self-described avid hobbyist who also had a great interest in the piece. But, what got Burris’ attention was Groél’s peculiar claim that Ronson shouldn’t be trusted.
Groél discreetly explained Ronson had rightly earned a reputation for being a ruthless haggler, one who always paid less than a coin’s worth and who also always sold the same coin for top dollar. Unfamiliar with the locals, Burris heeded Groél’s warning but decided to verify this unsettling assessment as a precaution.
After consulting a number of attendees and other vendors, Burris discovered the assertion was indeed valid – Ronson always underpaid and then sold pieces for more than their actual value, particularly to new hobbyists who didn’t know better.
Although Burris wasn’t at all sophisticated in the world of coin collecting, his untoward trade educated him plenty enough to avoid such a character. Besides, if anyone was going to sniff out the truth, it would probably be Ronson, the type of personality who would also warn anyone who listened about the suspicious coin.
Armed with this insight, Burris sought out Groél, who expressed great interest in buying not only the phony coin but the entire lot – a nice bonus indeed. Such a transaction came to a grand total of $133,000 – Burris couldn’t have been any happier as he waited for Groél to return from the bank with a certified cashier’s check.
The minutes drug by unkindly slowly, each one seeming to take longer than the previous. Burris tried to keep himself preoccupied, but he was just too anxious. After an intolerable half hour of toe-tapping and pacing, Groél finally returned, carrying a bank envelope.
Unable to wait any longer, Burris ran over, pulling the lot of coins wrapped in a cloth bag, out of his pocket, and opening it up to reveal the contents. Groél calmly handed over the envelope, and Burris hastily pulled the cashier’s check out, ensuring the agreed amount was correctly printed. There it was, $133,000 – not bad for a little leg work.
The two men shook hands and went their separate ways.
Later that afternoon, just after arriving back home, Burris got a phone call from his local bank branch – the cashier’s check was an elaborate counterfeit – it was worthless.
Steaming over infuriating news, he was surprised by a knock at the door. When he opened it, two police officers greeted him – someone at the show had informed law enforcement someone fitting his description was attempting to sell a fake coin at the event.
As the officers placed Burris under arrest, they informed him he wasn’t the only one up to no good – they already had another man in custody for passing bad checks.
