"Coin Gate" In Ohio

Most of you outside of Ohio, especially outside of Toledo, Ohio probably haven't heard about the whole coin episode saga. To briefly catch you up....Tom Noe a local Republican who owns a Rare Coin company was contracted by the Worker's Compensation Bureau in Ohio to invest 50 million dollars. Some claim he got this investment opportunity because he donated to numerous campaigns. He is currently also under investigation by the Federal Government in regards to donations to President Bush's last campaign, but that's a whole different saga that also has made me ask many questions......

What Mr. Noe does is take the money from the state then give it to selected other coin dealers to "manage" a certain dollar amount of coins. Unfortunately, one former person Mr. Noe used turned up to have had a prior felony conviction. A second one claimed two coins worth over 300,000 were "lost" in the mail. (Don't ask me why anyone would send coins of that value thru the regular US Post Office). Now in today's Toledo Blade we discover that more coins are missing. From the same man who had the empty package with no coins show up before. The total value is less, only $93,000, but there are a total of 121 coins now missing.

Now, some say this has been a great investment because it's had a very high rate of return, though according to the Blade they have never seen actual documentation on the profit as they have requested from the Workers Comp Bureau. Some say this is a very risky deal. Then there are those who say that 50 million dollars may sound like a lot but in the context of the rest of the investment money the Workers Comp Bureau has it's really not that big of a deal.

From what I understand no other state uses Rare Coins as a part of it's investment portfolio for any Bureau.

I think it's risky for the very obvious reason care isn't being taken. Two coins "lost" in the mail? Now another 119 missing? Mr. Noe himself has personal experience with coins being stolen. He unsuccessfully tried to sue his insurance company when coins valued at over 200,000 were stolen from his car.

You can read about that case when it went before the Court of appeals,
HERE Some of the main facts are below:

On the evening of November 30, 1996, Mr. Noe and his wife were returning home from Dearborn, Michigan, after attending the annual convention of the Michigan State Numismatic Society. Mr. Noe had exhibited coins for sale at the convention. On the back seat of the Noes' 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan - in briefcases 1 over which Mrs. Noe's coat had been draped - was $203,588 worth of coins and currency belonging to the plaintiff.

Mr. Noe locked the car doors with a remote control device, after which he checked every door individually to make sure it was locked. He then followed his wife into the house. There he greeted and hugged his stepchildren, standing where he could watch the car through the door at the side of the house. He subsequently helped the children get their shoesand coats on, and at one point he went back out to the driveway to get a child's coat out of the van.


Angel Bennett, another of Mrs. Noe's nieces, came in the side door a little later and asked what the commotion was on the street. Mr. Noe looked outside and saw nothing, but nonetheless went to check on the car. What he found was that the rear passenger window had been smashed and the company briefcases removed. Mr. Noe's personal briefcase was also taken, but Mrs. Noe's coat and purse, a duffle bag, a cellular phone and a radar detector remained undisturbed. The car doors were still locked. Mr. Noe did not see anyone driving or running away from the scene. The total time elapsing between the locking of the car doors and the discovery of the theft was said to have been three to five minutes.

Granted this was almost ten years ago, but it demonstrates how easy it is for others to steal this type of "investment". If an individual wants to take that as a risk that is of course their decision, but to place that kind of risk on a state run investment, with the way obvious lapses of common sense have occurred is not a smart move for the state.

I do feel our local paper has made this almost a crusade, however there is a valid point to it. Something that can be taken that easily with very little ability to trace isn't a wise investment no matter the temporary profits now it has the potential to be a disaster. So just on that alone and not involving all of the side issues that have also arisen? The State should act and stop this as an investment while it still is claiming to have shown a profit.