# Why does the .gov want rare coins destroyed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109 "2015-04-20T13:34:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/41 "2015-04-22T18:39:40Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > It’s clear nobody has a real, documented answer concerning the policy and you will jump on me if I respond to the most recent posts in even the most dulcet of tones. **Moderating** Sorry if you are not getting the quality of answers you would like, but that’s not a reason to snark at other posters. I certainly don’t recall having jumped on anyone when they were being polite to other posters. If you are confident at this point that you will not receive an answer that suits you, you can just stop reading the thread. Your own comments have contributed as much to derailing the thread as anyone else’s. Let’s stop the complaints, and just focus on the substance of the posts. Any further comments about moderation should go in ATMB. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/42 "2015-04-22T20:22:46Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Oh, I don’t know…perhaps I thought there might be an enthusiastic and knowledgeable numismatist here Why would you assume that there was? Maybe you could ask your question on a board that focuses on coin collecting. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/43 "2015-04-22T20:40:15Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Why would you assume that there was? > > Maybe you could ask your question on a board that focuses on coin collecting. Actually there are several. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/44 "2015-04-23T15:24:23Z")
Several what? Goats, alpacas, types of soap, people that wear mismatched socks, religions that forbid the eating of belly-button lint, Loch Ness monsters that only play cricket on every third Tuesday evening of months ending in “y”, “h”, “l”, “e”, “t” or “r”? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/45 "2015-04-23T15:29:39Z")
Numismatists. And about the only really knowledgeable one I know of around here is **Samclem**. And the basic answer to **Scumpup’s** question is: ‘Because the law says so’. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/46 "2015-04-23T19:02:11Z")
If you think about it, if the Mint intends to never, ever release the coins then their only value is for the gold. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/47 "2015-04-23T19:15:55Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > Numismatists. And about the only really knowledgeable one I know of around here is **Samclem**. > > And the basic answer to **Scumpup’s** question is: ‘Because the law says so’. It seems to me that if someone robs a store of fifty bucks, the police don’t stop investigating the crime once they’ve expended more than fifty bucks worth of effort on it. Or if I steal twenty bucks worth of coins from a parking meter, the police don’t just let it go. So the fact that the effort expended by the government in trying to recover these coins is more than the value of the gold is irrelevant. (And BTW, if the family is able to keep and sell them, they might sell for several million dollars each, so the bullion value isn’t even the issue.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109/48 "2015-04-23T20:37:27Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > If you think about it, if the Mint intends to never, ever release the coins then their only value is for the gold. Never confuse price and value. Collectors have paid millions for these things. The value may be zero, but the price is enough to retire on. If one was fortunate enough to have one and the connections to sell it anonymously to the necessarily anonymous buyer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-gov-want-rare-coins-destroyed/718109.md?page=2)