THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CULT ECONOMIST'S COINS

The 58 rare coins at the center of two federal lawsuits are exceptionally valuable.

Now a bankrupt company's receiver wants them.

And an antique dealer wants them.

And so does Martin Armstrong, a self-taught economist with a cult following who spent years behind bars for what the U.S. said was a $700 million Ponzi scheme and for allegedly hiding assets, including what may be those very same coins.

Armstrong's story is one of Wall Street's more bizarre tales -- and the newest chapter makes it even more absurd.

... Armstrong later spent another five years behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy. He wasn't released until 2011, when he returned home to southern New Jersey and began holding conferences for his followers.

At least for the coins, that's largely where matters stood until March 2014, when, according to court papers, a day laborer walked into a Philadelphia thrift shop operated by George and Andrew Antoniak and sold them a box of coins for $6,000. The laborer said he found them while clearing out a house in New Jersey, according to the Antoniaks.

The coins' value -- $2.5 million -- soon became apparent. One of them, a gold penny from the year 1257, is one of just five known to exist and is one of the rarest, most valuable coins in English history. The Scottish coins come from the mid-16th century, and the Greek coins date from 500 BC to 300 BC. The Antoniaks consigned the coins to a Dallas-based auction house, Heritage...

"None of those coins are replaceable, all are unique," Armstrong's lawyers claim.

In 2017, Armstrong, a lifelong collector, learned that Heritage planned to auction the coins, and he claimed them as his own. In turn, the Antoniaks sued Armstrong, saying they'd never heard of him before he sought possession and asking the court to declare them the rightful owners. Armstrong then filed his own suit in Pennsylvania.

To read the complete article, see:
Cult Economist Jailed for Hiding Rare Coins Says They're His Now (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-13/cult-economist-jailed-for-hiding-rare-coins-says-they-re-his-now)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
ASBURY PARK GOLD CERTIFICATES DISPUTED (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n21a27.html)
ASBURY PARK 1882 GOLD CERTIFICATES (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n22a33.html)

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