Cohen Mint Scam: Rhodium
For years I've been a big fan of The Cohen Mint. I bought from them, had a couple conversations over the phone with the founder of the mint, and even did an interview with him that you can find here.Now, over these past few years I've seen dozens of negative comments regarding Mr. Cohen's business. When I ordered my palladium coins or rhodium bars I realized that it might be a few months until they were delivered. So, I assumed that the complainers were just impatient. I think I assumed wrong!
I believe I placed my last order in January 2012. I received my bars in May 2012. Problem: bars were both cracked. I contacted Cohen Mint several times and haven't gotten a reply. I called on the phone and haven't gotten an answer. Cohen Mint knows that I'm stuck with cracked bars. Cohen Mint SHIPPED me cracked bars (no way did they crack during shipping because they were padded well).
So, I'm just putting this out there that I've done a 180 with the Cohen Mint company. I will do no further business with them. I asked for a couple rhodium bars, not cracked rhodium bars. I should have listened to everyone else
What a pity, I was considering buying from them.
ReplyDeleteThe only other source of rhodium bars I found is a British company, Baird & co.
http://www.goldline.co.uk/rhodium-bars.page
http://www.goldeneaglecoin.com/Other_Metals
Kitco also sells their bars.
https://online.kitco.com/products/31032/1_oz_Rhodium_Baird_Co_Bar.html
However, Kitco says "The bar(s) you receive may not be in mint condition." I wonder if they also may be broken, like the bars from Cohen.
If you find a supplier that accepts credit cards and ships outside of USA please post something on the site about it.
Hey, thanks for the comment. Does it really say that they might not be in mint condition? I know rhodium is brittle and hard to work with. If that's the case, then I'm not as upset. Still I would rather learn that from the person I gave $1000s to instead of someone else on the Internet. I won't buy from them again. No thanks!
DeleteThe Kitco link in the other post mentions it in the bottom of the page.
ReplyDeleteTo be sure about what the damage is, you only would know for sure asking them via email. I never bought anything from them because their minimum order of 2500USD would be difficult to handle from my country, lots and lots of paperwork would be required. And to add insult to the injury, they only ship their 10 troy ounces bottles of rhodium outside of the United States.
Kitco buys back rhodium, the sponge (powder) bottles that they sell. If they also buy back the bars, they would probably be made back into powder, to be assailed and repackaged. They pay less for their bottles when the seal is broken; bars coming from who-knows-where, if they accept them, would fall in the same case.
I forgot to mention that in my opinion the need to check the authencity of the bars would make unlikely that they resell previously owned bars. Hence, all damage on them would be from the mint.
DeleteI bought a 1oz rhodium bar from Baird & Co. and it had surface scratches but wasn't damaged in any other way. The sphoto on their website shows an unmarked bar. This may be what Kitco are referring to. Rhodium is such a difficult metal to fabricate that it can't be polished to a flawless finish like traditional precious metals. The bar I bought came in a sealed holder - Baird said they will buy back the bars provided the seal hasn't been tampered with. That said, the spread on rhodium is much wider than for gold, platinum etc., so the price has to go up that much more to realise a profit (sadly my bar has fallen £160, ~$255 in the three months since I bought it).
ReplyDeleteI've bought 7 ounces of Baird, 5 purchases, from Golden Eagle Coins. Paid by check each time, delivery within a month. Price has bounced up for second time in last two months, so lows may be in or close. I'll keep buying 1-2 oz at a time, average down or up under $1,500.
Deletehey, thanks for the comment. Does it really say that they might not be in mint condition? I know rhodium is brittle and hard to work with. If that's the case, then I'm not as upset. Still I would rather learn that from the person
ReplyDelete1P-LSD powder for sale online
I ordered from the Cohen mint and sent a check and spoke to Jessica Martel on the phone (ethan Cohen's partner) and she said there was a delay because of cancer, but they scamed me out of $6000 because I never recieved my item. They are worthless theieves. I am happy I also bought from Baird mint and plan to sell my bars from them now and make a profit. Kitco is also a good company to buy and sell. Just stay away from anything Cohen mint because I was told they sent the orders out to China to be minted anyway... I question the purity of their items.
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