SUBORNING GREED

How easy it is, under the influence of greed, to fall, or jump, into this destructive trap. I have today come close.

My grandson recently uncovered a long lost treasure. As I preparing to sell my home of over 50 years, he found the bag of coins I began saving as a child, most inherited from my grandfather, Morgan silver dollars from the wild west of the 1880s, and others. I gathered some myself. Among those coins I bought was a container of 20 Brilliant Uncirculated 1964 Kennedy half dollars I thought some day might be of value.

Checking the Playground for the Stupid, the internet, the first thing I found was one for sale for $48,000. Ca-ching! Bells rang, lights flashed, and I imagined riches. Looking further, I found one for sale for $35,000. Uh oh, that’s a big gap. Then I saw others that supposedly sold for $7500, $3500, $1500. My “uh oh” grew louder. Something is wrong here, I astutely determined.

Further research revealed a container of 20 BU,’64 Kennedy’s for sale from a reputable site for $599.00. Ok, that does it. My plan to put one of the coins on the net for highest bidder, waiting to see what turned up were dashed. Oh, I could still do it, shopping for the foolish buyer who looked at the big dollar offers on the net and thought a couple of thousand could be a bargain, but it struck my greedily feverish mind, that this sort of conduct lies at the heart of our sickened society.

People lie. People expect to be lied to, especially in financial transactions. This leaves little room for an honest…