Chalk up one more for blammo's government

[CG6468]

Heirs Lose Fight With Gov't to Keep Rare Gold Coins
By Maryclaire Dane
Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011  |  Updated 5:41 PM EDT

AP

A jury has decided that a set of rare gold coins found in a bank deposit box rightfully belongs to the U.S. government.

The decision, made on Wednesday, caps an unusual civil case that combined history, coin collecting and whether the set of rare $20 "double eagles" should have ever let the U.S. Mint in 1933.

Where's the transcript of the trial?

[thelaughingman]

Possession in nine-tenths of the law...




...except when it comes to Democrats.

[docstew]

Hannity had a good take on this. The gov't would get more out of this if the heirs had to sell and then give them the taxes for that income. As it stands, the gov't has painted themselves into a corner. They can't sell them, as their case was built on the stance that private ownership was illegal in the first place. Good job, DOJ, you have taken ten ounces of gold (value by weight: ~$10K) from a family instead of being able to get $30M+ in tax money.

[FreeBorn]

Hannity had a good take on this. The gov't would get more out of this if the heirs had to sell and then give them the taxes for that income. As it stands, the gov't has painted themselves into a corner. They can't sell them, as their case was built on the stance that private ownership was illegal in the first place. Good job, DOJ, you have taken ten ounces of gold (value by weight: ~$10K) from a family instead of being able to get $30M+ in tax money.

Bullseye! Split the tree. ^!

[thundley4]

Hannity had a good take on this. The gov't would get more out of this if the heirs had to sell and then give them the taxes for that income. As it stands, the gov't has painted themselves into a corner. They can't sell them, as their case was built on the stance that private ownership was illegal in the first place. Good job, DOJ, you have taken ten ounces of gold (value by weight: ~$10K) from a family instead of being able to get $30M+ in tax money.

Why can't the government put the coins up for auction and have all of the money for themselves?

[docstew]

Why can't the government put the coins up for auction and have all of the money for themselves?

Their legal argument was that the coins should never have been in private hands. Selling them undermines that position, opening them up for a lawsuit by the heirs who currently possess them.

[thundley4]

Their legal argument was that the coins should never have been in private hands. Selling them undermines that position, opening them up for a lawsuit by the heirs who currently possess them.

That makes sense, but it doesn't mean the government won't try it.