Just Poking Around On The Internet....

Boy, he seems like a guy that all collectors would like. I wonder how(and if) the "Greed Monster" got a hold of him. It does not sound like he was a failure prior to this! Mike

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Originally posted by Susanlynn9

I have elected to refrain from stating any further opinions until the dust settles. Like everything, I'm sure that there are multiple sides to this story. While it appears that some very poor decisions were made by Noe, the campaign contributions that are being discussed are only a problem if they were funded by the State of Ohio's investment money (as far as I know). Also, letting politicians rent his vacation home for less than actual value would only be wrong if the condo was owned by the State of Ohio or was purchased with the coin investment money. (Again, I could be wrong, but this is the way it appears to me on the surface). Right now, every piece of dirt that can be dragged out on Tom Noe is being aired for the nation to see. Not all of this will be admissable or even pertinent in the actual case against Noe.

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Hi Susan,
I have real problems with Noe's opinion (expressed far before this scandal broke, during divorce proceedings from his first wife) that he had to make political contributions, even while filing for personal bankruptcy, to further his businesses. If his contributions influenced those making investment decisions with Ohio taxpayer money, that is wrong, even if the contributions were "legal". So, I think in a larger sense, coingate illustrates the corrupting influence of money on our political system. I know that 'pay to play" has been an issue since Tammany Hall in NYC and before, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do all we can to decrease the influence of money, whether in direct political contributions or otherwise, on governance.

It's too bad that someone such as Noe, who could have helped numismatics through the citizens advisory committee on coinage, and could have had raised the profile of numismatics through sucessful investment in coins for the state of Ohio (regardless of how one feels about the advisability of any goverment entity investing in coins- and regardless of the fact that someone such as Noe certainly could have made money for Ohio over the past 7 years- given the state of the coin market during that period), instead is exposing a slimy side of the business.
Don