On the Record

By: Danny Jacobs

Talk about a cold case.

A U.S. District Court judge recently ruled that the federal government will have to prove a Philadelphia jewelry dealer stole rare, gold 1933 ”double eagle” coins from the U.S. Mint - 75 years ago, according to The New York Times.

Around 500,000 of these $20 coins were minted before President Roosevelt issued an executive order that made owning large amounts of gold coins illegal as he moved the country away from the gold standard. Two coins ended up in the Smithsonian, and most of the rest were melted down, according to the Times.

Other coins did survive, however, and the only one sold at public auction went for $7.6 million. So imagine Roy Langbord’s surprise, then, when in 2003 he discovered 10 double eagles in a long-forgotten family safe deposit box. The Mint authenticated the coins five years ago but said it would be keeping them because Langbord’s grandfather stole them. Langbord and his family claim his grandfather acquired the coins legitimately before the ban was enacted.

The government has until the end of the month to prove the coins were stolen or else they will have to return them to Langbord. Observers believe it will be nearly impossible for the government to prove its theft theory.

Or, if I may put words into their mouths, the government’s chances are significantly less than a coin flip.

By: jackie.sauter

Would-be lawyers in Maryland could be paying a lot more to take the bar exam, the Associated Press reports.

Tucked into S.B. 514, extending the lifespan of the State Board of Law Examiners, is a measure to raise the cap on the bar exam fee from $150 to $400.

“Fiery” debate on the bill will resume Thursday in the Senate, the AP said.

Opponents point out that most exam-takers are fresh out of school and don’t have hundreds of extra dollars lying around. Proponents counter that current fees don’t even cover expenses, leaving the General Fund on the hook for about $500,000 each year. Raising the fee to $325 could solve that, according to the fiscal note on the bill (PDF).

The unspoken argument, though, surely centers on what economists call inelasticity of demand. To wit: How high would fees have to go before lawyers-to-be would shake their heads, say “never mind” and walk away?

Considering all they’ve invested to get to that point — for most of them, roughly a quarter of their lives (four years of college, three of law school), not to mention tuition, books, room, board and an “interview suit” or two — I’m guessing they’ll come up with the extra coin somehow or other.

Whether that’s fair or not is another matter. What do you think?

BARBARA GRZINCIC, Managing Editor/Law

By: jackie.sauter

In case you haven’t heard: Judge Roy Pearson’s ridiculous multimillion dollar lawsuit against a D.C. dry cleaners is being taken seriously in Maryland’s legislature, The Washington Post reports. Del. Barbara A. Robinson (D-Baltimore) testified yesterday on her proposal (PDF) that dry cleaners be held financially responsible for damaged clothing.

Speaking of our state government, the Pew Center on the States gave it a “B” grade for effectiveness in a recent ranking. Andy Rosen writes about it on Eye on Annapolis.

JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor

By: jackie.sauter

The cost of the 2004 campaign, then a peak, was $693 million dollars … estimates for the ‘08 race begin around $1 billion and reach up to $3 billion.

From Yahoo News:

As a historical comparison, the campaign two decades ago that saw Republican George H.W. Bush succeed Ronald Reagan at the White House cost 59 million dollars.

JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

By: jackie.sauter

Guess what could be waiting for you at home?

Your latest Maryland property assessment, and be prepared: it’s not going to reflect the slowdown in the real estate market.

The assessments will arrive this week at homes and businesses, and the average one is rising 33 percent over three years ago.

It’s an average 75 percent increase in Baltimore and nearly 52 percent increase in PG County. MoCo had the smallest increase on average: about 16 percent. The jumps reflect the overall increase in the market in the past three years.

There is one silver lining: the Homestead Property Tax Credit, which limits tax increases on homeowners’ primary residences to no more than 10 percent per year. And it’s a one-time application.

JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

By: jackie.sauter

Rap mogul Russell Simmons is a genius at diversification. After co-founding Def Jam records more than 25 years ago, he’s become quite a businessman. He’s used his entrepreneurial spirit to launch a clothing line (Phat Farm), bring spoken word poetry to HBO and Broadway (Def Poetry), and even held a political reception last year for Maryland Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Steele.

To say Russell Simmons (pictured at right) wears many hats is an understatement. Over the weekend in Greensboro, N.C., an organization Simmons co-chairs called the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) held a financial investment seminar entitled “Get Your Money Right.”

The organization’s mission statement says, “The network is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of Hip-Hop music to serve as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the empowerment of youth.”

The summit featured current rap music artists including Jim Jones and Lil’ Mo explaining the benefits of home ownership, investing intelligently and trying to avoid debt.

I wonder if the current real estate crisis couldn’t have been avoided if there were more organizations like Simmons’ talking about the benefits of smart investing or trying to appeal to people through their current favorite celebrities.

Imagine if Madonna did a public service announcement saying: buy a home, settle down, invest your money wisely and retire when you’re 50. Or maybe if Britney Spears did one saying: I really love playing the stock market. Invest your extra pennies and you’ll always be able to take care of yourself.

It’s time we start demanding more from our celebrities and public figures. You wouldn’t expect sound financial advice from rapper Lil’ Mo, but at the summit she made a very sage comment:

“Everybody wants to make it rain, but they never have enough saved up for a rainy day.”

The phrase “make it rain” is taken from rapper Fat Joe’s album entitled “Me, Myself & I” and means to let dollar bills fall from the sky like it’s raining money.

So listen to Lil’ Mo, and hopefully others will follow her lead in offering sound advice for those of us who really want to “make it rain” common financial sense.

What favorite celebrity of yours would you like to see offering financial advice or investment tips?

-TODD ZIMMERMAN, Presentation Editor