About United Gold Group
WHY CHOOSE UNITED? There are a great number of gold and coin dealers across the nation. Some are good and some are bad. Some are honest and some are not. Some are interested in how much money they can make from a single deal and others are interested in developing a long term relationship based upon trust, fair dealing and mutual benefit. At United, we strive to develop long term relationships with our customers, where the customer, who follows recommendations, will benefit economically over a reasonable period of time. We are members of the Numismatic Consumer Alliance, an organization dedicated to protecting the consumer from the bad apples that exist in the coin and gold community. We are proud to be Lifetime Members of the American Numismatic Association and of our unblemished record with the Better Business Bureau. Customers have returned to us time and time again and have referred us their friends and relatives, because we try to provide a level of service and fairness in pricing that they have not found elsewhere. We encourage our customers to do their homework before buying and to make informed decisions. We believe that a customer properly and sufficiently educated, will make correct decisions suited to his or her needs, situation and objectives. We provide educational materials and answer whatever remaining questions that might then exist, so that our customers will have the comfort level and confidence to make a purchase in an amount that correctly suits their needs and in an appropriate percentage to the assets they seek to protect and in proper proportion to the balance of their assets. A gold or coin purchase is not a “one size fits all” transaction. Our representatives spend whatever time is required, so that we and you will feel comfortable that the purchase you ultimately make, is the right one for you. Some of our customers are first time buyers and others have bought gold and precious metals from other companies before us. We enjoy being told that a customer’s experience dealing with United, was different from other companies they had dealt with in the past. Whether you are a first time buyer or an experienced investor in gold or other precious metals, we believe that your experience with United, will be all you are looking for and more.
United is a family business. I started collecting coins when I was 13 years old. I would buy old Indian pennies and Liberty Nickels from the ice cream truck man, who would get them out of the change he took in for the day. I would go to the bank after school, and change a twenty dollar bill for 2,000 pennies. I would go through all of them and reroll them and get my $20 bill back. I would repeat the process and would end up finding Indian Cents and the early Lincoln pennies, including the dates that cannot be found that way any longer. I found a 1909 S VDB, a 14D, a 22 plain and a 31S. My collection consisted of circulated coins only. I always had an interest in coins and I eventually formed complete collections of Standing Liberty Quarters and Walking Lib Half Dollars, doing the same thing. While I have bought and sold coins over the years, I still have some original collections, including a Liberty Nickel Collection- all found through circulation. I have been a collector for over 50 years.
I became a lawyer and have practiced law for close to 40 years now. I have been a long time member of various bar associations and of lawyer organizations, dedicated to the protection of consumer rights, including CAOC-Consumer Attorneys of California. I remain an active member of the State Bar of California. Still, coins were always my passion. In the 80’s, I started collecting by buying coins from auction. Things seemed expensive back then, but looking back, I only wish that I never sold a thing and bought the very best that I could at any given point afford. The coins I acquired back then, outperformed by far, any traditional investment in the stock market or real estate. Over the years, I have had numerous classic rarities, including an 1804 Dollar, a 1927D Twenty Dollar Gold piece, an Ultra high relief, an Uncirculated 1794 Dollar and a complete collection of the finest known Stellas.
About 25 years ago, I transformed my personal collecting to a business. It was a difficult transition to make as I was a great buyer and a terrible seller. That is, I just could not part with some of the great coins that I acquired over the years. Eventually, I was able to do just that and of course, if I had not sold them, I would have realized profits totally off the chart. I am not complaining as I have done exceptionally well for myself and for my clients who followed my lead.
I found that it was a difficult transition for clients to invest in coins, when they had been investing in the stock market for years. Clients would ask how I could pay so much-sometimes a million dollars or more for a single coin. To me, it was the same as art collecting. Coins have history. Some have been held by Presidents and some by the most important people throughout the ages. The best part of collecting was when clients realized that there was a liquid market and a steady stream of buyers for the right coins. Great coins and coins in superb condition were and are always in demand.
I derive a sense of satisfaction in steering our clients in the right direction and in educating them. Education is the key to understanding Numismatics. Some people hear about the spot price of gold and want to invest believing that bullion will continue to appreciate and that they will derive an increase in their investment as the value of the metal increases in price. Some people have expressed that the weakening dollar and the demand for gold by foreign governments is a reason that the metal will continue to appreciate. This represents sound reasoning and I do not dispute the motivation, especially when over time, it appears to have made our customers a considerable profit on their investments. For me, however, from a personal perspective, I continue to encourage clients to broaden their horizons and see the big picture-Numismatics. Scarce and rare coins appreciate for reasons other than for which bullion appreciates. Sure it is supply and demand and coin collecting remains today, the largest and most prolific of all hobbies. Even when spot gold drops on a particular day, the value of a scarce or rare coin is not affected by the value of the metal itself. United offers different metals and different coins to fulfill different objectives. I must however, admit that I continue to encourage our customers who are bullion buyers to consider a Numismatic approach to both collecting and investing.
Our website continues to develop and the content continues to expand. I urge all of you to come back to it from time to time. I have never stopped learning about coins and there is so much to learn and to understand. Nobody should invest their hard earned dollars without a complete research and due diligence. Again, education is the key to complete understanding. Always ask all the questions that are on your mind and get the answers you require to give you the appropriate comfort level to continue collecting, investing and learning.
Bob M. Cohen
Who we are
Our Team at United- Who are the Account Representatives that you can expect to speak to when you contact United? Well, they are certainly not the so-called investment or financial advisors that you might talk to when you call a stock brokerage company. How well have you done listening to that type of alleged expert advice? Whether you have bought and held stock through the volatile ups and downs or have been a day trader, what does your account balance look like now? While our team of representatives does, of course change from time to time, we have a core group of representatives, who have served our customers for a long time. These individuals are carefully chosen, based upon their education, experience in the gold industry and elsewhere, to represent United and to assist of customers. Many of our account representatives have worked for United competitors-ask them-they know the difference. As of the date of this article, most of our account representatives have had a varied background including securities, commodities, finance, business, law, numismatics, engineering, the clergy, accountancy, the building industry, insurance and the military. We have multiple law school graduates and MBAs. Our representatives have more than 100 years of combined experience as licensees in securities and commodities. They have held series 3, 6, 7, 22, 24, and 63 licenses. They are graduates of colleges and universities across the nation and have attended such great institutions as the Wharton School and are graduates of the Ivy League, including the University of Pennsylvania and have post graduate degrees from Fordham University and the University of Southern California, as well as other well respected colleges and universities. This wealth of experience and education, is what we believe will serve our customers-our friends best.
Who We Are Not and Our Sincere Advice
We, at United are not stock brokers selling gold stocks or other certificates. We are not a gold storage company. We only deliver the real thing to your door or to your IRA or other retirement fund custodian. While certain of our account representatives have provided financial advice of varying sorts in previous fields of employment, we do not believe that is a proper role for our account representatives at United. Rather, we encourage our customers to seek out whatever professional advice (i.e. legal, accounting, tax investment, etc.) that will give them a comfort level, as part of their due diligence, so they can make their own informed decisions.
We realize that certain of our competitors, have and will provide financial advice, however, we do not believe this is in the customer’s best interest and wearing two hats, as both a seller and an advisor, creates an inherent conflict of interest. We strongly encourage all our customers to do their own homework, learn as much as possible and then buy what they believe is best for their interests and goals. We pride ourselves for being patient and helping to educate our customers. We know of no other gold company that has a dedicated IRA department, which can and will answer your questions, be responsive to your needs and to walk you through the entire process of funding your IRA with gold.
No seller of gold can truthfully guarantee that the price they quote is in fact the lowest price for the identical product at any given moment. Prices can change suddenly or unexpectedly based upon world events as well as supply and demand. We at United do however try to be extremely competitive. We monitor the competition and customers have told us that our blend of full service and pricing is a combination they have not found anywhere else. In order for a customer to ultimately be able to sell right and realize a gain that has met or exceeded initial expectations, the first step is to buy right—the right product and at the right price—a fair price. We do not believe that customers should blindly rely upon recommendations from anybody—even their own accountant, lawyer or financial advisor. We do believe that you must educate yourself and consider the input from others, but ultimately, you decide what is right for you.
Be wary of anybody who makes guarantees of potential profits. While we believe that gold has earned its reputation as history’s best time-tested asset, nobody knows with absolute certainty how any product, precious metal or any investment will perform within any given time frame. Sure, the spot price of gold has tripled in value since 2000 and sure, many experts have predicted even greater gains in the future, but our own point is that if this is what you too believe, based upon your own investigation, then buy for that reason and not just because someone else might have made lofty assurances. Be the captain of your own ship and of your own destiny. It will be our privilege to help you get there.
