I attended the 2011 Central States show as a table assistant working for a local coin dealer. Myboss was aware that I was at the time looking for 1792 half dismes. On April 29, He came backto the table after visiting Certified Asset Management and told me they had a mint state examplein their inventory.

I looked at the coin, made some notes and talked with the owner. Bob Higgins was very open andgenerous with information about the coin and two others he had handled.

I was aware that Higgins had been associated with Tom Noe and learned about a verycomplicated pedigree involving Rare Coin Alliance and the coin. At his level, coinswere commodities to be traded to make a profit and a clean pedigree was irrelevant.

In a 2004 ad, Higgins stated, I found him to be charming but I would not have investedmoney with him.

My boss made some deals with him. I recall a time when my boss thought the premium on MS-65 Saints was too high, He sold some to Higgins in trade for an equal number of uncertifiedcoins and the cash difference. They referred to the deal as out of the certifiedcoins.

At the major coin shows, deals are often made with no money changing hands. On the last day ofthe show, a dealer may send his table assistant around to deliver checks and pick up checks. Thatwas one of my jobs.

I don't remember specifics, but I think Bob may have asked us to wait a few days after a show todeposit his check. Dealers often want to be able to deposit checks they take at a show before thechecks they write can clear. At the time we were not aware that Higgins was also slow to makescheduled payments to his substantial investors.

Less that a year later, on March 22, 2012, FBI agents raided the Baltimore show and detainedHiggins with another dealer and seized assets of First State Depository including the 1792 halfdisme. When I asked Higgins about the coin on April 20, he said it was currently

The complaint, in brief, was that Higgins and his companies had deposited numismatic assets tosecure a $10 million loan and line of credit. Rather than keep those assets securely deposited,they brought them as inventory to trade shows in violation of the loan provisions. There wererelated problems with coins acquired with investor funds. In effect, Higgins did not own thecoins pledged as collateral.

I always enjoyed talking with Bob. In 2014 he told me about his new venture and the services hewould provide for his customers. I think that business was called Argent Asset Group. One oftheir services was portfolio management. This was for investors who didn't want the bother ofactually looking at their coins. I don't recall talking with him after 2014.

That initial venture was not successful and Higgins filed for bankruptcy in May of 2016.

On August 12. 2022, a U.S. Attorney announced an indictment against Higgins including thesecharges:

On October 5, 2022, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civilenforcement action against Robert Leroy Higgins, Argent Asset Group LLC., and First StateDepository Company LLC. They alleged fraud with a multi-million dollar precious metalsscheme and tax evasion.

On July 3, 2023, the CFTC announced a consent decree ordering Higgins and his companies topay $112.7 million in restitution to victims and an additional $33 million civil monetary penalty.In addition, the order imposed a permanent trading ban.

The CFTC stated,

Higgins was bankrupt in 2016. Just seven years later he had converted that into a debt of 146million dollars. I wonder how that ranks among numismatic business failures.

The Higgins story is not unique in numismatics. It might be considered almost common forbullion repositories to engage in fraud in the management of repository accounts. There are otherexamples of borrowers who pledge the same assets to secure multiple loans.

I don't believe most crooks in the business set out to be crooks in the beginning. At some point,the ability to acquire money without exchange for a product can be a temptation that cannot beresisted.