NBC24 has learned that Noe may not have told the whole story when he plead guilty in May...

A former GOP fundraiser who embezzled from a state investment in rare coins must repay the state $13.7 million.

A former GOP fundraiser who embezzled from a state investment in rare coins must repay the state $13.7 million.

Question from Brad: I heard that if I were to purchase a brand new roll of each coin (25¢-1¢) at the birth of my child and seal them in plastic and store them away, never opening them, that when that child is ready for college the coins will then be worth enough to pay for a good chunk of college. Is there any truth to this? Are mint condition, uncirculated coins worth a great deal even at 18-20 years of age.

If so, who would buy these coins, and why would they be worth a lot?

Answer: It's a novel idea, but I'm afraid it's rather far from reality. It's not all bad, for the simple reason that you can't lose any money. If the coins never go up in value, you can spend them and come out even, so by all means set the coins aside in case I'm wrong.

The thinking behind the recommendation is based on the fact that uncirculated coins become harder and harder to obtain as time passes. As I mentioned, since you paid face value for them, there's no way you can get less than face value for them, so there's no risk. But the claim that your upside will pay for college is where I take issue.

I realize that past performance is no guarantee of future results, but it can give you a general idea, so let's run through a scenario. Let's say you did this 18 years ago and now, in 2006, you want to send your kids to college with the earnings.

You have the following uncirculated rolls:

• Cents: $0.50
• Nickels: $2
• Dimes: $5
• Quarters: $10

You spent a total of $17.50 for the coins. I wasn't able to find exact prices on Ebay, but the rolls sell for around these prices:

• Cents: $2
• Nickels: $8
• Dimes: $15
• Quarters: $25

Now your coins are worth $50, an APY of a little over 6%. That might cover the application fee for applying to college, but probably wouldn't even pay for a textbook, much less a large chunk of college.

If you had invested that same $17.50 in a 529, which gives you tax free growth and withdrawals for college, and you assume a fairly conservative 8% interest rate, you would have $73.51. That's still not going to go very far, but it's a little better.

As a side note, some financial analysts predict that college costs will be in the $150,000 range for a public, in-state 4-year college. They estimate the cost is growing at a staggering 5-7% rate of growth, meaning if you have any money that's earning less than that, it will be falling behind instead of growing for college.

Even though the uncirculated rolls won't pay for college, I have nothing against them. It's a no-risk investment that has the potential to go up dramatically if you get lucky with a rare year, and they're also extremely liquid.

Out of curiosity I wondered what would have happened if you had waited 40 years. If you set aside a roll of silver quarters in 1964 (okay, 42 years) you could sell that roll for almost $100 now. Sadly, that's even worse than before at a 5.6% APY. If you had invested that same $10 in the stock market and left it alone, again assuming a conservative 8% return, you would have $284.70 today.

The lesson we can learn from this is that while coin collecting can be a fun hobby, the power of compound interest is where the real money's at. :)

VERNON HILLS -- As shoppers enter retail and grocery stores, they may hear a familiar sound of the season -- ringing Salvation Army volunteers seeking donations to help the less fortunate.

(ARA) - When the U.S. Mint launched its State Quarter program back in 1999, the number of coin collectors in this country exploded astronomically. According to the U.S. Mint, State Quarters are currently collected by 130 million people, which translates to about one person in every home in America.

With just two years left to go in the 10-year program, those who got a late start are having a hard time finding the early coins. All of the quarters minted between 1999 and 2005 are now out of issue.

You could try to build a collection by pulling quarters out of the change you get at the store, or by making regular visits to the bank and asking the tellers to go through their open quarter rolls, but a better way to do it is by turning to a company like The Morgan Mint 

"Our business has increased tenfold ever since the State Quarter program launched," says Walter Kole, director of business development for the company that specializes in currency, collectible coins and colorized coins. "It seems the program has gotten a lot of people excited about coin collecting."

While uncirculated sets from the early days of the program (no longer available from the U.S. Mint) are hot sellers, special edition sets of the coins that are legal tender issued by the U.S. Mint and colorized by The Morgan Mint are popular as well.

You can buy regular, colored or gold-plated State Quarters at the Morgan Mint. They also have coin gifts for all occasions, (like Christmas perhaps...)

When the U.S. Mint launched its State Quarter program back in 1999, the number of coin collectors in this country exploded astronomically.
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A house painter has been sentenced to six months in jail for stealing a four-pound gold bar from NBA agent Dwight Manley's Newport Beach home and selling it to a coin dealer.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. A house painter has been sentenced to six months in jail for stealing a four-pound gold bar from N-B-A agent Dwight Manley's Newport Beach home and selling it to a coin dealer.

The state quarters series is in the final stretch. The South Dakota quarter was released at the beginning of the month.
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