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There's still gold in Boulder County

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Contributed by: Holly Costa on 10/9/2006

Recently, Boulder County Treasurer Bob Hullinghorst found there was still gold in "them thar hills!"

When Lafayette resident, Scott Valentine, came in to pay his taxes in gold, the folks at the County Treasurer's office found themselves in a predicament ... how do you make change for gold coins?

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Mr. Valentine walked into the Boulder County office with four gold coins and intentions of paying his taxes. The gold coins, worth about $1,100, are not a common or generally acceptable form of payment in the Treasurer's office, as the office is not equipped to weigh or value gold.

Not wanting to disappoint a taxpayer, Treasurer Bob Hullinghorst did some research. According to Article 1, Section 10 of the United States Constitution, gold and silver are allowed as acceptable tender for the payment of debt, although Colorado Law limits the amount that can be used for property tax payments with coins to their face value. So, the question of accepting gold coins for payment of taxes was complicated.

Hullinghorst solved this problem by calling on another Boulder County taxpayer and local businessman, Stephen Tebo, for help. As a collector of rare coins, Tebo agreed to come to the aid of Mr. Valentine and purchase the gold at current market price, which was approximately $570 per ounce, according to Monex Deposit Company.

So, after surrendering the coins to Boulder County, the Treasurer sold them to Tebo and Valentine's taxes were paid in full. Of course, Valentine received his change in regular currency.

Says Hullinghorst, "It's not every day we get the opportunity to see a taxpayer leave our office with such a smile on his face. Today we did."

Valentine said he bought the coins several years ago from a coin dealer. Interestingly enough, he received one of his first rare coins from Tebo at the opening of a local coin shop.

Tebo felt it ironic the four gold coins, which could have paid property taxes on a home when minted in 1907, were valuable enough to pay taxes on the same home 100 years later.

Hullinghorst stated that while he was pleased to be able to handle this transaction, he hoped it would be a one time event.

Holly Costa is with the Boulder County Treasurer's Office.

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Holly Costa

Boulder , CO

Holly Costa has posted 24 stories and 0 comments since joining on 10/5/2006. Holly Costa 's average story rating is 5.

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