Complaint Review: U.S. Coin & Jewelry Inc.

I am a managing partner at a global AR Management firm with headquarters in Sarasota, FL and am with the company for 20 years. I work and live in Fort Lauderdale and was attending a board meeting in Sarasota on April 15th, 2010. After having dinner at Phillippi Creek, me and my family stopped by US Coin & Jewelry, Inc. located next door to the restaurant. We browsed the store's display cases and noticed an Atocha silver coin. My wife always wanted an Atocha coin which we heard so much about on National Geographic. The sales person Rick Dronas showed us the coin and explained it was authentic from Atocha with papers, signed by Mel Fisher. I purchased the coin for $400 and Mr Dronas provided me with a sales receipt and the certificate of authenticity. When we returned home to Fort Lauderdale the next day, and had a chance to inspect the coin, we noticed the english word "COPY" in tiny letters imprinted at the edge of the coin. Obviously, this indicated the coin could not be real and I immediately attempted to contact US Coin and Jewelry by phone. I called the business for 3 days in a row and all I got was an answering machine which I left numerous messages on. No one returned my calls even though jewelry stores are known to be open on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Monday late afternoon, my wife recommended that I block my caller id and attempt to call the store. Rick Dronas answered the phone. I explained the problem and he immediately said, I tampered with the plastic and cardboard sleeve the coin was stapled into. I was aghast at such ridiculous accusation and said that I will Fedex the item back in pristine condition and will expect a refund. Unfortunately, I could not bring it to the store personally as I live on the other coast of Florida. I promptly packaged the coin in protective cardboard material to ensure the original sleeve remained intact and rushed it back to Mr Dronas via Fedex overnight with a detailed letter of explanation. A week went by and I have not received a refund check, nor have I heard anything from Mr Dronas. I again blocked my caller ID and called the store. Mr Dronas answered and said he received the coin but the sleeve was torn and the coin did not look like what he sold me.

At the beginning I thought MR. Dronas could have made an honest mistake selling me a copy instead of the real coin. Now, with shock and dismay I realized that Mr. Dronas is a crook, set out to defraud unsuspecting customers. It would have never occurred to me that something like that can happen at a jewelry store!  Obviously, Mr. Dronas is not running an honest business. Not only he knowingly sold me a fake coin with real documents, he is actually accusing me of switching the real coin with a fake one.

I am truly concerned there are other goods (gold, silver jewelry) sold by this store as authentic that are fake and there are many victims out there unaware of Mr. Drona's scams.