PART II

"Those who are participating in the dealer-bashing respond by saying that what they are saying is true, that truth is a defense to slander or libel (or indeed, all defamation) and that their opinion is protected.

"They didn't say, but implied, that they were doing a job that coin periodicals themselves ought to do, barring merchants from selling 'impossible' dreams. An example that they didn't cite, but could have, would be an 1804 silver dollar selling for $100.

"Suppose it's you online or visiting a chat room. Or suppose, even, your at a convention or coin show and someone asks you about a dealer, his coins and his grading.

"What do you answer, if at all, and what are the potential consequences of an informal conversation in which you make a serious claim against another person, even if they are a fellow collector.

"There's an easy answer to the question, and it may surprise you. But, judging from the chat online today, it seems clear that either there is a popular disagreement with the answer, or those who chat simply have a devil-may-care attitude that could prove costly.

"A false statement that is damaging is defamatory, defined in a branch of law know as a tort, and that which is defamatory can give rise to substantial damages.

"For the history buff, this tort first surfaced about the year 1275, just 60 years after the Magna Charta was signed and sealed at Runnymeade by King John of England. Initially, it was not doubt intended to protect the barons and feudal lords from the calumnies invoked by the serfs.

"In the intervening 700 years, it has become a mechanism by which individuals can protect themselves against the gossips of society and those who 'publish' a libel,' or a slander, thereby disseminating it.

"(Publication does not mean printing it - it is the act of uttering the remark that acts to publish it. To re-publish, which is also defamatory, can be repeating it orally [slander], print it in another media [libel] or some combination.

"The essence of the legal cause of action is an untrue statement that is uttered orally (slander) or in writing (libel) that is damaging to another. This claim can be brought in almost any state where the cause of action accrues. -CONTINUED-