Bidders continue to materialize for next Thursday's auction of customer lists and office furniture remaining after the liquidation of bankrupt Minneapolis coin dealer International Rarities Corp.
The coin company, known as IRC, filed for bankruptcy in August 2011 after the Star Tribune reported allegations by some customers that owner David Marion had sold shares in a failed expansion effort under false pretenses. Marion stepped down as CEO and hired Stephen J. Hastings of Eden Prairie to run IRC in bankruptcy.
The auction of IRC's remaining assets was set into motion after a newly formed company called Fidelity Gold & Silver offered $10,000 for the customer lists and furnishings. Fidelity looked like a reincarnation of IRC. It was registered by Hastings, and at least one customer says Marion had contacted him to pitch coins for Fidelity.
Denny Kenyon of Cottage Grove filed a motion in mid-August seeking to outbid Fidelity for IRC's assets. Kenyon has owned a used-car dealership, a collectibles company, and an investment company.
This week, Marion's ex-wife, Dana Golden, filed notice that she also intends to put in a bid for the assets. She formed a company called Golden Coin & Collectibles at her Shorewood home address just days after IRC filed its initial bankruptcy petition. She also worked at IRC, reportedly for no pay, in an effort to help turn it around.
Marion, Hastings, Golden and Kenyon could not be reached for comment Friday.
DAN BROWNING
