FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  January 9, 1989


        RARE COIN COMPANY OFFICIAL ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL FOR
        CRIMINAL CONTEMPT FOR VIOLATING ASSET-FREEZE ORDER,
               FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ANNOUNCES


     The Federal Trade Commission announced that a federal court
has ordered Wayne Pedersen, a former official of Schoolhouse
Coins Inc., to stand trial for criminal contempt of a court-
ordered asset freeze.  The FTC charged that Pedersen withdrew
more than $60,000 from a bank account, sold various properties,
and otherwise violated the freeze order.

     The asset freeze stemmed from an August 17, 1987 complaint
charging Schoolhouse Coins, its successor Numis Group Inc., and
three individuals, including Pedersen, with misrepresenting the
value and investment potential of their coins.  Pedersen was a
senior account executive with the companies.

     On August 25, Pedersen entered into a stipulated preliminary
injunction that froze his assets.  The asset-freeze order al-
lowed him to receive up to $1,000 a week and to pay other neces-
sary expenses, but forbade him from otherwise spending money or
transferring property.

     The FTC's complaint alleges that between September 1987 and
March 1988, he sold his Mercedes-Benz car, twice sold a property
in Newport Beach, Calif., sold two properties and a fractional
interest in another in Escondido, Calif., and executed two deeds
of trust on a property in Los Angeles before selling the prop-
erty.  In addition, Pedersen withdrew more than $60,000 from a
bank account, spending it on, among other things, landscaping
for his home.

     According to the complaint, these acts "were committed by
Wayne Pedersen willfully, subsequent to and with knowledge of
this Court's Orders.  By such conduct, Wayne Pedersen has will-
fully, in criminal contempt of this court, disobeyed and defied
the lawful orders of this court."

     The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Cali-
fornia ordered that Pedersen's trial begin on March 14, 1989. 

     Copies of the Commission's application for Pedersen's arrest
are available from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130,
6th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Washington, D.C. 20580; 202-
326-2222; TTY 202-326-2502.

                             # # # 

MEDIA CONTACT:      Susan Ticknor, Office of Public Affairs, 
                    202-326-2181

STAFF CONTACT:      Michael McCarey, Bureau of Consumer
                    Protection, 202-326-3303


(Criminal No. 88-969)

(Pedersn)