When we last wrote about National Collector’s Mint, in 2004, the company was in trouble with New York’s attorney general for selling Sept. 11 commemorative coins that it claimed were legal tender from the Northern Mariana Islands, supposedly struck from silver recovered at ground zero. It was a galling case of deceptive advertising for which the state extracted more than $2 million in fines and penalties.
The company, which sells its coins and collectibles out of Port Chester, N.Y., hasn’t stopped trying to turn tragedy into cash. For the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it has issued a commemorative coin bearing images of the World Trade Center and the U.S.S. New York, a ship built partly from ground zero steel.
It costs $29.95, a price that is hard to justify, no matter what claims the company makes about the source of the coin’s silver coating. It is not real currency and has not been authorized or licensed by the United States government.
The United States Mint is the only body that can make real United States coins. That mint, which has posted a warning on its Web site about the National Collector’s Mint, will soon start selling the government’s official 9/11 medal — also not legal tender — with profits helping to build the ground zero memorial.
Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Jerrold Nadler, both of New York, have urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the company claimed official sanction and broke any laws by doing so.
They point to how the mint aligns itself with outfits that sound official but aren’t — like the Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefits Fund, a private group that runs a gift shop in Washington. The Secret Service recently sent the fund a letter telling it to stop letting the Collector’s Mint use “Secret Service” in its advertising.
There is nothing wrong with companies selling memorabilia linked to moments of catastrophe or triumph, but both the law and basic decency should set some limits. These coins should come with big disclaimers: This product is 100 percent shame-free.
The company, which sells its coins and collectibles out of Port Chester, N.Y., hasn’t stopped trying to turn tragedy into cash. For the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, it has issued a commemorative coin bearing images of the World Trade Center and the U.S.S. New York, a ship built partly from ground zero steel.
It costs $29.95, a price that is hard to justify, no matter what claims the company makes about the source of the coin’s silver coating. It is not real currency and has not been authorized or licensed by the United States government.
The United States Mint is the only body that can make real United States coins. That mint, which has posted a warning on its Web site about the National Collector’s Mint, will soon start selling the government’s official 9/11 medal — also not legal tender — with profits helping to build the ground zero memorial.
Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Jerrold Nadler, both of New York, have urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the company claimed official sanction and broke any laws by doing so.
They point to how the mint aligns itself with outfits that sound official but aren’t — like the Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefits Fund, a private group that runs a gift shop in Washington. The Secret Service recently sent the fund a letter telling it to stop letting the Collector’s Mint use “Secret Service” in its advertising.
There is nothing wrong with companies selling memorabilia linked to moments of catastrophe or triumph, but both the law and basic decency should set some limits. These coins should come with big disclaimers: This product is 100 percent shame-free.
