Because simple fines, or even jail terms, aren’t nearly painful or humiliating enough for the sorts of folks who’d scam the populace with this kind of crap by poking their finger into a still-raw national wound.
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer obtained a court order Wednesday to temporarily suspend the sale of commemorative Sept. 11 coins advertised as being minted from silver recovered at ground zero. Spitzer said the sale of the silver dollars — emblazoned with the World Trade Center towers on one side and the planned Freedom Tower on the other — is a fraud. He’s investigating whether the silver actually came from the ruins of the twin towers.
Spitzer said the National Collector’s Mint, based in Port Chester, N.Y., falsely claims that the coins engraved with “In God We Trust” are legally authorized silver dollars. Spitzer said the coins, produced by a Wyoming company called SoftSky Inc., are advertised as nearly pure silver when they’re only silver-plated.
TV and print ads for the coins include one fashioned after a news story that reads: “Today, history is being made. For the first time ever, a legally authorized government issue silver dollar has been struck to commemorate the World Trade Center and the new Freedom Tower being erected in its place … Most importantly, each coin has been created using .999 pure silver recovered from ground zero!”
The dollar pieces are being sold for $19.95 each.
Really. Public flogging. I’ll bet it’s a cause that, in this case, the whole nation could rally around.
(via BoingBoing)
Caveat Emptor…
This way to the Egress…
Capitalism in action…
So, what about the people that bought the things in the first place? Don’t they have some sort of responsibility for their actions?
Next thing you know they’ll be upset that the V(item that Dave has blocked so I am unable to post it) that they bought over the Internet doesn’t work, or that none on the money from Nigeria showed up as promised.
It’s just one more sad/silly milestone in the 911 Cult.
I’m more than happy to ding the folks who bought these things, whether out of schmaltzy sentiment about 9-11, or out of a warped sense of aesthetics. And certainly before forking over $30 on a supposedly unique collectible such as this (“AS SEEN ON TV!”), a bit of research would be in order.
But just because (as I noted elsewhere this week) someone is stupid enough to flash some money around in a bad neighborhood, it doesn’t justify or excuse a mugger taking action.
I was torqued off at the crass exploitation of 9-11 when I saw these things on TV originally. That they turn out to be not just manipulative, but fraudulent as well only increases my torquetude.
I had e-mailed the company to express my anger (as somebody who was in the thick of things) that they were exploiting the situation. I was basically told to go away.
I’m cheering Mr. S. Sic ’em!