NY AG Sues 9/11 Coin DMer
New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has filed a lawsuit and obtained a court order temporarily halting sales of a collectible item he alleges was fraudulently and misleadingly marketed as a real coin to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
An order was issued against National Collector’s Mint, halting sales of the company’s “Freedom Tower Silver Dollar,” which has been heavily advertised on national television, print and through the company’s Web site, http://nationalcollectorsmint.com, according to a statement from Spitzer.
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Cannizzaro in Albany, NY issued the order.
National Collectors Mint could not be reached at deadline but a notice on its Web site said, “WE ARE TEMPORARILY PROHIBITED BY A COURT ORDER FROM ACCEPTING ANY ORDERS FOR THE ‘2004 FREEDOM TOWER SILVER DOLLAR.”
Beginning in September, the Port Chester, NY firm began marketing the coin with a number of allegedly improper claims, according to the statement.
First, the company’s ads claim the medallion is “a legally authorized government issue silver dollar.” The medallion also simulates official U.S. currency by using the phrase “In God We Trust” and the inscription “One Dollar,” both of which appear on U.S. coins. The “legally authorized” claim in the ads and the official appearance of the medallion have led many consumers to complain that they were misled into believing that it was issued or authorized by the U.S. government, the statement continued.
The company’s sales representatives told consumers the medallion is official legal tender. In reality, it was produced by SoftSky, Inc., a Wyoming, in connection with a licensing agreement with the “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” a U.S. territory with no authority to issue U.S. currency, Spitzer’s office alleged.
The company’s ads also claim the coin was “minted from pure silver recovered from ground zero” and that the coin is “100 Mil .999 pure silver.” The lawsuit contends that the company’s claims about the silver content of the medallion are misleading and create the impression that it is solid silver rather than plated in silver, Spitzer continued.
The lawsuit also seeks:
*A permanent injunction barring the company from making false representations and from engaging in deceptive practices.
*Full disclosure in all advertisements that the company’s products are not issued or endorsed by the U.S. government.
*An accounting of consumers who have already purchased the Freedom Tower coin and an offer of full restitution to those consumers.
*Civil penalties for violations of law.
