As I understand it, the TV commercials were pulled until the case is heard in court. I was not aware that eBay had taken any action on these yet. I just reported this auction with a reminder about the upcoming court case. Hopefully, they will pull this auction. Aside from the fact that this auction states "government sanctioned" which implies US government sanctioned, which it is not. Hence the upcoming court case. Hopefully, eBay will see the wisdom in pulling this auction.
"QUOTE"These coins will Tripple in value in such a short time YOU CANNOT AFFORD to pass up a great Deal Like this one ! A deal! Plus A deal!"QUOTE" Sounds like a pitch deserving to be reported to the FTC.
Agreed. It's one thing -- and bad enough -- to overhype your coins to a target market that knows nothing about the coin, medal and precious metals markets. It's another to all but promise future investment returns. That's over the line.
I have had several emails from people asking me about this particular medallion. The original ads were very misleading, and finally the powers that be are attempting to do something about it. As you can see, many others have jumped onto the bandwagon and are promoting this worthless piece of junk metal. I don't have any issue with selling privately minted commemoratives or other such medaillions, but the bare minimum required is honesty. Spooning 6 cents of silver onto a round metal disk and telling people that it will has government approval or backing or recognition is a blatant lie. This seller should be black listed by all who see them.
not only is it not shut down, but did anyone else see the full page ad in the november issue of COINage magazine? I just picked up my copy from the book store last night, and I was shocked... I guess they were paying customers, and that was all that mattered.
The claim that these coins will triple in value is a direct violation of FTC guidelines for numismatics. About 20 years ago, PCGS, Tulving, Heritage, and a few others were taken to task for language less specific than this. The settlements established the rules that coins are not investments. (The IRS recently took Gold American Eagles away from the IRA program. They were an exception.)
Unfortunately our world is run by the people willing to spend the money. All of our trade magazines routinely accept and run ads from dealers who are at best faulty even by the standards set forth by that magazine. If you read the ad requirements, you will see that advertising rules require grades to be spelled out and honest. In another thread a question was brought up about the use of BU. Many advertisers in the major publications use this term very loosely. Some have had their memberships to the ANA revoked for selling questionable coins, yet their ads still run. Some of the grading services that are questionable at best have their ads run also. When new comers to the hobby see these large ads, they are often mislead into believing that the companies are reputable. Until the hobby as a whole sets forth hard and fast rules, it is up to those of us that know better to share our knowledge.
I like to make a profit as much as the next dealer, but I truly do not believe that perpetuating this particular market is ethical. As a result, if there is a profit to be made here, I'm passing on it.
Everyone one of these so-called commemoratives end up trading at the major shows near the $5 range. While I agree with Susan about making a profit, there has to be a line drawn someplace. If they were marketed as a collectible only, without using a misleading sales approach, or a blatant lie, I could at least respect the idea of selling it. These people are taking advantage of people who don't know any better.
I personally wouldn't care if the coin was actually made by the u.s. mint, I wouldn't buy it... All in all, I believe the reasoning behind this coin is WRONG, it's one thing to make a commemorative for a president who has passed away, due to the fact that he was a great leader, it's another to make a coin that signifies deaths of thousands of innocent people, and making profit on it, if this type of coin is to be issued, it should be sent to each family member who suffered loss in this tragedy for free, and sold to others simply for the price of melt value, all ebay auctions on it are against the law, and persons selling it for profit will be prosecuted. Well, that's just my .02 cents worth.
