http://www.nationalcollectorsmint.com/product2.jsp?path=-1|4688&id=4689&ext=6691 Is this just worthless junk? I saw an infomercial and you know how that goes, I was just mesmerized by their advertising! No, I didnt buy one. I would like to hear what the forums have to say about this coin. Please no Political Opinions about how someone is taking advantage of that tragic day and so forth, just talking about the coin.
I've bought from the NCM before - specifically, I bought the first WTC medal they came out with, that has the twin towers on one side and the "Freedom Tower" on the other. It was involved a while back in a lawsuit claiming false advertising that was eventually settled by allowing claimants to get a full refund of their money if they returned the medal. I did not return my coin and opted out of the settlement because I liked the design of the medal. I would offer this advice: if you like the design and want to have it, then go ahead and buy it. However, if you are looking at it for investment purposes, collectability, or future value, it's not something worth your while. I hope this helps you. BTW, I did see the new design, and I do like it. I might get one! AJM
Actually, the only coins that should be associated with the WTC islamic terrorist attacks of 9/11 are those recoverd at the basement vault. Here's what happened: On the night of November 1, 2001 as the work proceeded on the ground zero clean up the workers made there way to the vault and with little fanfare a caravan of Brinks armored trucks hauled the bullion to another Comex vault. Some of the silver eagles and a small amount of gold was sent directly to the Professional Coin Grading Service. These coins were sealed in their slabs with a certificate of authentication and designation certifiying that the coin is one of the few that was excavated from the World Trade Center site. Here's what one looks like in the PCGS slab: Some are "graded" as above and I also seen many graded MS69. Remember, PCGS was the only TPG that graded and certified these coins. All others are pretty much "junk" as described. Matter of fact, this outfit was shut down because of fraud and other complaints so buyer beware if you see one of these "freedom" towers" tokens floating around. I own a $5 gold Eagle (dated 2001) and two silver eagles (both dated 2001 as well). This is my own piece of history whereby I can tell the story to others about how our country was attacked (again) by these terrorists!
I'm a little surprised that the silver eagles were sent to be graded and resold. Who received the proceeds? My understanding was that all of the gold and silver coins and bars in the Comex warehouse are privately owned. If I was storing bullion there, I would want my coins back, or the full proceeds from the sale of the coins to souvenir hunters. I guess the coins might have been in unallocated accounts that permitted the Comex to swap them out for coins of equal weight and number.
I have a few colorized Tokens of the event I bought them as the seller was donating the proceeds to the families of those killed and they remind me whenever I look at my collection of what can happen. De Orc
Here's a pic of a 1998 1zo Gold American Eagle. This one is for sale right now & going for over 1075$ Someone Emailed me about it & asked if it was a hoax since the 9-11 didnt happen till 2001. They gave me a bit of a laugh-
A little confused at that... unless they were suggesting that becuase it was dated 1998 it couldn't have been there, lol? Now if it was dated 2002 or later, I'd suspect a hoax, but of course anything dated 2001 or earlier could have been there.
Quite likely... if you simply had an account that stated you had 10 ounces of gold, they could return 10 1 oz. American Eagles to you if you withdrew it, or just a 10 ounce gold bar. It would depend on if you just had an amount of gold on account or they were hodling specific gold coins or bars for you. If the former they could legally do anything they wanted with the bullion as long as they returned any demanded deposits with the equivalent amount of gold, as far as I understand.
As I understand it, it was ruled that they misrepresented the medal as being authorized by the government which was the main reason the lawsuit was brought. I think it was also claimed they inferred the medal was pure silver when in fact it was only silver plated or some such. Eventually the suit was just settled out of court; the private mint didn't have to pay any settlement as long as they agreed to give a full refund to anyone who desired to return the medal.
I saw the same infomercial and the most amazing claim was that the 2 part coin was made from silver retrieved from ground zero.That being said what do you suppoe the value should be?about the same as ocean front property in kansas redhorse
Yeah, something to that effect. I don't much care.... I am happy with my purchase, and that's what matters.
Well, I know a little bit about this "coin". I'll try and rely the (brief) history here. National Collectors Mint is a coin marketing company. They hire outside contractors to design and mint the items they sell. At one time, I was the contracted artist who designed the coins & medals they marketed. I designed fantasy state quarters for them - namely Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. I was also contracted to design the "Freedom Tower Silver Dollar". There were three basic designs minted. The first design showed a small Statue of Liberty and an image of the actual (proposed) Freedom Tower building. This issue was produced in silver "clad" (plated), and 1/4 troy ounce gold. This issue was claimed to be "Government-Issue Legal Tender" (from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). The second design showed a larger Statue of Liberty and the Freedom Tower building image was changed on the coin so that it would not resemble the real proposed building. This design was also claimed to be "Government-Issue Legal Tender" (again from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). As far as I know, this design was only issued in 1/4 troy ounce gold form. Shortly after these two designs came out, the office of New York Attourney General Elliot Spitzer began receiving complaints about the marketing of the coins. People took offense (rightly so) to the blatant claims of "Government-Issue Legal Tender" and "Pure silver 50 mil proof" (implying the coins were solid silver when they weren't). The ads also stated that the silver recovered from the WTC was used in making the coins. The fine print in the ads actually stated "created with" just above the big "silver recovered from the WTC". Legally, this could mean that they melted one WTC recovery Silver Eagle into the entire batch of silver and so "created with" statement would be technically accurate. So you can blame me for the artwork. But you can blame them for the concept and marketing. At this point, I'd finally had enough and I quit doing any business with National Collectors Mint. Elliot Spitzer slapped them with a huge fine and they were forced to stop selling the coins. I also found out that the owner of National Collectors Mint had (in a previous life) pled guilty to pornography charges (sending pornography through the mail or something). But they found a way around the injunction and came out with a third design. The third design was similar to the second, except that it was now issued through the independent Cook Islands, rather than the US possession of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. As far as I know, the third design was issued in .999 solid silver, and silver clad (plated). With that said, these pieces certainly do come with some noteriety. Are they a good invesment ? I wouldn't think so, but I've been wrong before. I agree with the previous sentiments expressed here that if you like the "coin", go ahead and get it - but don't expect to make a profit on it.
PS: The first design has been recalled, while the third design is currently being produced. So I would expect that the first design would sell for a higher price. The second design (gold only) is rarely seen, as is the first design in gold. A current check on ebay in the coins catergory for "Freedom Tower" shows all three types of silver & silver clad $1 coins available, but no gold. I've got a little collection of one of each type (three $1 "silver" coins, and two $250 gold coins).
