Members of the New York’s delegation in Congress are calling for a Federal Trade Commission investigation into a business selling 9-11 commemorative coins.
The company, National Collector’s Mint, claims that the coins “are clad in a total 14 mg .999 pure silver actually recovered from the vaults beneath the ashes of Ground Zero.” There is no evidence to verify this claim.
The coins are technically legal tender, but only in the small African country Liberia.
New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, joined by New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler at a press conference Monday, said, “I think there should be criminal prosecution here.”
“I think people like this should be behind bars,” said Schumer, “Any company that tries to make a profit off of 9-11, let alone do it in such a duplicitous and underhanded way, needs to be put out of business and be punished.”
“We all know what this is. It’s an attempt by an unscrupulous business to confuse consumers and make them think it is the official 9-11 coin. It’s disgusting,” said Schumer.
Nadler said that with the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack approaching, “we should unfortunately expect more scams, as criminals and snake oil salesmen seek to profit from the deep emotional connection that millions of Americans have to that terrible tragedy.”
According to The Canadian Press, in 2004 the same company was forced to pay approximately $2 million in refunds after falsely claiming that their “Freedom Tower Silver Dollar” was “legally authorized government issue.”