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JammnIT

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Journal Entries posted by JammnIT

  1. JammnIT
    The United States Mint has recently learned that some individuals are grinding the rims of Presidential $1 Coins to remove the edge-incused inscriptions and then marketing these altered items as error coins. This practice not only exploits unwary consumers and collectors, but also is a Federal crime.
    The United States Mint recently announced that an undetermined number of George Washington Presidential $1 Coins were minted and issued without the required edge-incused inscriptions, "E Pluribus Unum," "In God We Trust," the year of issuance, and the mint mark. Because true error coins such as these can be rare, they often become very attractive among collectors, many of whom are willing to acquire them at a premium above their face value. Apparently, some individuals are exploiting this situation by altering the rims of perfectly good Presidential $1 Coins to make them look like the recent error coins.
    Although altering and defacing United States coinage generally is not illegal, doing so violates a Federal criminal statute (18 U.S.C. ? 331) when the act is accompanied by an intent to defraud. Accordingly, a person is committing a Federal crime if he or she intentionally alters an ordinary Presidential $1 Coin to make it look like an error coin for the purpose of selling it at a premium to someone who believes it to be a real error coin. Under this statute, it is also a Federal crime to sell at a premium an ordinary Presidential $1 Coin that one knows has been altered so it looks like an error coin to someone who believes it to be a real error coin. Penalties include a fine and up to five years in prison.
    The United States Mint has no Federal enforcement authority. Rather, it refers such matters to the United States Secret Service, which is lawfully authorized to detect and arrest any person who violates a Federal law relating to United States coinage.
  2. JammnIT
    It has come to the attention of the United States Mint that some people are offering to sell so-called George Washington Presidential $1 "error" coins with "upside-down" edge-lettering on on-line auction sites. These coins are not "error" coins. The Presidential $1 Coins are inscribed on the edge without regard to their "heads" or "tails" orientation.
    The edge-incused inscriptions on Presidential $1 Coins are the year of minting or issuance, "E Pluribus Unum," "In God We Trust" and the mint mark. The United States Mint incuses these inscriptions on the edge of each coin at the second step of a two-step coining process. In the first step, the blanks are fed into a coining machine which impresses the obverse and reverse designs onto the coins, and dispenses the coins into a large bin. In the second step, the bin is transported to the edge-incusing machine, into which the coins are fed at random, without regard to their "heads" or "tails" orientation. Therefore, statistically, approximately one-half of the coins produced will have edge-lettering oriented toward the "heads" side (obverse), and approximately one-half of the coins will have the edge-incused inscriptions oriented toward the "tails" side (reverse).
    For more information on the Presidential $1 Coin Program go to www.usmint.gov/$1coin.
  3. JammnIT
    It has come to the attention of the United States Mint that several private businesses are offering to sell George Washington Presidential $1 Coins prior to the official public release date on Thursday, February 15, 2007. The United States Mint wants to make consumers who are considering the purchase of these products aware of certain facts.
    * The United States Mint has issued George Washington Presidential $1 Coins only to the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve has made arrangements with banks and other financial institutions to ensure that these coins are in their inventories up to two weeks prior to the official public release date, February 15, 2007.
    * George Washington Presidential $1 Coins will be available for purchase at face value to all members of the public at their local financial institutions beginning on February 15, 2007. The banks and other financial institutions that have entered into such arrangements have agreed not to distribute George Washington Presidential $1 Coins before this official public release date.
    * The Presidential $1 Coins currently being offered for sale by private businesses, often with a considerable mark-up, are the same circulating quality coins that will be available to all members of the public from their local banks and other financial institutions on February 15, 2007. These are not the proof or uncirculated quality coins that are found in United States Mint proof and uncirculated coin sets, nor are they official "early releases" or "first strikes."
    * For more information on the Presidential $1 Coin Program go to www.usmint.gov/$1coin.
  4. JammnIT
    The United States Mint wants to alert consumers and the public about a new product being marketed by a private firm -- the National Collector's Mint, Inc. The National Collector's Mint, Inc. advertises this product as a "Freedom Tower Silver Dollar" originating from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and claims that it is a "legally authorized government issue" coin. On October 13, 2004, the New York Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the National Collector?s Mint, Inc., immediately halting the advertisement and sale of the "Freedom Tower Silver Dollar." Consumers who have questions or concerns about the "Freedom Tower Silver Dollar" can contact the New York Attorney General?s Office at www.oag.state.ny.us or by calling the Attorney General?s consumer help line at (800) 771-7755 (in-state) or (518) 474-5481 (out-of-state).
    The "Freedom Tower Silver Dollar" is not a genuine United States Mint coin or medal. Under the Constitution, Congress has the exclusive power to coin money of the United States. Congress has delegated its authority to mint and issue coins to the Secretary of Treasury, and Congress requires the Secretary to carry out these duties at the United States Mint. Thus, the United States Mint is the only government entity in the United States with the authority to coin money. Clearly, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. insular possession, does not have the authority to coin its own money.
    Consumers may find the advertisements for this product confusing because the National Collector's Mint uses phrases such as "legally authorized government issue," "U.S. territorial minting," and "silver dollar." The product itself may be confusing because it bears the denomination "One Dollar" and the inscription "In God We Trust," which Congress requires on all United States coins. Congress did not authorize the National Collector's Mint product, and the United States Government does not endorse it.