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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
 Posted - 05/26/2007 : 21:47:30
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Silver Surfer Coins Illegal, Says U.S. Mint
Silver Surfer Coins Illegal, Says U.S. Mint
26-May-2007
Written by: Jess Boettger
Promotion for new Fantastic Four movie stirs legal trouble.
The folks behind Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer have come up with a new promotion for the flick. They’ve put the Surfer on quarters. Twentieth Century Fox and The Franklin Mint collaborated to alter 40,000 U.S. quarters. The problem with this is that the U.S. Mint was not aware of the plan. They issued a news release on Friday to inform both the studio and the mint that it is against the law to alter these coins. The law prohibits the use of coins as advertising vehicles, and fines are applicable to violators.
The coins altered were California state quarters from 2005. They are set for release at the end of Memorial Day weekend and feature Washington’s likeness on the front as usual but a colorized version of the Silver Surfer on the back. Eight hundred were released to each state. The plan was for fans to locate these quarters and enter an online contest for prizes and a private screening of Fantastic Four 2. Most of The Franklin Mint’s output is collectibles or commemorative medallions. The head of The Franklin Mint, Moshe Malamud, stresses that the integrity of the coins has not been altered by the modifications. He said that the goal was to “enhance the coin.”
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Fanaticism is doubling one's efforts, yet forgetting one's purpose.
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Metalophile
Penny Collector Member
USA
320 Posts |
 Posted - 05/27/2007 : 01:40:36
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Does this mean that the colorized silver American Eagles are illegal as well?
Personally I hate the colorized coins. I don't want non-metals on my coins!
Metalophile |
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2007 : 09:03:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Metalophile
Does this mean that the colorized silver American Eagles are illegal as well?
Personally I hate the colorized coins. I don't want non-metals on my coins!
Metalophile
It didn't say so in the above article but the legal issue is in the fact that they turned them into an advertisement for the movie. In addition to the no melt law, it appears you can't advertise on a coin. I expect that will soon change when the major corporations decide they want too.
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Fanaticism is doubling one's efforts, yet forgetting one's purpose.
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Cerulean
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 05/29/2007 : 08:07:57
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I think the Mint is bothered not that the coins were altered, but that they were dumped into circulation. Do you think the Mint would be complaining if the quarters were just sold to collectors as movie memorabelia? These promotional gimmicks are tampering with the normal circulation of currency, that's the real problem.
I'm also curious as to how these quarters were altered. Is it just a sticker on the reverse, or something more? If it's just a sticker, then the quarters can be cleaned and restored to currency status once the movie promotion ends. If not, then the Mint is stuck with the bill for replacing those thousands of defaced quarters. Geez, Franklin Mint... can't you guys afford some planchets of your own?
RUNNING TOTAL
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2854 zincs (1982-2007) 75.5%
898 coppers (1959-1982) 23.7%
23 wheats (1920-1958)
6 Canadian (1968-1995)
1 dime (2004)
Wanna take money away from the Fed? Spend dollar coins! |
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deleted
2 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2007 : 19:23:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Cerulean
I'm also curious as to how these quarters were altered. Is it just a sticker on the reverse, or something more?
I purchased some silver surfer quarters from ebay, and the image appears to be some form of paint.
I realize some people feel advertising on coins to be obnoxious, but I find it exciting. My interest in the topic was sparked only recently. I was mentioning the Silver Surfer Quarters to my coin dealer and he informed me that the practice was once quite common.
Search for "counterstamped coins" or "countermarked coins" if you too are interested. |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2007 : 17:26:02
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There used to be pennies with smiley faces stamped into the coins (right through the coins, metal removed)
and there were pennies with the face of JFK stamped on facing Lincoln along with a card describing the strange but true similarities of both presidents (Both born one century apart, both elected one century apart, both had a vice president named Johnson, etc)
The Mint didn't make a stink about the modification and mutilation of coins up until a few years ago.
Seems like the Treasury is acting as though our money isn't really our money, but the government's money, we just have the privledge of having it to spend (they did the smae thing with gold coins, even though collectors could own them, if the gold became defaced they [b]had[b/] to be handed back to the Treasury since all gold supposedly belonged to the gub'ment.
And the US wonders why it is looked upon with suspicion by its own citizens.
I should have chosen "Cut-n-Paste" as a forum name, since that is what I do, mostly. |
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Crash
Penny Pincher Member
USA
155 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2007 : 09:59:02
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| Since it is illegal to melt or alter coins, I wonder why the government hasn't cracked down on penny pressing machines. You can't go to any major theme park without seeing a dozen of these things. In the past, I'm sure that they didn't consider it a big deal, but since the melt ban, I think that they would frown on these things being used. |
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Cerulean
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
993 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2007 : 13:34:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Crash
Since it is illegal to melt or alter coins, I wonder why the government hasn't cracked down on penny pressing machines. You can't go to any major theme park without seeing a dozen of these things. In the past, I'm sure that they didn't consider it a big deal, but since the melt ban, I think that they would frown on these things being used.
I agree that pressed pennies are mutilated currency, but there's no fraud involved. Further, since the pressed penny doesn't circulate due to its abnormal shape, it doesn't count as advertising on circulating coinage. I think the Mint only tolerates pressed penny machines because they've always been there. If those machines were introduced today, I'm sure the Mint would decry them as vandalism of specie.
Are we gonna start busting every kid who left a penny on the railroad tracks, or every chemistry teacher who puts a penny in acid? Every pennyhater who throws their cents in the trash? How about that wacky guy in my shop class who ran a dime through the band saw? Nah, there's no fraud and no advertising.
Following my reasoning, it'd be perfectly legal to burn a pile of Fed notes. The coast is clear to burn a pile of twenties... who's going first?
RUNNING TOTAL
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3075 zincs (1982-2007) 75.7%
957 coppers (1959-1982) 24.0%
23 wheats (1920-1958)
6 Canadian (1968-1995)
1 dime (2004)
Wanna take money away from the Fed? Spend dollar coins! |
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Gresham
Penny Pincher Member
184 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2007 : 22:50:44
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| I'll burn a stack of twenty's in a fire place when I have one and on the day that they are cheaper than a stack of wood or coal. They way the cost of energy is going in this country that may not be very long. |
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Silver Surfer coins illegal, says U.S. Mint
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