SEPTEMBER 11 COINS Público Deposited
The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 32, August 10, 2003, Article 20
SEPTEMBER 11 COINS
An August 6 Wall Street Journal article put the spotlight on
"September 11" coins being marketed as relics from the
2001 World Trade Center attacks."The coins -- some gold, others platinum, but mostly silver --
were in an underground vault below 4 World Trade Center
that belonged to ScotiaMocatta, the precious-metals trading
unit of Bank of Nova Scotia, also known as Scotiabank. A
Bank of Nova Scotia spokeswoman said a coin specialist
and wholesaler approached Bank of Nova Scotia and offered
to buy some of the coins from the Toronto bank. The coins
are being sold in plastic coin holders emblazoned with the
phrase "9-11-01 WTC Ground Zero Recovery." The bank
isn't involved in the sale of the coins.""It's morbid, disgusting and shocks the senses that any
individual or corporation could capitalize on the Sept. 11
tragedy in this horrid way," said Scott A. Travers...""This is a rather extreme case of making money with the
World Trade Center," said Ute Wartenberg Kagan, executive
director of the American Numismatic Society...""Shortly after the World Trade Center attacks, Bank of Nova
Scotia said it would supply 3,800 ounces of silver it owned
recovered from its vault at Ground Zero to make 427 "Angels
of Courage" for the families of New York fire, police and
emergency workers killed in the attacks. Additional angels
were presented to dignitaries."[Subscription required]
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106012198859689500,00.html[Morbid relics have a long history in numismatics. For example,
most recoveries of sunken treasure coins are basically grave
robberies, as was the recovery of coins and ingots from the
S. S. Central America and the recovery of Lt. George Dixon's
"Lucky" $20 gold piece from the wreck of the Confederate
submarine Hunley (see The E-Sylum v4n22, May 27, 2001).
-Editor]- 2003-08-10
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