Illegal Surfer coins tarnished
Remember when I expressed surprise about the Silver Surfer quarters being retouched by the Franklin Mint, opining "one would assume the US Mint rather exempt from messing with our legal tender just to hawk a film" by 20th Century Fox?
Turns out I was right. According to MSNBC, the mint "said in a news release Friday that it learned of the promotional quarter this week and advised the studio and The Franklin Mint they were breaking the law. It is illegal to turn a coin into an advertising vehicle, and violators can face a fine."
The Franklin folks insist "putting the character on the coin didn’t alter the integrity of the coin," and say they didn’t mean to break the law. Isn’t that the Monica Goodling defense?
This doesn't look so bad… but still. It is the law. I don't understand the point. If those "where's george been .com" folks can do it, why not everyone?