2001 ASE From Ground Zero 9-11-2001

I was under the impression these coins were minted from silver bars recovered from ground zero?

Actually there are a few services claiming 9/11 provenance.

Just like the (W) and the (S) no mintmark Eagles I guess you just have to take the TPG's word for it.

I have mixed feelings on these "9/11" coins.

Part of me, like you, thinks that this is important, dark American history and a reminder of the terrible tragedy of 9/11/2001. A reminder that's a propos to numismatists such as us.

On the other hand part of me is repulsed knowing that people were profiting off of the tragedy. I lived 2 hours outside the city at the time, was in my 20's when it happened and remember the entire day clearly. That could be a knee-jerk reaction on my part; maybe there wasn't any money being made on these. It just seems to be too convenient of a marketing tool to pass up for some unscrupulous sellers.

And that commentary is by no means a knock on you for having one. I LIKE the fact that these were recovered. Having these slabbed/certified as having been recovered from the vaults beneath ground zero is really quite impressive. I'm just not sure about the means in which they were sold originally.

fox, I just caught that

Celtic, these coins were returned to their owners who were holding them in the vaults. I see your point but I look at it like these coins were survivors. They had history thrust upon them and it would have been a shame to not have them properly identified as such. They are now a keepsake in remembrance of the worst attack this country ever faced. And how when.we get attacked we attack back, we never forget and we never surrender.

I don't disagree.

But cladding silver in *more* silver and selling them as 9/11 survivors seems like a shameless gimmick to me. Also those vaults were probably full of thousands of such coins and the vaults were likely the most protected part of the building. Those who owned them almost certainly knew the potential value of having these slabbed as 9/11 survivors. I have a very hard time believing that whoever submitted these for grading/certifying did it out of the goodness of their heart, had posterity in mind, or donated any of the profits.

I realize that's a lot of unfounded speculation and I could very well be wrong. I am just very pessimistic when it comes to human nature.


As jbuck said, any profit on these should have been donated to charities or survivors or their families.

I agree with all you said celtic, especially about cladding a regular ASE with melted wtc silver aND all other like items. That's just plain profiteering on tragedy! I have to somewhat disagree though with the last part however. What intentions the owners had when they got their coins back is inconsequential as without them doing what they did for whatever reason they did it these pieces of history would have gone back into the mix and "lost" to the world if not properly identified as such.

I agree with jbucks donation idea but it's human nature... and capitolism to profit. That said, if I were one of the owners who got my coins back I don't think I could have profited on them. Personally I would have donated all profits to the survivors fund (and probably part or all of my principal too)