9/11 medal will evoke memories

What were you doing on 9/11?

That September morning in 2001 was a Tuesday and I was working on Numismatic News when Ray Sidman, another staffer at the time, said a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York City.

I said something like it sounded like an Internet hoax, see what else you can find out.

My skepticism certainly proved faulty that day.

What were you doing when you heard the news?

The day lives on in memory much like the day John F. Kennedy was shot Nov. 22, 1963, or for an older generation, the Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan.

Collectors will relive their own memories as the word spreads that one-ounce silver medals that mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack will be placed on sale by the U.S. Mint on June 20. Price will be $56.95

Will you be a buyer?

The medals will be made of one-ounce of .999 fine silver. They will be actually struck on the same blanks as silver American Eagles, though they will not have a reeded edge.

Up to 2 million will be available if sales warrant. Half will be struck at West Point and carry a “W” mintmark on the reverse and half will be struck at Philadelphia with a “P” mintmark on the reverse.

The National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum will get $10 of the issue price. If there is a sellout, the organization will get $20 million. The website is www.911memorial.org.

If purchase decisions are made solely on the basis of emotions that collectors and other Americans feel, the medal offer will sell out.