Brett Favre Coin Fumble

A New Jersey woman ordered a set of Brett Favre coins that she saw on TV, but when the coins were never "hiked" to her, she called Help Me Howard. Can Howard recover the fumble?

On October 1, 2008, Ellen Hochhauser saw a commercial for a set of 9 Brett Favre coins for $69.90. Ellen called the phone number and placed the order. The National Coin Mint asked for her credit card, but Ellen said she felt safer if she wrote them a check. She was given an address and sent them a check.

A month went by, and Ellen had not received the coins. When she called on November 19th, they told her that she cancelled her order. Ellen told the representative that she never cancelled the order and that her check was cashed.

The Lipenwald representative asked Ellen what she wanted to do. Ellen replied that she wanted the coins but the representative told her that they had no record of receiving her check. She was then told that she had to prove that the check she wrote was indeed cashed by Lipenwald. They asked her to fax them a copy, which she did.

On November 24, 2008, Ellen called back and was told that they didn't receive the fax and told her to re-fax and call back in 5 days. So again on November 29, she called and asked if they received her fax, they told her the only person that can help her is Diana, and she wasn't available.

Then on December 15, 2008 she called back and once again was told that Diana was unavailable and they still had no record of the check that was faxed. They told her again to fax it over and call back in 5 days. Are we sensing the theme here?

At that point, Ellen faxed over her check 4 times to show that it was cashed by Cosmetic Laboratory Sales, but they just keep telling her that Diana is the only one that can help her.

Ellen was really upset at this point because the coins were supposed to be a Christmas gift for her sister who is a big Brett Favre fan.

Frustrated with the whole situation, she called her friend. Her friend said -- "Ellen, we are calling Help Me Howard!"

We also spoke with the US Mint about these coins. They told us that:

"Only the United States Mint is lawfully authorized to mint and issue legal tender coinage for the United States. While firms occasionally paint or print superimposed images on U.S. coins-such as the coins seen in these advertisements-these products are not approved or sponsored by the United States Mint.

An advertisement which conveys the false impression that such products are approved, endorsed, or authorized by, or associated in any manner with, the United States Mint or the Department of the Treasury violates Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 709 and 31 U.S. C. § 333).

Only the United States Congress, through legislation approved by the President, may authorize an official commemorative coin program. Companies or private mints may use genuine United States coins as a medium on which they affix painted or printed images over the original designs, as long as such images are not commercial advertisements (using coins as media for commercial advertisements is prohibited by Federal law [18 U.S.C. § 475]). The United States Mint wants the public to know, before choosing to purchase such items, that the private firms that offer them are not affiliated with the United States Mint or the U.S. Government and that such items are not official United States Mint or U.S. Government products.

The United States Mint receives frequent inquiries from the public concerning its position on the practice of superimposing images on authentic U.S. coins. The United States Mint does not encourage, endorse or sponsor products that alter the fundamental images depicted on its coins. A superimposed design is different than the coin's original image and obscures the coin's original design.

In an effort to protect consumers, the United States Mint will notify companies if the agency learns of advertising that might be confusing or contain troublesome language that might violate Federal laws."