First ever Irish Gold Coin issue

InReality

Hi Tim

The website has the Irish Harp as centre of its logo.

I'm sure you would not want to mislead people into thinking you are a Irish goverment or state sponsered body.

Regards
Joe

coylemj

InReality wrote: »

Hi Tim

The website has the Irish Harp as centre of its logo.

I'm sure you would not want to mislead people into thinking you are a Irish goverment or state sponsered body.

Regards
Joe

I'm sure that comment comes with tongue firmly in cheek.

But just in case it doesn't, the marketing tactics of the Dublin Mint Office and their mail circulars (see previous posts) are designed precisely to blur the distinction between them and the Central Bank of Ireland, that's why they use the word 'Mint' in their title.

dubhthach

The only actual Mint in Ireland is the "Currency Centre" in Sandyford which is a division of the Central Bank.

http://www.irisharchitectureawards.ie/index.php/gold-medal/winner/currency_centre/

Open in the late 70's and mints Irish Euro coins and prints Irish euro notes (certain serial number ranges).

All Irish coins minted before this were minted at the Royal Mint in the UK.

InReality

I'm hoping Tim will explain why they use the state emblem in their logo ..

coylemj

InReality wrote: »

I'm hoping Tim will explain why they use the state emblem in their logo ..

For the same reason why they use 'Mint' in their company name.

Asking them questions just gives them an excuse to repeat the sales pitch.

Dublin Mint: Tim

Hi In Reality

We chose the harp as our logo partly because it is very different from the logo used by the Central Bank but also because we felt it would help reinforce the fact that we are dedicated to selling coins which celebrate Ireland’s history and heritage. As we are an international company, it might have been assumed that we were just selling the same types of coins as we sell elsewhere (although our range does incorporate some coins which are internationally recognised such as the Sovereign).

Best regards

Tim

InReality

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

Hi In Reality

We chose the harp as our logo partly because it is very different from the logo used by the Central Bank but also because we felt it would help reinforce the fact that we are dedicated to selling coins which celebrate Ireland’s history and heritage. As we are an international company, it might have been assumed that we were just selling the same types of coins as we sell elsewhere (although our range does incorporate some coins which are internationally recognised such as the Sovereign).

Best regards

Tim

You didn't address my point.
People who see an Irish Harp in a financial context may assume you are a goverment agency of some sort.
Other companies which use the harp , i.e. guiness , have no such risk.

Is it not better to avoid such a misinterpretation ?

dubhthach

InReality wrote: »

You didn't address my point.
People who see an Irish Harp in a financial context may assume you are a goverment agency of some sort.
Other companies which use the harp , i.e. guiness , have no such risk.

Is it not better to avoid such a misinterpretation ?

Particularly that the harp appears to resemble the "Brian Boru" harp which is the template for the coat of arms of the state. If it was a stylised harp it wouldn't be as bad

coylemj

InReality wrote: »

You didn't address my point.
People who see an Irish Harp in a financial context may assume you are a goverment agency of some sort.
Other companies which use the harp , i.e. guiness , have no such risk.

Is it not better to avoid such a misinterpretation ?

dubhthach wrote: »

Particularly that the harp appears to resemble the "Brian Boru" harp which is the template for the coat of arms of the state. If it was a stylised harp it wouldn't be as bad

Come on guys, the whole purpose of the logo is to deceive in precisely the way you describe and it appears to work if you read previous posts.

Tea_Bag

my mom asked me if these coins were a good investment when they first came out

i love how you "apply" for these coins and how adverts say "successful applicants" get a further chance at buying other coins. has any applicant ever been turned away????
tbf, im using the london mint advert here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdEl1eQi0lQ

as i havent seen the irish version, but i imagine its along the same shady lines.

just to be clear, the irish mint rep agrees that these have no monetary or investment value?

and the question that still hasnt bee answered, how much gold goes into layering these coins?

coylemj

Tea_Bag wrote: »

and the question that still hasnt bee answered, how much gold goes into layering these coins?

I don't know why you're concerned about the quantity of gold used in the 'layering' process. Clearly we are talking about gold plating and the likelihood is that the gold is barely a few microns thick so the weight is negligible.

2 stroke

coylemj wrote: »

I don't know why you're concerned about the quantity of gold used in the 'layering' process. Clearly we are talking about gold plating and the likelihood is that the gold is barely a few microns thick so the weight is negligible.

In my case it's because someone I know was misled by the words "fully layered" and other blurb in their ad and she recommended this offer to others. With the information I have to hand, I cannot tell them that they were ripped off.

Perhaps this thread should be moved to consumer issues, it clearly isn't appropriate for investments and markets.

coylemj

2 stroke wrote: »

In my case it's because someone I know was misled by the words "fully layered" and other blurb in their ad and she recommended this offer to others.

What is 'fully layered' supposed to mean? I suggest it's meaningless as a quantitative term. The 1968 penny has a fair amount of detail on it and if you slap too much of anything on top of it you will start to lose detail.

Regardless of what you think of the DMO (and if you read my previous posts you'll see who's side I'm on), the gold that is applied has to be ultra-thin in order not to compromise the detail on the coin. What difference does it make if they apply 1/100 or 1/50 mm gold to the penny?

You can interpret 'fully layered' any way you like but you certainly can't lay any claim for false representation against the DMO because the term itself doesn't mean anything apart from the fact that all of the surface area of the penny has been plated. I really can't see how you have any beef against them on this particular issue.

2 stroke

Coylemj, I can draw the same conclusions as you, but I would like Tim to answer the question fully. Fully layered might not even match your definition, I doubt it is actually plated.

coylemj

2 stroke wrote: »

In my case it's because someone I know was misled by the words "fully layered" and other blurb in their ad and she recommended this offer to others.

2 stroke wrote: »

Coylemj, I can draw the same conclusions as you, but I would like Tim to answer the question fully. Fully layered might not even match your definition, I doubt it is actually plated.

How did your friend come to the conclusion that she was 'misled' by the use of the term 'fully layered'?

Given that the customer is in no position to measure the amount of gold, how can anyone say there is more or less gold applied than was claimed, since there is no stated quantity involved?

It's beyond me how someone could make a purchasing decision based on a meaningless term made up in the marketing department but I guess that's what marketing is all about.

2 stroke

Based on the ad she replied to, she was telling myself and others what a great offer this was, that she was getting something worth much more than she was paying. I have no beef with you, but you appear to be trying to make me say something libelous. These people are very skilled in the use of the english and I'm not willing to stick my neck out as far as you have.

coylemj

2 stroke wrote: »

Based on the ad she replied to, she was telling myself and others what a great offer this was, that she was getting something worth much more than she was paying. I have no beef with you, but you appear to be trying to make me say something libelous. These people are very skilled in the use of the english and I'm not willing to stick my neck out as far as you have.

I don't think you're in much danger of being sued for defamation by these people, they don't have a leg to stand on or much of a reputation to defend. I suggest you take a look at this article about their parent company, especialy the section entitled Many concerns over business practice ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samlerhuset

While I respect the (relatively neutral) position you're taking, let me draw your attention to some of the earlier posts in this thread. Some of them were snipped by the mods, none of mine were, I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions....

Yorky wrote: »

The Dublin Mint Office has circulated details of the first issue of an Irish gold coin costing €9.95.

Does anyone consider this to be a potentially good investment?

Raskolnikov wrote: »

I suspect that the gold content in these coins is negligible, or completely non-existant. No company in the world is going to sell a coin for less that what they could get by bring it to a cash-for-gold shop.

coylemj wrote: »

+1 sounds like junk to me, probably feck all gold in it and of no interest whatsoever to collectors, deffo not an 'investment', more like money down the drain.

coylemj wrote: »

That pre-decimal penny is a complete rip-off, they don't even claim that it's gold-plated, only that it is gold 'layered' - whatever that means and to talk about that coin as part of our 'vanished' heritage is complete BS, there are millions of those pennies lying in drawers and coin collections all over the country.

People like the Dublin Mint and similar organisations make liberal use of the word 'heritage' to imply that in buying their products you are somehow helping to protect something which is danger of disappearing off the face of the earth and you have a duty to protect it for future generations. I'm sorry but pre-decimal pennies do not fall into that category, they minted 30,000,000 of them in 1968 to see out the pre-decimal coinage so how you could hold one of them in your hand and say it was part of our 'heritage' is beyond me.

stimpson

I'd like to point out, that they are not issuing Ireland's first ever gold coin, as the thread title might suggest. They are issuing a coin, commemorating the first ever issue of a gold coin.

I'm sure, in time, they will issue a coin commemorating the first coin issued to commemorate Ireland's first ever gold coin issue.

I think it's interesting that Mr Banks has chosen not to clear that one up.

2 stroke

Somewhere in their blurb they mention a coin struck in the Holy Land Mint, I wonder where that is, considering that the dublin mint office isn't in Dublin.

coylemj

2 stroke wrote: »

Somewhere in their blurb they mention a coin struck in the Holy Land Mint, I wonder where that is, considering that the dublin mint office isn't in Dublin.

Welcome to the club

dubhthach

Just to put things in comparison to buy a real "Bullion coin" such as the Krugerrand (South Africa) costs over €1,200 per coin. Around the same price for American "Eagle".

Sea Horses

I have just opened the urgent attention required post delivered by POST logo, should that not be AN POST.
Firstly the goverment should employ this advertising agency for collecting the new housing charge. To all households in the Republic of ireland.
From the dates on this postings the seven days are up so I am out of luck!
It looks well and is very convincing in you should not look a gift horse in the mouth style. Now everyone should know that you never get something for nothing and if it looks too good to be true then it is that.
To be Fair the company is only selling a predecimal penny and this is nolonger legal tender so it is only a momento that will be worthless in time. I remember an Irish company being floated and we were all going to be rich need I say more. The power of advertising.

the groutch

Mr Banks (very apt name), I can't wait to get one of your leaflets in my letterbox, so I can use it along with what you've said on this forum to form a proper complaint to the ASAI.

Connie

Phew!! just as well I checked again. There were no comments on this subject when I last checked. Today I received my first first coin the "golden predecimal penny". I'm not a collector and I know nothing about coins but I was convinced I was dealing with a government body. I still have all the letters. I got a bit suspicious about all this when showers of offers kept coming through the letterbox after I accepted the first one.

stimpson

Connie wrote: »

Phew!! just as well I checked again. There were no comments on this subject when I last checked. Today I received my first first coin the "golden predecimal penny". I'm not a collector and I know nothing about coins but I was convinced I was dealing with a government body. I still have all the letters. I got a bit suspicious about all this when showers of offers kept coming through the letterbox after I accepted the first one.

I've had problem with junk mailers before. Apparently, if you attach a brick to a post paid envelope, the company has to pay for the postage of a brick.

Just saying. I do not condone hilariously funny revenge schemes.

coylemj

Connie wrote: »

I got a bit suspicious about all this when showers of offers kept coming through the letterbox after I accepted the first one.

Were all of the offers from the DMO or have some other mail order companies now got your address?

Cy Kosis

Have only skimmed over this thread so forgive me if I'm asking a question previously asked/answered:-

My Dad got an advert thingy in the post a couple of months ago.
He's the nostalgic type and loves the old coins/notes.
He ordered himself one or two coins and was happy with them.
Next thing, another (different) coin arrives in the post complete with invoice.
Dad calls DMO and explains he didn't order it.
DMO said they'd send him a FreePost return envelope and apologise for mistake.
The following week an envelope arrives. It is NOT the promised return envelope but yet ANOTHER coin and INVOICE.
Dad sends the unordered stuff back and we hear nothing for a while until Monday 29th when ANOTHER coin and PAYMENT DEMAND arrive in the post.
Dad phones up, explains all to a woman, she promises to sort it on their computer and says she'll send a FreePost Return envelope.
THIS MORNING the postman brings another envelope.... wait for it....
2011 Edition of Irish Euro Coins complete with invoice. UNWANTED/UNORDERED.

Can the poster from DMO please PLEASE explain why my Dad keeps receiving unordered and unwanted coins with invoices and payment demands.

It's over. He got what he wanted originally. Paid his invoice. Now just wants a peaceful life back again. He's a pensioner and usually extremely careful with junk mail/scams/offers.

Poster person from DMO please get this sorted.
Don't make me angry.
You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

podgeandrodge

InReality wrote: »

The website has the Irish Harp as centre of its logo.

I'm sure you would not want to mislead people into thinking you are a Irish goverment or state sponsered body.

Regards
Joe

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

We chose the harp as our logo partly because it is very different from the logo used by the Central Bank but also because we felt it would help reinforce the fact that we are dedicated to selling coins which celebrate Ireland’s history and heritage.

InReality wrote: »

You didn't address my point.
People who see an Irish Harp in a financial context may assume you are a goverment agency of some sort.
Other companies which use the harp , i.e. guiness , have no such risk.

Is it not better to avoid such a misinterpretation ?

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

The only relevant legislation concerns the destruction or defacing of legal tender coinage. The treatment we have applied is reversible so it is permissible.

From the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation:

Authorisation to Register a State Emblem as a Trade Mark; Dealing with Misuse of Trade Marks Indicative of Irish Origin:


Any person who wishes to obtain registration of a trade mark containing a State emblem (harp, shamrock) or to use a State emblem in connection with any business must first obtain consent from the Minister. The Minister is also empowered to take lawful steps against any person outside the State in the event of misuse of trade marks that would falsely indicate that the goods on which the trade mark is used were of Irish origin.

The harp is confined to Government Departments and Government agencies. Authorisation to use the shamrock is restricted to goods or services of Irish origin.

Any person is eligible to make a complaint to the Minister where he or she suspects the unauthorised use of a State emblem or the misuse of a trade mark indicative of Irish origin.



http://www.djei.ie/science/ipr/emblems.htm

Also - Patents office for applications:

http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/state_emblems.aspx



(By the way, Guinness and Harp "face the other way" and Ryanair is sufficiently different in design so as not to be confused as I understand it. But either way you have to go to the patents office to get approval.)

Do you have approval to use the Harp Tim?

stimpson

*gets popcorn*

Jagle

podgeandrodge wrote: »

From the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation:

Authorisation to Register a State Emblem as a Trade Mark; Dealing with Misuse of Trade Marks Indicative of Irish Origin:


Any person who wishes to obtain registration of a trade mark containing a State emblem (harp, shamrock) or to use a State emblem in connection with any business must first obtain consent from the Minister. The Minister is also empowered to take lawful steps against any person outside the State in the event of misuse of trade marks that would falsely indicate that the goods on which the trade mark is used were of Irish origin.

The harp is confined to Government Departments and Government agencies. Authorisation to use the shamrock is restricted to goods or services of Irish origin.

Any person is eligible to make a complaint to the Minister where he or she suspects the unauthorised use of a State emblem or the misuse of a trade mark indicative of Irish origin.



http://www.djei.ie/science/ipr/emblems.htm

Also - Patents office for applications:

http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/state_emblems.aspx



(By the way, Guinness and Harp "face the other way" and Ryanair is sufficiently different in design so as not to be confused as I understand it. But either way you have to go to the patents office to get approval.)

Do you have approval to use the Harp Tim?

ooooooooooh hahaha love it, excuse me while i go make a formal complaint now

hopefully, business like this will suffer

TristenDeCuna

Heh Tim,
You haven't answered the question about whether you obtained authorisation to use the harp.
If you didn't that might be awkward for you, since it is a Criminal Offence unders Section 97 of the Trade Marks Act 1996, to use the harp\shamrock without permission and comes with a fine of 1000€. So how many envelopes did you send out! It might get costly. Also, you might want to change your picture on this site because guess what! yep that's not allowed....
All the best,
Tristen

cyclopath2001

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

The Dublin Mint Office is a subsidiary of the Samlerhuset Group. ....We co-own the Mint of ....our customer care service is currently based in London, it is staffed by Irish people. The company hopes to establish a Dublin based office in due course.

So you call yourselves 'Dublin Mint', why?

Victor

Its interesting how the Companies Registration Office allowed a name like "The Dublin Mint Office Ltd." - surely there should be rules to not allow a name that might be mistaken for being official.

http://www.cro.ie/search/CompanySearch.aspx

Details

Type Company
Number 494407
Name THE DUBLIN MINT OFFICE LIMITED
Address C/O OSK
EAST POINT PLAZA
EAST POINT
DUBLIN 3
Registered 31/01/2011
Status Normal

Effective date: 31/01/2011
Last AR Date 31/07/2011
Next AR Date 31/07/2012
Last Accounts to Date Not Available

The names of directors and other particular should be available here: http://www.cro.ie/search/ListSubDocs.aspx?id=494407&type=C (for a small fee )

The address appears to be a firm of accountants. http://www.osk.ie/

http://www.iedr.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&whois=dublinmintoffice.ie&id=86&Itemid=105&Search.x=8&Search.y=8

[Querying whois.domainregistry.ie]
[whois.domainregistry.ie]

% Rights restricted by copyright; http://iedr.ie/index.php/mnudomregs/mnudnssearch/96
% Do not remove this notice

domain: dublinmintoffice.ie
descr: The Dublin Mint Office Limited
descr: Body Corporate (Ltd,PLC,Company)
descr: Corporate Name
admin-c: AML005-IEDR
tech-c: AML005-IEDR
renewal: 11-February-2014
status: Active
nserver: dns1.myhostns.com
nserver: dns2.myhostns.com
source: IEDR

person: Vince Howard
nic-hdl: AML005-IEDR
source: IEDR

person: Vince Howard
nic-hdl: AML005-IEDR
source: IEDR

Victor

Tim, what is the address for returning unwanted products to?

Are you registered for VAT? What is your VAT number?

Victor

Hmmm

From: patentsoffice.ie
Sent: 09 September 2011 10:44:29
To: Victor

Dear Victor,

I would like to thank you for your e-mail of 9 September 2011 regarding the use of the State Emblem of the Harp by the Dublin Mint Office.

The Intellectual Property Unit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation are aware of the aforementioned situation and have issued correspondence on the matter to the company in question.

Use of the Harp State Emblem is generally reserved for use by the State, that is, Government Departments, Offices of the State and bodies operating within the aegis of such Departments and Offices.

The Brian Boru Harp, and a number of variations of that theme, were notified by the State to the World Intellectual Property Organisation some years ago as protected emblems of the State and thereby avail of international protection under the terms of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. State emblems are also protected under Irish law by Section 97 of the Trade Marks Act 1996. Section 97 of that Act provides, inter alia, for the Minister to undertake certain actions in respect of the unauthorised use of State emblems in connection with any business.

I hope this information has been of some assistance.


Yours sincerely

Intellectual Property Unit
Patents Office
Government Buildings
Hebron Road
Kilkenny
056 7720139

Victor

http://www.comreg.ie/numbering/numbering_search.599.numbering.html

Search Results STD / Access Code Start Range End Range Assignee Location Designation Status
1800 937000 937999 Verizon Business (MCI) Freephone Allocated

cyclopath2001

TristenDeCuna wrote: »

Heh Tim,
You haven't answered the question about whether you obtained authorisation to use the harp.
If you didn't that might be awkward for you, since it is a Criminal Offence unders Section 97 of the Trade Marks Act 1996, to use the harp\shamrock without permission and comes with a fine of 1000€. So how many envelopes did you send out! It might get costly. Also, you might want to change your picture on this site because guess what! yep that's not allowed....

If they have broken the law, unless they cooperate,it could be difficult to enforce penalties against them unless they have a 'Mint' in Dublin.

Victor

I found this: http://www.broadsheet.ie/2011/09/08/did-you-just-get-one-of-these-in-the-post/

https://www.kitcomm.com/showthread.php?t=86817

It seems that one Victoria Calvert, a Glasgow art student claims to be their production manager.

http://www.google.ie/webhp?hl=en&tab=ww#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&site=webhp&source=hp&q=%22Victoria+Calvert%22+%22mint+office%22&pbx=1&oq=%22Victoria+Calvert%22+%22mint+office%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1714l1714l0l2366l1l1l0l0l0l0l139l139l0.1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=20eda449df5bca77&biw=1680&bih=892

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/victoria-calvert/19/94b/a05

Nick Hart appears to be MD.

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/nick-hart/1b/9a/51a

podgeandrodge

where is Tim?

There was a young man called Tim, Who used the Harp on a whim,
On coins with painted gold, (very little if truth be told)
And soon the law will catch up with ...Him!!


Sorry I'm not the best poet in the world

Dublin Mint: Tim

Hi all

Good to see so much interest in our company! Apologies that it has taken me a while to get back to some of your comments – I’ve been on a charity bike ride to Brussels (sponsorship offers still welcome!).

Maybe I can answer all outstanding questions in one go:

Cy Kosis: Many of the coins we offer are the starter coins in a collection. It’s possible that your father didn’t realise this but, in any case, the collection can be cancelled at any time and there is no obligation to receive further coins if you don’t want them. Obviously, it’s difficult for me to establish the exact details here without knowing your father’s identity. We can deal with this privately and make sure that your father ends up with only the coins he wants.

podgeandrodge: Our design of the harp is not based on the Brian Boru design. We are in communication with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation about this matter as they have confirmed above. I will update you when our discussions are completed. Many thanks for your inspired poem – it brightened up my day.


Cyclopath: We call ourselves the Dublin Mint Office because we are a mint and our office is now based in Dublin.


Victor: Full details of how to return products, including how to download a postage paid label, are available on our website: www.dublinmintoffice.ie/returns. Please follow the recommendation regarding obtaining a proof of posting. Our VAT number is: 9781555L . Also please note, our Production Manager Vicky Calvert, is not the art student you refer to, this is someone else (and Nick is our Marketing Director, our Managing Director is Simon Mellinger!)

Hope that answers everything.

Wishing you all a good weekend!

Tim Banks
Dublin Mint Office

podgeandrodge

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

podgeandrodge: Our design of the harp is not based on the Brian Boru design. We are in communication with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation about this matter as they have confirmed above. I will update you when our discussions are completed. Many thanks for your inspired poem – it brightened up my day.



Tim Banks
Dublin Mint Office

Thanks for the update Tim and your gracious praise of my poetry:)

Victor

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

podgeandrodge: Our design of the harp is not based on the Brian Boru design. We are in communication with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation about this matter as they have confirmed above.

This is the harp you use here: http://www.dublinmintoffice.ie/frontend/mediabank/21359/DMO-Returns-Label.pdf



This is the Brian Boru Harp.



Regardless, as I understand it, the state has copyright on all left facing harps.

Also please note, our Production Manager Vicky Calvert, is not the art student you refer to, this is someone else (and Nick is our Marketing Director, our Managing Director is Simon Mellinger!)

Thanks, we didn't have Simon's surname: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/simon-mellinger/9/a39/248 simon.mellinger@londonmintoffice.org.

Has Ms. Calvert changed her Linkedin profile?

ahyeahok

Victor wrote: »

Thats pretty much a photocopy.

ahyeahok

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samlerhuset

Criticism

The company runs aggressive advertising campaigns and their sales methods have been widely criticized by collectors,[3] magazines[4] and consumer protection authorities in several countries. The Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman[5] has raised concerns over the use of misleading advertisements, (e.g. gold plated coins being presented as gold coins, or mintage presented as lower than it is[6]) and customers receiving goods they have not ordered. Samlerhuset have prices 2-3 times that of others.[citation needed] In April 2011 the Norwegian TV channel TV2 aired the program TV2 hjelper deg (English translation: TV2 helps you) about Samlerhuset. It showed an elderly man who had bought coins and medals for NOK 450,000 (about US$80,000, £52,000), with the coins' value being 80-90.000NOK (US$15-16,000, £9-10,000).[7]

Wonder if you add this to this..

dubhthach

For those who aren't familiar, the "Brian Boru" harp is one of only three surviving Cláirseach from the medieval period. The other examples are the Queen Mary Harp and the Lamont Harp in Scotland.



Queen Mary Harp


Lamont Harp


The logo of the "Dublin Mint" is clearly a Cláirseach (Gaelic Harp) any attempts to claim otherwise are about as believable as Gold plated pre-decimal coins are a good investment.

dilallio

FYI

I just received this reply from my TD (removed names as per boards policy) after making an enquiry about DMO's use of a state emblem.

From: <snip>@Oireachtas.ie]
Sent: 20 September 2011 12:34
To: <snip>
Subject: Re: Misuse of State Emblems - Dublin Mint Office

Dear <snip>,

Further to our previous correspondence, I have confirmed that the Minister had not consented to the use of the harp symbol by the named company and the Intellectual Property Unit of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Employment has now made contact with the relevant parties in relation to the matter.

The IPU will seek to establish if the use of the symbol contravenes the trade mark and, if the company fails to desist from using the symbol when requested to do so, it is open to the Minister to pursue legal action in respect of its use.

Thank you again for bringing the issue to my attention and I hope this will ultimately resolve the situation to your satisfaction.

Regards,

<snip> TD

Jagle

dilallio wrote: »

FYI

I just received this reply from my TD (removed names as per boards policy) after making an enquiry about DMO's use of a state emblem.

nice good man

so now the company has lied on this site trying to defend itself, brilliant

DesperateDan

Dublin Mint: Tim wrote: »

Cyclopath: We call ourselves the Dublin Mint Office because we are a mint and our office is now based in Dublin.

Oh Tim, you so crazy! This thread was pretty hilarious good job guys.

Victor

Does anyone have a copy of the bumph they were sent? If you can forward it to the e-mail / postal address below.

From: Data Protection (info@dataprotection.ie)
Sent: 26 September 2011 12:01:12
To: Victor


Dear Victor,

I refer to your recent email to this Office in relation to Dublin Mint
Office.

I would like to thank you for contacting us on this matter. I can advise
that we have examined the website you refer to and that we have contacted
the company to draw its attention to its Data Protection responsibilities
and requested a reply. If you can provide any documentary evidence of
unsolicited direct marketing having taken place contrary to the Acts, this
Office will investigate the matter further.

I hope that this is of assistance.

Kind regards,

Compliance Officer

______________________________________________________________________
Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
Canal House
Station Road
Portarlington
Co Laois
Ireland
telephone: 057 868 4800
fax: 057 868 4757
website: www.dataprotection.ie

AstonMartin

Is the company advertising this as an investment?

Its a commerative item that they will probably face the harp the other way if that solves the copyright issue.

People that dont know any better may be expecting a solid gold coin for a fiver but while the companies descriptions take liberties they are selling an item they have had manufactured themselves and can charge whatever they like, the same as any other company.

The problem is they have mint in their company name when they are not a mint and claim to be partners with official mints which they are not.

Tim, your advisors are salespeople. Have they advised anybody not to buy your products?