Online shops advertise "sky"
According to the advertisement of the online shop owner thegioit...com, "a $2 bill shaped with a yellow-plated rat muscle was printed and issued by the US Treasury Department to serve the needs of Asian people for the 2020 Lunar New Year and has no circulating value".
To gain the trust of customers, the shop owner also advertised "Each 2 bills of money of this Con Chuot Model is contained in an extremely luxurious leather bag, inside is a certificate issued by the US Treasury Department".
The price of each $2 bill printed with a yellow-plated rat is advertised from 230,000 VND - 300,000 VND. The more customers buy, the more the price decreases. For example: buying 20 bills, the price is reduced to 200,000 VND/bill; buying 10 bills is 210,000 VND/bill.
According to the investigation of Lao Dong Newspaper Reporter, in fact, the 2-dollar gold-plated rat-shaped bill is not at all issued by the US Treasury Department.
The $2 bill is printed with gold-plated rat art and is printed and sold worldwide by the US-based private company Merrick mint, Inc. Currently, this bill is being sold on the websites of Merrick mint, Ebay and Amazon for 13.95 USD, receiving ships worldwide.
On the website, Merrick mint company introduced itself as "a leading company in design, marketing, and promotion".
Every year, Merrick mint creates more than 1,000 new products. Merrick mint's products include a collection of transaction cards, yellow cards, stamps, stickers and products with limited editions.
The products designed by this company are distributed on shopping TV channels, collectors' clubs, large retail department stores, along with a network of wholesale distributors and special agents worldwide.
Merrick mint is a private company specializing in the production of US color money and collectibles for the National Football Players Association (NFLPA), Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), National Badminton League (NHL), National Badminton players Association (NHLPA), National Football Federation (NFL), Basketball...
"Just a scam"
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, a banking and finance expert, said: The US Federal Reserve can order companies outside to print, but only the name of the US Federal Reserve is printed on the money.
The US Treasury never printed coins with mascots related to Asian customs and practices. It was all a scam.
Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu said: The $2 bill of gold-plated rat money is not issued by the US Government and has no circulating value. If you bring this bill into the US to buy things, it is illegal. Even in Vietnam, if people buy this currency for the purpose of gifts, decoration or collection, there is no problem, but if they use this currency to trade and buy and sell, it is a illegal act. The value of that currency is based only on artistic factors, not the face value of the currency.
