Special Announcement

The NIA is a non-profit corporation formed for educational purposes, whose Board and Committee Members are unpaid volunteers. It is the NIA's goal to encourage growth and public awareness of the insulator hobby through collecting, dealing and educational endeavors. The NIA strives to protect the interests of insulator collectors and dealers, by establishing standards and ethics by which insulator collectors and dealers may fairly deal with one another.

The NIA Board has become aware of a reproduction CD 162 being offered for sale. At this time it appears that these have only been created in cobalt, and that approximately 150 have been made. While this item is currently being offered with etched initials and a year, it was not "manufactured in accordance with NIA guidelines." That means, among other things, that the person(s) engaged in the manufacturing of this item did not agree to "permanently mark" them at the time of their creation in a manner acceptable to the NIA, to minimize the possibility that it could be mistaken for, or misrepresented as, an "original insulator."

This insulator has thus been deemed an "imitation insulator"; by the NIA Board rather than a "commemorative," due to its extreme similarity in size, shape, embossing, and color, to known "original insulators." This imitation is different than other commemoratives such as the Mid-Ohio Show and NIA National Show commemoratives in that the latter pieces do not have threaded pin holes, are not of a size or embossing that resembles known original insulators, and are produced directly from the mold with permanent markings to allow them to be differentiated from any original insulator.

As such, the NIA Board of Directors have determined that these seller-described reproductions are "objectionable to the best interests of the hobby." This is not because the NIA Board believes that the creator has any intent of committing fraud, but rather because some collectors may be confused by its design. The NIA Board of Directors are of the opinion and belief that items deemed objectionable to the best interests of the hobby, create the possibility that members could suffer financial loss as a subsequent party might attempt to alter or sell the imitation as an original insulator (i.e. fraudulent use).

It is the NIA Board’s belief that this particular matter is a matter of public concern, and the NIA Board Members feel strongly that they have an ethical obligation, and are duty bound, to share their opinions concerning reproductions with the NIA General Membership. Please educate yourself and others about this imitation insulator.