Defacing Coins

[pendragon1998]

Many people ask the question:

"Is it illegal to deface coins (e.g. by elongating them, artificially toning them,

putting a hole in them, etc)?"

 

 

 

According to U.S.code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331:

 

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined

at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation

as money within the United States; or

 

Whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings

into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified,

scaled, or lightened—

 

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

 

The answer to the defacement question is: it depends.

 

Essentially, the key word here is 'fraudulently'. You can legally drive a nail through a coin, paint it ultramarine, melt it, or bend it into a pretzel - but the moment you try and use that coin as currency, you're breaking the law. You can sell that altered coin as a collectable, but you can't use it to buy a Snickers. You can gold-plate your cent-less V-nickel, but you can't pass it with the intention of making the clerk think it's a gold piece. You can mash your pennies in the cent squisher at the zoo, but don't even think about buying penny candy with them ever again. Get the idea?

 

Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer and you should only accept legal advice from a licensed attorney.

[CurrierVentures]

mmmmm snickers

[Bruceswar]

Look at that wheatie... It has a VDB on it.. I bet it is a 1909 S VDB.. Ok Maybe not, but sure got you to thinking.

[EZ_E]

I was just wondering about this since a coworker thought that it was illegal to melt silver coinage.

 

Can anyone clarify this even further?

[pendragon1998]

Seems to me like melting silver coinage falls under the "mutilation" part of the code, and provided you don't attempt to pass it fraudulently (e.g. this franklin half dollar I'm melting is 100% silver, or 90% platinum) it shouldn't be illegal.

[HaydenTubbs]

I thought "defacing" was when you ground the bust of a coin?

[MunkyMan95]

 

Hayden, I wonder about you sometimes.... Wonder which shrink would be crazy enough to take your case

[pendragon1998]

Seems to me like melting silver coinage falls under the "mutilation" part of the code, and provided you don't attempt to pass it fraudulently (e.g. this franklin half dollar I'm melting is 100% silver, or 90% platinum) it shouldn't be illegal.

 

This has since changed. Currently, it is illegal to melt cents and nickels US Mint Press Release .

 

 

Second link.