Are people that make coin jewelry out of legal tender U. S. coins breaking the law ?

barberlover

One day walking thru a mall I saw a typical cheap jewlery display, the kind that sells necklaces and charm bracelets, but something that caought my eye was a peace dollar cut out on a chain with the fields completly cut out with only the portrait of liberty and the date left and looking at the back you could see the fragments of the chopped up design. I know people have been making coin jewlery for a long time, but isn't it technically a crime to deface U.S. coins ?

Les

cherrypickincoin

Who knows...the law is so vague in this area that people get away with it every day and I don't think the government is going to make it its first priority to stop. They don't just do it with old coins, they do it with the platinum and gold eagles more than anything. It's not every day though that you see a 1999 quarter on someone's bracelet though. I think generally the jewelry has some purpose and either obsolete coinage is used or these platinum and gold eagles that aren't meant for circulation to begin with.

nwcs

I believe that it is not a crime to deface coinage. It's only a crime to counterfeit it.

python1

coins are not legal tender......they are however traded as such....according to the law.....

zenny

I think the mint itself makes jewelry and I think spoons made out of state quarters. Definitely not setting a good example for the rest of us.

cherrypickincoin

Good point zenny, lol.

k10

from the mint's website:
Does a business need permission from the U.S. Government to colorize U.S. coins?
Businesses do not need the U.S. Government's permission to colorize genuine United States coins unless the U.S. Government owns copyright in the coin design in question. Thus, consumers should not assume that the U.S. Government has approved or sponsored the colorized coins. Of course, businesses are expected to ensure that they do not violate U.S. trademark laws, false and deceptive advertising laws, and third party rights.

I would assume this applies to the jewelry, and as previously stated, the Mint itself makes jewelry out of coins.

littlewicher

Les, they sometimes have those cutout Peace dollar necklaces on ebay and they've been a topic of discussion before. I think it's terrible that someone would actually do that to a coin.

MacCoin

nwcs is right you can do about anything you want with your coin. sometimes they ain't much good after some of these so called artist finish with them.

Louis

<< <i>from the mint's website:
Does a business need permission from the U.S. Government to colorize U.S. coins?
Businesses do not need the U.S. Government's permission to colorize genuine United States coins unless the U.S. Government owns copyright in the coin design in question. Thus, consumers should not assume that the U.S. Government has approved or sponsored the colorized coins. Of course, businesses are expected to ensure that they do not violate U.S. trademark laws, false and deceptive advertising laws, and third party rights.

I would assume this applies to the jewelry, and as previously stated, the Mint itself makes jewelry out of coins. >>



Sounds like artificially toning coins and misrepresenting them is illegal. I think there's a lot of criminals out there.

wallstreetman

Its a common sense thing! No, it is not illegal to deface coins and currency unless you are trying to commit fraud(turning a $1 into a $10).