Defacement of Currency Federal Crime
KoinDawg
Posts: 890
Those that cut currency notes from uncut sheets to make them look like BEP errors should be aware that it is a federal crime to deface currency. Happened upon this at the BEP website:
Defacement of Currency
Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service. Their mailing address is:
United States Secret Service
950 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20223.
Defacement of Currency
Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service. Their mailing address is:
United States Secret Service
950 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20223.
Scottish Fold Gold 0
Comments
<< <i>with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued >>
Wouldn't the dual serial numbers be a dead give away though?
Also, shouldn't this thread be on the US & World Currency Forum?
The name is LEE!
PS: NO, I haven't been looking for the 1914-D which the same dealer has put in circulation here in Dover.
<< <i>Wouldn't the dual serial numbers be a dead give away though? >>
No because if you had a sheet at the BEP get out of place and cut in the same fashion it would also have dual serial numbers. What gives it away is the specific serial numbers. The BEP uses a group of serial numbers for the uncut sheet sales that is not used on the regular production runs.
The defacement of the currency statute is interesting because it addresses something a lot of people believe. People think that if it is their money they can do with it as the feel like. But this statute seems to imply that it is not your money it is the governments money (which is probably why they wrong with taking it away from us.) and if you do something to damage the governments money you can be fined or imprisoned. Most other laws required that there is an intent to defraud before you get in trouble, but not this one.
Title 18 Sec 331 deals with the mutilation of the coinage. It has much stiffer penanties, but as I said it requires that there be fraudulent intent.
doesn't intend to profit from such defacement AND isn't returning coins or notes
to circulation. Such things as the "where's George" game could easily be stopped
under this law but no move has been made against it. If someone started removing
IGWT from their coins or currency and returning them to circulation then there would
soon be a move to srop it.
You can damage your money but not the money in circulation. Of course like all laws
this is subject to interpretation and the government will reinterpret laws to accomplish
its aims.
Semper ubi sub ubi
<< <i>I guess this makes me a true geek. I have several uncut sheets and never ever considered cutting them so they looked like errors.
Wouldn't the dual serial numbers be a dead give away though?
Also, shouldn't this thread be on the US & World Currency Forum? >>
You can tell that fake cut errors are from uncut sheets because all uncut sheet have either 99 or 999 or 9999 (I can't remember which) as the first digits in the serial numbers.
The plate and block numbers also factor in. I remember someone making fake cutting errors, but a currency expert proved that it would be impossible by a variety of positional indicators. This is not "my thing", but that's my vague recollection. If you post this on the currency forum as well, you will get some expert opinions.
<< <i> Such things as the "where's George" game could easily be stopped
under this law but no move has been made against it. >>
Actually they did "make a move against it". Originally Where's George recommended using a rubber stamp and even sold such stamps for putting the website on the notes. The government contacted them and requested that they not sell the rubber stamps. They can't put a stop to the website because writing "Where'sGeorge.com" on the notes does not render them unfit to be reissued so they do not violate the statute.
<< <i>If someone started removing
IGWT from their coins or currency and returning them to circulation then there would
soon be a move to srop it. /Q]
Actually I do remove IGWT from my currency (black sharpie). No one has tried to stop me yet and I doubt they will because I don't think that renders the notes unfit either.
L99649708B
L99662708B
Does these look like they came from uncut sheets by the serial numbers?
currencyThread
<< <i>Good luck proving this part in court.
<< <i>with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued >>
>>
bingo
similar to trying to claim that lasering a coin is illegal as a defacing of it.
K S
<< <i>Good Luck ! Elongated Cent producers will be sharing a Jail Cell ? Think not ! >>
I think not too. Like I said for it to be illegal with coinage there has to be fraudulent intent. So the elongated cents are perfectly legal.
Is it a blue circle on the front and red stamp across the bottom back? It was mine. Enter it. Spend it. George likes to travel!