uhm... 2011 p Garfield dollar is not gold uhm?

Yeah, except many, many companies do that exact thing, such as this one of many examples:
MerrickMint.com

 

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So are you ok with that? I sure dont endorse that.

 

It's not whether I'm good with it or not. The Fed kinda lets it happens unperterbed. How many gold plated cents, nickels, quarters, half dollars, dollars have you seen in circulation ? Then you get to the remints (reminting an existing coin though as a fantasy date); etc, etc.

 

Not to even mention Hobo Nickles and Love Tokens.

 

I'm curious if:
(a) cashiers would accept hobo nickels are they may not really recognizable.
(b) would electronic cash machines (like at Walmart, etc in the self checkout) accept hobo nickels as they weight differently,
(c) coin machines - would the weight different reject hobo coinage ??

I'm curious and don't really know?

 

They are not enforce but we as fellow collectors have to informed everyone what is legit or not. In this case it is non-legal tender once the coin is modified from its original form without the authorization of the Federal BEP. That is why we are here in this forum to inform other collectors.

 

I'm sure that @ToughCOINS and @desertgem can provide some colors on the legality of modified coins and their legal tender coverage

 

I am not going to try. Even badly done hobo nickels seem to sell for $10 or more.

 

These coins that have been plated are not counterfeits.
The Presidential dollars have a gold look (here's one I got today)
but there's no gold in them. The metal content is:
88.5% Copper - 6% Zinc - 3.5% Manganese - 2% Nickel
Even if they are plated they are still worth a dollar. No one is going to jail or be fined for plating them.

 

The Presidential dollars are legal and the Manganese composition makes it a gold look. That is not a modified coin. It is still in original form. I have started to collect them too.

 

I don't think novelty plated coins are covered under the statute Robert mentions. I believe the section about altering the value involves changing the denomination and trying to spend it at the higher value. Similar to spending a gold plated 1883 racketeers nickel and telling the merchant that it's a $5 coin.

If you spend a plated dollar as a dollar, then I believe you haven't violated the statute. FYI, I'm not a lawyer, so keep that in consideration

 

I just email and inquire from the U.S. Mint about this issue. Waiting for their input

 

If you look at activity in the hobby over the last century or two, it's completely obvious that "altering genuine currency to increase its value" means changing its apparent denomination. Bleaching a $1 bill and reprinting it as a $20 (pre-security-measures), for example.

Carving a love token "increases its value" in the sense of sentimental value, but doesn't increase its denomination.

Plating a dollar in silver or gold or platinum "increases its value" if you can sell it to suckers watching a shopping channel, but doesn't increase its denomination.

People have been making love tokens literally for centuries. People have been defacing or plating coins without fraudulent intent for longer than that, most likely. That is not a crime.

 

This law is very clear and surely a lot of violations.

 

What you quoted is not "this law", it's a simplified explanation, and apparently over-simplified. For example, the $2000 amount is obsolete, and cents and nickels are no longer exempt.

Here's the section of the United States Code referenced in that quote:

Please note the repeated use of the word fraudulently. If no fraud is intended or attempted, this law is not broken.

 

The mix of copper and zinc give them the gold look - they are actually brass by definition. I think they only added the manganese to achieve the electronic signature that they were after. Manganese is a terrible metal to use for coins. It makes them look so ugly so quickly. Look at the ugly color a war nickel turns after it has circulated (greenish gray color). It corrodes very quickly. You don't seen Canadian Loonies look like Sacs/Pres dollars.

 

In concur and manganese is also a good binding metal and also for corrosion. An alternative to nickel.

 

Manganese makes the coin harder even though it makes them ugly. They are heavily in railroads.

 

It's "very clear" yet you ignore the most obvious and pertinent aspects?

And more pure assumption presented as if fact.

Reading comprehension is a virtue, Robert. Even if you wish to ignore the fact Jeff already kindly addressed this, just go back and re-read your own posts (18-20). It's all right there.

 

Very well explained.