Against The Law?

http://cgi.ebay.com/LINCOLN-PENNY-S...em&pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item27b1a0e352

 

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not really, ever seen a penny press or walked along a rail road?

 

Yep, it's against the law but do people sometimes do this and get away with it??
Sure they do. We've all seen it and yet no one seems to be swooping
down on the violators to haul them off to jail.

 

What law? There is no law I know of that prohibits defacing coins. The only time there is a problem, that I know of, is when it is done to deceive. Otherwise, there would be a lot of penny flattening machine owners in a lot of trouble out there.

 

United States Code
TITLE 18
PART I
CHAPTER 17
§ 331. Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins


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.

 

Look up the definition of "fraudulently" (with the intent to deceive). Those coins were not "fraudulently" anythinged.

 

This might be a first on this forum; "Well then I guess I was wrong"...

 

Been down this road more than once here, but thank you.

 

but thanks for the info!:thumb:

 

That's what I get for starting late in life 8/08, I guess John Wayne was right.

 

your older than me im 1/10

 

That is just UGLY. It may be the only law broken. Ugly art.

Bruce

 

I forgot to throw in Hobo Nickels as an example also and coin jewelry and any company painted junk all over them!!! etc. etc. Yes fraudulently is the key to braking the law, half of that law was designed when coins were made of precious metals in the attempt to prevent clipping and shaving them so that you could keep bits of the silver and make a profit and the second is to not try and alter them in such a way as to deceive people into thinking they are worth more than they really are

 

That is a waste of $19.95.

 

Is there still a law about melting cents and nickels or did that even happen?

 

Against the Law. A bunch of crooks making laws, now that should be Against the Law...:eating:

 

As far as I'm aware, that law is still in effect. A while back I read somewhere that there was a company trying to change this law to allow melting of the 95% copper cents, and they were hoping to be the exclusive company to do it.

 

Found here

http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=724

 

Also, back to the original question, it all depends on who may or may not consider it fraudulent alteration. While most would agree it is not, you never want to be in a position where a lawyer is having to explain things for you.