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Message:: [QUOTE="BR549, post: 888291, member: 7110"]Yes, it is criminal to distribute or sell counterfeit US money with the intent to defraud, but the statutes do not criminalize mere possession of counterfeit money, concluded Armen R. Vartian in a November 5, 2001, Coin World column titled "Owning Counterfeits." As a lawyer, numismatist, Coin World legal columnist, and author of the book A Legal Guide to Buying and Selling Art and Collectibles, Vartian is the most visible numismatic legal expert in the U.S. There's no indication, according to reports and the literature, that anyone has been arrested, fined, jailed, or had their transportation seized for possession of a counterfeit coin without intent to defraud in the U.S. since the Secret Service, an agency of the U.S. Treasury, began policing against counterfeits in 1865, and there's no indication that the Secret Service plans to reverse this policy of a century and a half. The statutes involved are as follows: Title 18, Part I, Chapter 25 (Counterfeiting and Forgery) of the U.S. Code, Sections 485, 489, and 492 deal with counterfeits of U.S. and world coins. The Hobby Protection Act of 1973 (Title 15, Chapter 48, Sections 2101 through 2106 of the U.S. Code, plus 1988 amendments) deals with counterfeits of ancient coins. I enjoyed this thread immensely, I just wanted to clarify this issue. Happy Collecting[/QUOTE]