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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;satootoko, post: 80037, member: 669&quot;]I&#039;ve been through Title 18, U.S. Code (the Federal Criminal Code), from end to end, and can&#039;t find any statute that gives the Secret Service the right to declare what is, or isn&#039;t, legal to own.&nbsp; Can you give me a citation?</p><p><br /></p><p>Their expert decision on whether a given note or coin is counterfeit (contraband) or genuine is not the exercise of a right to determine legality of ownership.&nbsp; Contraband is contraband, and the SS determination that something was in that category would be reviewable by a federal court if it were seriously disputed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Besides, the legal burden of proof is on the party claiming that something is counterfeit - the owner doesn&#039;t have to prove it&#039;s legality in the first instance.</p><p><br /></p><p>IMHO if the story line cited in the Coin World story is accurate, there is no legal theory that would support confiscation of the aluminum cent, or charging the possessor with a crime.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Whether or not a particular chunk of metal was ever officially monetized has very little relevance to the question of whether it&#039;s possession is legal.&nbsp; This piece of aluminum was deliberately given by mint officials to an individual, who then abandoned his rights in it to the current owner&#039;s ancestor.&nbsp; The mint&#039;s subsequent request for return of it&#039;s gift had just about the same legal effect as my demand that my grandson give back the chess set I gave him for his birthday would have.</p><p><br /></p><p>(I&#039;m assuming that there was no written agreement between the mint and the Congressman that the piece was being loaned to him on condition that he promised to return it on demand, because if such an agreement existed the mint would have excercised its rights a long time ago.)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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