Hey guys, I was surfing again early this morning an stumbled on some posts where there were Jefferson Nickles stamped on washers. Of course the discussion went on about a washer accidentally being stamped or a mint worker making them, etc. Got me to wondering what the legal implications are with something like that ? I mean, these were government property at one time right and NIFC nor Sold to Collectors, so is there theft involved ? And if they were made on government owned washers, isn't that theft too ? Someone had commented that it looked like a Mint employee was insuring his retirement. In an Orange Jumpsuit ? I don't know the laws here, but have a feeling that these could be confiscated by the Feds ? Can you ever own them ? Curious about it. gary
Unless the Mint has reason to believe that any error, deliberate or otherwise, was not released in the normal way then it is perfectly legal to own it.
This will not directly answer your question, but it's along the lines of obtaing and legal ownership of errors. Before the advent of the Schuler horizontal stroke coin presses, it was uncommon to have partial strikes on feeder fingers. The coin feeders would get tangled up over the coining chamber and get either the obverse (more common) die imparted or even both the reverse and obverse struck onto a piece of what first appeared to be scrap metal. These are very legal to own because those errors slipped by the QC and were introduced into the normal channels of circulation. Errors can still get past the Riddler and the electronic eyes, but it is hard to determine when Midnight Minting was employed when anomalies like this come onto the market. Now, if a Mint employee was trouble shooting a malfunction and finds a piece of non-coin metal stamped with any coin die, it must be surrendered for scrap. If they sell it for profit, say to an undercover agent, yes, the US Treasury will prosecute. http://minterrornews.com/priceguidefeederfingerstrikes.html
Thanks. The thread I was following showed what looked like a steel washer perfectly struck as it was the planchet. The poster added that he had several of them. But if the pics had not have been so much like the coin, I would have felt it was a hoax. Because, I could see an occasional washer falling into the works. A handful that went all the way into the bags ? I just don't know ? Again, I appreciate the instruction. gary
