I wish to melt my pennies down for copper is this illegal?
2007-01-12 02:27:39 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Other - Business & Finance
You have received terrible answers here, I'm afraid.
First and foremost, pennies are not government property (no coin is), they are your property when you take possession of them. It has never been illegal to deface United States money, EXCEPT with the intent to defraud. That is the key phrase here that the other posters are unable to comprehend. Intent to defraud means you willingly and knowingly deface American money AND then pass it off as something else--ie changing a $1 bill into a $5 bill, etc. For all other purposes, it is not illegal. You may notice souvenier penny stamping machines at all state parks and museums. You may remember that people melted hoards of silver dollars during silver rushes, when the metal was worth more than the face value. People make souvenier dollars by plastering stickers of other people on the front of them, and of course dollars are routinely stamped with "wheresgeorge.com", all of which is legal.
However, in early January 2007, the us MINT signed into a law a ban on penny melting, because the metal content in a modern penny is now 1.2 cents, versus the 1 cent face value. The public was given 30 days to respond to this new law, during which time the mint will make a final decision. Pennies are only 5% copper since 1982, but the zinc is actually worth more than a penny these days.
2007-01-12 02:42:06 · answer #1 · answered by surfinthedesert 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I didn't even realize that pennies still had copper in them. Anyway, I doubt it is illegal, since every state fair and carnival and tourist attraction I've ever been to has a machine that mutilates a penny for you.
You know- you put in a penny into one slot, a quarter into the other, turn a crank, and your penny is flattened into something the size of a silver dollar and now says "Michigan State Fair" or something to that effect.
The penny is ruined. You can't spend it. You've taken it out of circulation... So melting it? What's the difference?
2007-01-12 02:35:30 · answer #2 · answered by AZWM-dot-com 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Thats defacing currancy so you could go to jail. And melting pennies for copper isnt a great idea. Not much copper on a penny youd have to melt many of them to get a low grade crap copper.
2007-01-12 02:38:09 · answer #3 · answered by RWAR. 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the US it has always been illegal to deface currency, but now there are even more stringent rules and penalties to those melting coins to make money selling the raw materials.
The raw materials used to make our coins are actually worth much more than the coin. To keep people from selling raw material the Treasury Dept has imposed restrictions on the amount of coin currency a person is allowed to carry on them while traveling abroad. The biggest reason for this is the International demand for copper, iron, nickel, from countries like China.
2007-01-12 03:58:20 · answer #4 · answered by Brett M 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, it is not illegal to alter currency as long as you don't go try and spend it afterwards.
In the United States, U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331 prohibits "the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." The foregoing statute, however, does not prohibit the mutilation of coins if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently, i.e., with the intention of creating counterfeit coinage.
This law originates from back in the day when coins were made of actual gold and silver. What would happen is that people would file off a little bit of gold or silver from their coins, then go and use the coin at face value.
2007-01-12 02:42:44 · answer #5 · answered by sfgirl 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes it is but pennies are no longer 100% copper
2007-01-12 02:35:39 · answer #6 · answered by Love always, Kortnei 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They need to be before 1982, I think this when they became Copper Coated. But, it is illegal to destroy Government Currency. Save the old ones, one day they may be worth more to a collector.
2007-01-12 02:38:30 · answer #7 · answered by Snaglefritz 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yeah. defacing and destroying money is illegal. but the way they make coins, usually the worth of melting it down is not as much as the value of the coin. the us had issues with that back in the day when people would melt them down for the silver.
2007-01-12 02:32:52 · answer #8 · answered by eriq p 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes. You can not maliciously destroy coins like that, especially for future use.
And they are copper plated.
You are better off searching through dumpsters for old appliances and taking the copper wiring there.
2007-01-12 02:33:07 · answer #9 · answered by Molly 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
yes. also a side note,it costs over a penny to make a penny.
to those that can't figure out why. pennies as scrap is worth more than face value.
2007-01-12 02:37:10 · answer #10 · answered by J Q Public 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋