Is it illegal to drill a hole through a quarter?

Question

I need to know this because i want to tie a string through the hole on the quarter.

Answer 1

Defacement of Currency

Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Defacement of currency in such a way that it is made unfit for circulation comes under the jurisdiction of the United States Secret Service. Their mailing address is:

United States Secret Service
950 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20223.

The United States Secret Service web address is http://www.secretservice.gov

Answer 2

Good grief, people!

Yes, it is illegal to deface, multilate or otherwise screw up CURRENCY, just as the law says. But THAT'S CURRENCY, paper money, "evidence of debt," etc.

NOT COINS! Coins are not currency.

There is NO law against drilling a miserable hole through a quarter, using pennies to steady a table, a dime as a screw driver or anything else for that matter, so long as doing so is not pursuant to perpetrating a fraud. In other words, you can't doctor up a nickle with the intent to pass it off as a quarter.

What, you want law? Here's the law:

Section 331 of Title 18 of the United States code provides criminal penalties for anyone who “fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the Mints of the United States.”

Now quoting from the US Treasury website:

"This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the appearance of the coin and fraudulently represent it to be other than the altered coin that it is. As a matter of policy, the U.S. Mint does not promote coloring, plating or altering U.S. coinage: however, there are no sanctions against such activity ABSENT FRAUDULENT INTENT." (Emphasis added)

Now, why would that be? Simple: the coins have intrinsic value as metal; they are your property, same as having a little bag of nickle or copper ore. Do what you want with it -it is YOURS. THAT SAID, there is a new law (YOU go look it up, this time) that sez you can't melt the coins down and then sell the metal itself. Why? Because its worth more than the stinkin' coin, that's why.

But paper money? Ah, that's diffo. That stuff has NO (or very little) value of its own. Rather, it represents a value held (theoretically) by the government. Long ago, you could walk a $10 bill into the treasury and pick up a nugget of gold worth $10. Later, the standard turned to silver, and the currency carried the legend, "silver certificate." You'll still run into one of those now and then. But now, what supports the value of a greenback is "the full faith and credit" of the US -whatever the hell THAT means. But one thing it still means is that the bill is an "evidence of debt." Whose debt? Yours, mine and and every citizen tax-payer, that's whose debt! So, don't go screwin' with all those loans I've got out there, OK? In other words, that saw buck ain't yours. It is OURS -it is public property.

And this is why there are is still a considerable population of psychiatric cases who hoard gold, silver and other previous metals, either as a refined product or as coins.

SO

Drill away, my friend, and pay no attention ton the experts who apparently don't know the difference between currency and coinage.

And they ask me why I drink.

Answer 3

what's "balloting in church homes"? the place i'm from the only balloting that happens is a controversy of who gets on the Parish Council. this is an inner count that makes a decision who represents the congregation while discussing concerns with the pastor. actual balloting for public workplace in no way comes up as a count of church balloting. church homes do no longer (or a minimum of "shouldn't") impact who votes for political positions in parliament. in case you reside in a community that does do this, i will no longer be able to cutting-edge comparable perspectives, provided that I even have in no way experienced it. despite the case, my ideas exploded while attempting to decipher your which potential once you stated that a "community atheist extremist activist is attempting to make it unlawful". what's he/she attempting to make unlawful? And why is it so incorrect? Inquiring minds prefer to be responsive to.

Answer 4

Oh, and I guess none of you never put a penny on a railroad track. Go ahead, as long as you'r not trying to trick a vending machine.

Answer 5

Actually no, it is illegal, what youd be doing is defacing Government property, which is a Federal offense in the u.s.

Answer 6

No, it is not legal tender, as a matter of fact, novelty items sell for more then the coins they are made out of. You can drill it glue it bend it cut it up and so on. and sell it that way, It's Not Illegal.

Answer 7

Don't try using it in slot, vending, etc. machines. They know about that trick and have deterrents built in. Not worth the hassle.

Answer 8

Yeah. its illegal. but if you dont try to spend it or anything i dont think it would be such a huge deal

Answer 9

yes, but odds are the secret service isn't going to do anything about it.

Answer 10

yes, that's defacing currency.