What happens if you deface a coin

Under regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury, mutilated United States currency may be exchanged at face value if:. Any badly soiled, dirty, defaced, disintegrated, limp, torn or worn out currency note that is clearly more than one-half of the original note, and does not require special examination to determine its value, is not considered mutilated and should be included in your normal deposit.

Mutilated currency must be sent directly to the BEP's Mutilated Currency Division Off-site , with a letter stating the estimated value of the currency and an explanation of how the currency became mutilated, to the correct address below based on the shipping method. O Box and specific zip code:. For additional non-mutilated contaminated currency depositing information, please refer to the Contaminated Currency section.

Reproduction of designs and images without the permission of the copyright owner will be an infringement of copyright. If you do something that infringes another person's copyright, a court can order you to stop the infringing conduct and pay damages to the copyright owner. In certain circumstances the Mint may agree to allow members of the public to reproduce coin designs in which it holds copyright.

The Mint will not ordinarily grant approval for the reproduction of coin designs on articles which will be commercially produced and offered for sale for example, articles such as T-shirts or coffee mugs. The Mint will also not grant approval for the reproduction of coin designs in a manner which could lead a person to believe that the Mint has endorsed the product, or is in some way associated with the product.

If you wish to reproduce coin designs you should contact the Mint. Failure to do so may result in a breach of copyright and legal action by the Mint. The U. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints American currency, the U.

Mint, which makes American coins, and the Federal Reserve, which regulates money and distributes currency, destroy money when it becomes too mutilated or worn out to continue circulating. The bureau also replaces partially destroyed or badly damaged bills as a free public service. Decrease font size Increase font size Print this page. Mutilated Currency.

Mutilated Currency Notes Mutilated currency notes are assessed in two stages. Stage 1 Assessment Criteria.