Below is a list of the most common customer questions. If you can’t find an answer to your question, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Is it a crime to deface currency?
The specific federal law at issue is 18 USC 333, which proscribes criminal penalties against anyone who mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or 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, or ...
What is the penalty for defacing currency?
If you're convicted of defacing U.S. bills or coins, you can face fines, jail time, or both. For bills, the maximum fine is $100 and the maximum jail sentence is six months. For coins, the jail sentence can be up to five years. To be convicted, you must have the intent to defraud someone.
Is writing on currency illegal?
Yes, It's Legal! Many people assume that it's illegal to stamp or write on paper currency, but they're wrong! ... You CANNOT burn, shred, or destroy currency, rendering it unfit for circulation. You CANNOT advertise a business on paper currency.
Why is it illegal to write on money?
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 ...
Is it a crime to draw on money?
The general thinking seems to be it's MY money, so I should be allowed to write on it, tear it up or burn it as a protest against the banking system if I want to. But in fact, it's technically illegal to deface U.S. currency to the point at which it's rendered unusable.
Is writing on Canadian money illegal?
It is not illegal to write on banknotes in Canada. There are prohibitions, however, on reproducing a current Canadian bill electronically. Whether it is illegal or not to write or make markings on Canadian money came up after the death of famous actor Leonard NIMBY.
Is it a crime to deface money?
With that, you could conclude that yes it is, in fact, illegal to “mutilate, cut, deface, disfigure, or perforate, or unite or cement together” any bank bill, draft, note or evidence of debt by a national or federal entity. ... So, is it illegal to deface American currency? The answer is YES and NO.
What is the penalty for defacing money?
If you're convicted of defacing U.S. bills or coins, you can face fines, jail time, or both. For bills, the maximum fine is $100 and the maximum jail sentence is six months. For coins, the jail sentence can be up to five years. To be convicted, you must have the intent to defraud someone.
Is it illegal to deface a dollar bill?
With that, you could conclude that yes it is, in fact, illegal to “mutilate, cut, deface, disfigure, or perforate, or unite or cement together” any bank bill, draft, note or evidence of debt by a national or federal entity. ... So, is it illegal to deface American currency? The answer is YES and NO.
Is it legal to throw away money?
section 331, it is illegal to “fraudulently alter, deface, mutilate, impair, diminish, falsify, scale, or lighten any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States”.