# About the coin mutilation deal...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [August 28, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928 "2004-08-28T07:34:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Vectorboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Vectorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vectorboy)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928/1 "2004-08-28T07:34:38Z")

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[Link here](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcoin.html)

Why is it, if mutilation of currency is illegal, that there are machines, such as the ones at Six Flags in Houston, that take $0.51 (two quarters and a penny), and spit out a lengthened, oval-shaped and slightly curved penny with an imprint of your choice of Warner Brothers characters?

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**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928/2 "2004-08-28T08:22:11Z")

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Mutilating currency is not illegal. Mutilating it for fraudulent purposes is. Unless you try to pass off your new penny as a 10 Bugsyan piece from WileyCoyoteland at a currency exchange counter, it isn’t fraudulent.

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**Author:** ![Vectorboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7ea924/32.png) [@Vectorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vectorboy)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928/3 "2004-08-28T23:58:52Z")

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Aah okay. Thanks for that clarification.

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [August 29, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-coin-mutilation-deal/261928/4 "2004-08-29T15:36:17Z")

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In olden days, when coins were turned out one at a time with a hammer and a pair of dies, such tricks were not uncommon. And there was widespread fraud in the US in 1883 when a new nickel came out with only a “V” on it, without the word “cents”; sharpies would gild them and pass them off as 5-dollar gold pieces.