Illegal to write at all on bills in US?

[Idle_Thoughts]

I think I’ve heard this before…but to what extent would defacing a bill be? I remember that www.wheresgeorge.com used to sell stamps that you could stamp on a bill. So it’s okay to stamp a bill but not write on it?

Or does it matter how much you write maybe? Is it not illegal if it’s just a word or someone adding something up, but against the law if it was, say, blackened out by marker? Or is it illegal in all forms?

And I know this doesn’t make it any less illegal if it is, but I get bills with writing on them all the time. So what happens to these people if they’re caught?

Asking because of my contest going on here..

So basically, would that be allowed or no? If not, by all means, inform cause I wouldn’t want anyone to break the law obviously. :eek:

[Q.E.D]

The applicable statute reads:

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.

Bolding mine. The intent is the key here. IANAL, but I don’t think your contest would be violative of the law.

[Idle_Thoughts]

Q.E.D., I want to thank you for always taking the time out to help me out. It always seems like you are the one to first reply and give me an understandable answer. I know others could too, but you always seem to be right there when I need you, you know? Thank you.

[Johnny_L.A]

So what if I want to use real money in an art project. Say I’m making a film and I want a character to light a cigar with an actual $100 bill. The bill would be ‘unfit to be reissued’, but the intention would be to make an artistic statement and the damage would be incidental.

[Doctor_Who]

@Johnny L.A.

So what if I want to use real money in an art project. Say I’m making a film and I want a character to light a cigar with an actual $100 bill. The bill would be ‘unfit to be reissued’, but the intention would be to make an artistic statement and the damage would be incidental.

I would say it depends. In many instances, intent means a direct intention as well as “knowledge to a substantial certainty” that something will occur. Thus, the argument is that when you lit the bill on fire, whether or not you intended to render it unfit to be reissued, you knew to a substantial certainty that your actions would render the bill unfit.

You would have to check the applicable statute or interpretive caselaw to be certain.