Removal of Treasury Department regulations related to the exchange of bent, partial, fused and mixed will effectively end the U.S. Mint’s coin redemption program for bent and partial coins as of Oct. 25, 2024.

The revisions to the regulations are outlined in a Sept. 25 posting by the Mint via the Federal Register.

The proposed regulatory changes can be accessed online at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/25/2024-21936/exchange-of-coin.

For years, the U.S. Mint redeemed bent and partial coins for full face value, with most of coins submitted in small quantities from private citizens. The volume of coins to be redeemed subsequently increased exponentially, with large submission coming from commercial entities including recyclers from China who flooded the program with coins totaling in the millions of dollars face value, including counterfeits.

The last amendment to the regulations was executed on Dec. 20, 2017. In August 2018, the United States Mint suspended the redemption program due to the possibility of unlawful material being submitted for redemption.

On May 5, 2021, the United States Mint issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, proposing certain revisions to these regulations, which was withdrawn on May 3, 2024. The United States Mint subsequently decided to entirely close the bent and partial coin exchange program.

The bureau opened a 60-day public comment period also on May 3, during which comment was provided by 35 respondents.

Those comments can be found online at www.regulations.gov.

In the May 3 announcement, Mint officials explained that the program not only operates at a loss but is too cumbersome to practically manage, because the sheer volume of coins submitted for replacement numbers in the millions. Some of the submissions have included numerous counterfeit United States coins, which resulted in lawsuits and an indefinite suspension of the Mutilated Coin Redemption Program.

Some commenters expressed concern about the disposal of dimes, quarter dollars, half dollar and dollar coins.

The Sept. 25 proposal indicates the melting of those denominations of U.S. coins is executed at the discretion of the Treasury secretary.

“There is no prohibition on melting dimes, quarters, half-dollar, and dollar coins for non-fraudulent purposes,” according to the proposed final rule.

“While there is a prohibition against melting pennies and nickels, there is a specific exception at 31 CFR 82.2 for coins melted or treated incidental to recycling other materials if (1) the coins were not added to the other materials for their metallurgical value, (2) the volumes of the coins, relative to the volumes of the other materials recycled, makes it clear that the presence of such coins is merely incidental, and (3) the separation of the coins from the other materials would be impracticable or cost prohibitive. This exception extends to the melting of coins that become mutilated due to treatment that is itself within the scope of the exception. If an exception does not apply, then applications for licenses to melt pennies and nickels should be transmitted to the Director, United States Mint; 801 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20220,”the posting explains.

The Sept. 25 Federal Register posting notes that before the bureau suspended Mutilated Coin Redemption in 2018, large submissions of bent or partial coin were delivered directly to a third-party contractor, not to the United States Mint.

“However, after the program was suspended in 2018, the United States Mint developed new authentication techniques and procedures as recommended by the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General to test and authenticate the genuineness of coins,” according to the Sept. 25 Federal Register posting.

“To effectively authenticate the material with the new counterfeit detection methods that the United States Mint developed, the United States Mint could no longer accept redemption submissions at a third-party site,” the posting explained.

“The United States Mint’s coin authentication methods are time-consuming and can only be performed using specialized equipment at the United States Mint’s Philadelphia location,” the posting said.

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Removal of Treasury Department regulations related to the exchange of bent, partial, fused and mixed will effectively end the U.S. Mint’s coin redemption program for bent and partial coins as of Oct. 25, 2024.

The revisions to the regulations are outlined in a Sept. 25 posting by the Mint via the Federal Register.

The proposed regulatory changes can be accessed online at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/25/2024-21936/exchange-of-coin.

For years, the U.S. Mint redeemed bent and partial coins for full face value, with most of coins submitted in small quantities from private citizens. The volume of coins to be redeemed subsequently increased exponentially, with large submission coming from commercial entities including recyclers from China who flooded the program with coins totaling in the millions of dollars face value, including counterfeits.

The last amendment to the regulations was executed on Dec. 20, 2017. In August 2018, the United States Mint suspended the redemption program due to the possibility of unlawful material being submitted for redemption.

On May 5, 2021, the United States Mint issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, proposing certain revisions to these regulations, which was withdrawn on May 3, 2024. The United States Mint subsequently decided to entirely close the bent and partial coin exchange program.

The bureau opened a 60-day public comment period also on May 3, during which comment was provided by 35 respondents.

Those comments can be found online at www.regulations.gov.

In the May 3 announcement, Mint officials explained that the program not only operates at a loss but is too cumbersome to practically manage, because the sheer volume of coins submitted for replacement numbers in the millions. Some of the submissions have included numerous counterfeit United States coins, which resulted in lawsuits and an indefinite suspension of the Mutilated Coin Redemption Program.

Some commenters expressed concern about the disposal of dimes, quarter dollars, half dollar and dollar coins.

The Sept. 25 proposal indicates the melting of those denominations of U.S. coins is executed at the discretion of the Treasury secretary.

“There is no prohibition on melting dimes, quarters, half-dollar, and dollar coins for non-fraudulent purposes,” according to the proposed final rule.

“While there is a prohibition against melting pennies and nickels, there is a specific exception at 31 CFR 82.2 for coins melted or treated incidental to recycling other materials if (1) the coins were not added to the other materials for their metallurgical value, (2) the volumes of the coins, relative to the volumes of the other materials recycled, makes it clear that the presence of such coins is merely incidental, and (3) the separation of the coins from the other materials would be impracticable or cost prohibitive. This exception extends to the melting of coins that become mutilated due to treatment that is itself within the scope of the exception. If an exception does not apply, then applications for licenses to melt pennies and nickels should be transmitted to the Director, United States Mint; 801 9th Street NW, Washington, DC 20220,”the posting explains.

The Sept. 25 Federal Register posting notes that before the bureau suspended Mutilated Coin Redemption in 2018, large submissions of bent or partial coin were delivered directly to a third-party contractor, not to the United States Mint.

“However, after the program was suspended in 2018, the United States Mint developed new authentication techniques and procedures as recommended by the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General to test and authenticate the genuineness of coins,” according to the Sept. 25 Federal Register posting.

“To effectively authenticate the material with the new counterfeit detection methods that the United States Mint developed, the United States Mint could no longer accept redemption submissions at a third-party site,” the posting explained.

“The United States Mint’s coin authentication methods are time-consuming and can only be performed using specialized equipment at the United States Mint’s Philadelphia location,” the posting said.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on X (Twitter)

Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.