New regulations for the redemption of mutilated United States coins still have not been developed and put into effect by the United States Mint.

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Full Video Transcript:

Good morning. This is the Monday Morning Brief for March 27, 2017. I’m Coin World Senior Editor Paul Gilkes.

New regulations for the redemption of mutilated United States coins still have not been developed and put into effect by the United States Mint.

On November 2, 2015, the Mint suspended its program of redeeming mutilated coins.

The suspension was initially intended to be a six-month period, amid allegations of fraud involving overseas vendors, but was extended indefinitely on May 2, 2016, and will not resume until new program regulations are finalized and implemented.

Coins in the past that have been subject to redemption are those that that have been bent, damaged or otherwise compromised for continued use in general circulation.

They were redeemed by weight according to alloy.

How to spot a counterfeit 1928 China ‘Auto’ dollar: Inside Coin World: We at Coin World report often on fake U.S. coin rarities coming from China, but not so often about fake Chinese coin rarities.

While U.S. paper currency is intended to last in circulation roughly 18 months per note before it doesn’t pass muster for continued use, coins are expected to last 30 years or more.

Based on the current composition of U.S. coins, 30 years may be a stretch.

Two recent finds in the parking lots of local fast-food restaurants are examples.

One was a Lincoln cent struck in the copper-plated zinc composition introduced in 1983 and the other a post-1998 copper-nickel clad [quarter] dollar bearing the P Mint mark of the Philadelphia Mint.

The cent, heavily deteriorated due to exposure to the elements, was dated 2016.

The reverse design for the quarter dollar was indistinguishable, so putting a date on it was impossible.

The U.S. Mint has been researching composition alternatives for circulating coinage for six years but has not yet submitted its latest report to Congress with possible recommendations.

Unless the Mint comes up with composition alternatives that last longer in circulation, or resurrects the mutilated coin redemption program, it’s likely more of these damaged coins will show up in rolls of coins turned in to local banks.

And we don’t need that.

For Coin World, I’m Paul Gilkes.