Find out about the federal law of burning U.S. money, what the actual punishment is, and why prosecutions are rarer than you’d think.
To be honest, when I watched a video of some people setting an entire stack of money on fire, I was surprised not only by their daring actions but also by my immediate curiosity about their legality. And I guess, you have wondered about that too at least once.
If yes, then your search ends here. We will talk about the burning of money in the U.S. in this legal guide.
However, if you are wondering whether burning or mutilation of U.S. currency is legal or not, the answer is simple, it is absolutely illegal. Nevertheless, it would not hurt to find out a little more information about this.
Table of Contents
Federal Statute on Burning Currency
According to Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code, enacted in 1948, mutilation, cutting, defacing, disfiguring, or destruction of any bank bill or note of any national banking association or the Federal Reserve, with the intent to render such bank bill or note unfit to be reissued, is punishable by fine, imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.
The word “intent” plays a very important role in this context. And we will return to it a little later because it is significant.
Title 18, Section 331, prohibits fraudulent alteration, defacing, or mutilation of U.S. coins. Besides, Title 18, Section 334 prohibits debasing coinage of the United States. That is, it is forbidden to physically destroy the coin. The penalty for such a crime is imprisonment up to 10 years.
What is the Punishment for Burning Money?
As per the law, up to six months in prison and a fine can be imposed on someone who burns money in paper currency form. The imprisonment term may extend to up to 10 years if the offense relates to coin debasement. But whether this law is enforced on the person committing the crime is another story.
Why Was This Law Created at All?
There is something very interesting about the origin of such laws. As soon as the U.S. started producing coins made of gold, silver, or copper, there appeared some criminal-minded people. They realized a good chance to earn some money by filing off the edges of coins, collecting metal dust, and spending a bit lighter coins as full-fledged ones.
This is what laws related to debasing money originated from. With time, the laws were expanded to also include bills.
The reason is quite straightforward, as long as the Federal Reserve is responsible for replacing the burned money in circulation, the government has to pay the cost of production. On average, the cost of printing $1 is around 5.5 cents while for $100 it is about 14 cents.
It may seem to be not a big deal, but when people start burning lots of money, the cost will accumulate and become huge for taxpayers.
In conclusion, burning money is not only an act of destroying your own money. It is also causing expenses for the whole country.
Is Burning Money a Felony?
Well, now that we’ve established that there’s no specific crime of “money burning,” we need to talk about whether or not burning money counts as a felony. Burning your paper money won’t make you a felon, but it does have consequences.
Destroying paper currency is a federal misdemeanor under 18 U.S.C. § 333. This means that anyone caught burning or otherwise destroying any United States paper currency faces a maximum jail sentence of six months.
It’s definitely a misdemeanor, then, not a felony. But the coin debasement part of this section makes it a felony. If you take precious metals out of coins to make illicit profits, you may be facing a decade behind bars.
So the answer to our question is this: burning a $20 bill is a federal misdemeanor. Shaving precious metal from coins for profit may well be a felony.
Is It Illegal to Destroy Money? What About Tearing, Defacing, or Mutilating?
We know that burning money is not allowed. But what about other methods of destruction? Can we tear a dollar bill in half? Can we deface a quarter? What if we put it through one of those souvenir machines at the local arcade that flattens and stamps pennies?
Is it illegal to mutilate or destroy money in any form?
Yes, it is! Under 18 U.S.C. § 333, the relevant statute, you cannot burn, cut, tear, deface, or mutilate coins or paper money.
However, those souvenir coin presses at local tourist traps are legal because they have no intent to debase currency for fraudulent purposes. They merely make commemorative souvenirs.
First Amendment Twist
But here comes the twist: the burning of money as a form of protest might very well be considered a constitutional form of protected speech under the First Amendment.
In fact, there are parallels being drawn to the burning of the American flag, which the Supreme Court of the United States has found to be a form of constitutionally protected symbolic speech. In case anyone decides to burn money in protest of issues such as inequality, corporate greed, or even certain governmental policies, it might be possible to argue that such an action could be covered under First Amendment protection.
At the same time, this remains a gray area legally speaking. The statute still exists on a federal level, while no court has ever established that burning money in protest makes it invalid. As tempting as burning money in protest can be, I would recommend discussing the issue with a lawyer first.
Has Anyone Ever Been Prosecuted for That?
Prosecution of any kind under these statutes is very rare. In fact, it’s extremely rare. One of the most prominent cases, and the only one that stands out, took place back in 1963.
Eighteen-year-old U.S. Marine Ronald Lee Foster was arrested for shaving the edges off pennies and using them as dimes to put into vending machines.
He was found guilty and ordered to serve a year of probation and pay a fine of $20. The more serious repercussion of the conviction was that he was unable to get a gun license. This story gained national attention in 2010, when President Barack Obama pardoned Mr. Foster almost fifty years later.
This is the only prominent case of prosecution of currency mutilation statute violation.
What If Your Money Was Accidentally Burned?
Fortunately, the good news here. In case your cash got burned or damaged unintentionally, for instance, in a fire at home, there is a way out. There is such a department in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as the Mutilated Currency Division.
In case 50% or more of a bill can be identified, you have a chance to exchange it for new currency. It turns out the government wants to retrieve all damaged cash because replacing it by printing new bills costs much less.
The Bottom Line
It is time to sum up everything mentioned above. To begin with, burning U.S. currency is considered a federal offense according to 18 U.S.C. § 333. As far as paper money is concerned, the penalty is not higher than six months in prison and a fine. Therefore, burning money is classified as a misdemeanor, not a felony. The consequences of coin debasement are much harsher, as many as 10 years in prison.
Furthermore, rendering currency useless regardless of the method tearing, defacing, mutilating is considered a criminal act. However, there are few cases of prosecution in reality. The law was created with the purpose of stopping fraudulent schemes, not punishing accidental damage. Moreover, if the burning money is a kind of political expression, First Amendment rights can (but will not necessarily) protect one.
Therefore, now you know what the law says regarding burning U.S. money. Take or do not take the challenge, it is entirely up to you.
Additional Resources
For dig deeper into the legal and practical details around U.S. currency laws and damaged money, these are reliable, verified sources:
