Do We Own Our Coins?

We don't own our coins, we merely borrow them for a while.

I don't own my coins, they own me!

In all seriousness, the government could quite legally use eminent domain to take your house, that doesn't mean you don't own your house. Most people talk about "owning" a house even if they have a trivial amount of equity, so the bank is really the owner in that sense. Hopefully you don't have a mortgage out on your coins.

captainfwiffo, Bravo Bravo

I don't own my coins, I am merely one of a long line of caretakers.

A for the government not being able to recall old coins because they are collectibles, sure they can. The only reason the pres 1933 gold coins got an exemption was through the efforts of Secretary of the Treasury William Woodin who was a major coin collector (and he DID collect gold coins. He was protecting his own interests.). The original Presidential order did NOT exempt any gold coins.

In America, once coins are transferred to the Federal Reserve for distribution or sold via the Mint sales outlets, the coins don't belong to the government anymore. They belong to whoever is in possession of them at the time.

This is demonstrated by the complete lack of general laws protecting the coinage from damage or destruction. If you own a coin, you're allowed to spend it, slab it, punch a hole in it, frame it, melt it down, do pretty much anything you want with it. There may be specific and temporary restrictions on coin melting (currently in place for 1c and 5c coins) and a ban on placing advertising stickers on coins, but that's it.

This is different to the situation in many other countries. In most monarchies, for example, the coinage is the property of the Crown until it is demonetized, and damaging or defacing the coinage is a crime.

So, as much as we might want to denounce a coin vandal as a criminal, they're not actually breaking any laws. And I'm pretty sure "the Land of the Free" wouldn't want to introduce laws restricting what private individuals are or are not allowed to do with their coins.

Greece is an extreme example of a place with restrictive laws. Private ownership of any object older than 1820 is not recognized - all such objects (including coins) belong to the State. Greek citizens can buy and sell the rights to be the custodian of an object (with tight restrictions on exactly what that means), but they can have no right of ownership of the object itself.

The gold 'thing' was because they needed physical gold to fulfill some obligations. Now that coins are not gold, and the world is off the gold standard anyway that is no longer needed.

I doubt there would be a massive need for nickel or copper.

here's what to ask your friend:

"If they own coins, what makes you think they DON'T own paper money? So why collect that? Empty your bank account and give it to me."

Even if the government could take back the coins I doubt they would. Look at what the mint has been doing in recent decades. The have been making lots of new coins intended solely for collectors such as ASE's. Plus, what is the point of the 50 states quarters (and the new variants of it) or the Presidential dollar series? They are doing it to get people to collect coins, especially paying the mint for proof or mint sets. Confiscating old coins would destroy the hobby and they would lose out on their cash cow.

Still laughing....