Replicating old currency, is it legal?

GrenadeKing

GrenadeKing

Sr Member
I have a project I'm currently putting together. It calls for paper money and coins from the early 1900's. 1918 to be specific. I would imagine, if they were anything like we are today, they probably had money in circulation from years prior as well.

My question is, is it legal to reproduce currency from that era? I assume it would be fine for paper bills, seeing as they were twice as large and had a drastically different design but, what about coins? Antique coins aren't exactly cheap, so I wanted to make a few batches of painted up resin copies.

So that's my question. Is it legal? If not, how do I go about it in a legal manner?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
For Coins

304.6 Marking requirements for imitation numismatic items.
(a) An imitation numismatic item which is manufactured in the United States, or imported into the United States for introduction into or distribution in commerce, shall be plainly and permanently marked ``COPY''.
(b) The word ``COPY'' shall be marked upon the item legibly, conspicuously, and nondeceptively, and in accordance with the further requirements of these regulations.
(1) The word ``COPY'' shall appear in capital letters, in the English language.
(2) The word ``COPY'' shall be marked on either the obverse or the reverse surface of the item. It shall not be marked on the edge of the item.
(3) An imitation numismatic item of incusable material shall be incused with the word ``COPY'' in sans-serif letters having a vertical dimension of not less than two millimeters (2.0 mm) or not less than one-sixth of the diameter of the reproduction, and a minimum depth of three-tenths of one millimeter (0.3 mm) or to one-half (1/2) the thickness of the reproduction, whichever is the lesser. The minimum total horizontal dimension of the word ``COPY'' shall be six millimeters (6.0 mm) or not less than one-half of the diameter of the reproduction.
(4) An imitation numismatic item composed of nonincusable material shall be imprinted with the word ``COPY'' in sans-serif letters having a vertical dimension of not less than two millimeters (2.0 mm) or not less than one-sixth of the diameter of the reproduction. The minimum total horizontal dimension of the word ``COPY'' shall be six millimeters (6.0 mm) or not less than one-half of the diameter of the reproduction.
Click to expand...


For paper money...



Black and white copies that are less then 75% of the original size or greater then 150% are legal...


In addition to the above color copies have to be limited to one side printing only...


For a vintage movie it might be better to reproduce state or bank notes vs federal notes at many counterfeiting laws would not cover those notes as they were not federal notes and were very much in use at that time anyway...

One thing to note just because it's out of circulation doesn't mean that a federal note is not still legal tender and very well could fall under counterfeiting laws...

I know lots of replica notes were made of certain vintage bills and it appears from there wide availability on the Internet that there is little to no regulation in stopping their printing so I wouldn't worry too much...
 
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Im just guessing that its a movie that your are doing this for. Are the coins and bills shown in detail in the movie ? if they are just shown it the passby then you can make similera bills, Make the president another guy , just make it look like a bill from that era.
 
GrenadeKing said:
I have a project I'm currently putting together. It calls for paper money and coins from the early 1900's. 1918 to be specific. I would imagine, if they were anything like we are today, they probably had money in circulation from years prior as well.

My question is, is it legal to reproduce currency from that era? I assume it would be fine for paper bills, seeing as they were twice as large and had a drastically different design but, what about coins? Antique coins aren't exactly cheap, so I wanted to make a few batches of painted up resin copies.

So that's my question. Is it legal? If not, how do I go about it in a legal manner?

Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I found U.S. bills on a google search for money
here is just one link
http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?sortby=popular&search_group=photos&searchterm=money+bills
 
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Nothing is ever simple. :wacko

For the coins, placing "copy" on one side or the other is fine. At that size the "copy" text could easily be hidden.

I suppose I can get crafty with the paper money but I had my heart set on some nice replicas of 1911-1918 notes. :(

I had assumed that because there were so much larger and so old that they were no longer considered legal. I can't really find anything that says they are or arent. The treasury department website lists both US notes and Federal Reserve notes as legal tender with no specific dates. Other places mention something about the 1933 gold recall being a possible cut off date. 1929 is when large size bills went the way of the dodo. I have a hard time seeing anyone recognizing a note from 1891 or 1911 as acceptable anymore but that doesn't mean they aren't still legal tender.

:sleep
 
DarthSidious.jpg


Sorry, first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title... :lol
 
i understand the issue, if you are not selling it, as real "old" money, or trying to use to buy something with....
 
Well if you want authentic look less the size just reduce it, they come out just a little smaller then todays notes, probably 90% of the people won't know the difference... That is unless you have your heart set on the larger notes, then like I said you might want to consider going to a Bank or State issued note vs the Federal ones... That way you get the authentic look but avoid any Federal Reserve issues...

That is if you want to remain totally on the right side of the law in doing it, always a good idea but not always followed... Film is evidence best to play save IMO, Hollywood obviously feels the same way as they put out some god awful fake money in some less then high profile films...
 
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I don't believe there were any state issued bills at the specific time frame. There were Federal Reserve bank issued notes, and United States issued note. The Treasury says they are both still legal tender. Again, I can't see anyone accepting a bill from 1898 anymore but, the Treasury list no cut-off date.

Just so I have this straight, I can produce a single sided full size color copy... Or, a double sided black and white copy which must be of altered size?



Funny how you can get away with placing "copy" on a replica coin in a size so small most people won't notice but, you have to go out of your way to deface a replica dollars to the point where it's hardly even a replica anymore. :lol
 
GrenadeKing said:
Just so I have this straight, I can produce a single sided full size color copy... Or, a double sided black and white copy which must be of altered size?
Click to expand...

Yep as long as it's 75% smaller or 150% bigger and in this case it brings the vintage original "big" bills to just a bit smaller than current note size so for the normal person the continuity is there it will still look real at 75%...

I agree the laws are a little silly, and certainly vague to say the least...

I also agree that chances of someone trying to pass a vintage bill is slim, but then again I have seen many news reports of people passing novelty $1000 bills... So I wouldn't say never happens...
 
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That is correct. But, I wonder if I could incorperate that in somehow.

For color copies I can only create 1 face. I was thinking of creating a few fronts and few backs and adding some "this is a copy" text inside green or black bounding boxes, so that the notes would appear "genuine" when folded up.

I'm just guessing that it'd be fine as long as only 1 face is a detailed copy?
 
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