US Mutilated Coin Program Permanently Abolished

Earlier this year, the US Mint published a proposal to abolish its Mutilated Coin Redemption Program, relating to the face value exchange of bent and partial coins. The Mint noted in its announcement that not only does the program operate at a loss, but it is too cumbersome to practically manage because the sheer volume of coins submitted for replacement is in the millions. Previous submissions have included numerous counterfeit US coins, resulting in lawsuits and an indefinite suspension of the program. 

The US government established the program in 1911 to enable the redemption of small amounts of damaged coin, and for 100 years it rolled along, with most coins submitted in small quantities from private citizens. In recent years, however, it has been overwhelmed by large submissions from commercial entities, including recyclers from China who flooded the program with coins totalling millions of dollars in face value, including counterfeits.