Which everyday items can one legally write on in the US but not in the UK and why this legal difference between the two countries?

lanfranco

I'm going to guess that it is illegal to deface a pound note of any denomimation with writing -- after all, they include portraits of the Queen -- whereas we can write anything we want on our dollar bills. And you wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen. Aug 31 05, 7:09 PM

lanfranco

P.S. Never try to spell "denomination" after having wine with dinner. Aug 31 05, 7:12 PM

gmackematix

Yay, Frankie, right on the money! Not that it's a crime I've ever known anyone be charged with. Aug 31 05, 11:40 PM

McGruff

Actually, it is a crime in the United States to deface paper currency. It is in violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code, which says that “whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.” The law is enforced by the Secret Service. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7148966/ Whether or not the law is enforced probably depends on what is being written or stamped on the bills, and who complains. SECRET SERVICE THREATENS COUPLE FOR STAMPING ONE DOLLAR BILLS 09/11/95 WOODSTOCK, New York -- A couple who habitually brand their one dollar bills with a marijuana leaf and the quote: "I grew hemp," were recently contacted by Woodstock police acting on behalf of the Secret Service. Joy Beckerman and James Horn, owners of the Heaven On Earth Hemp Store, report that the police came to them with Xerox copies of stamped dollar bills and a written warning from the secret service specifying that the practice of defacing United States currency was a federal crime. Although Horn admits that the local officers were laid back about the whole issue, he claims that the notice stated that the U.S. Attorney General would be contacted and charges would be pressed if the couple didn't immediately stop the stamping. http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:juPMBvB-g4UJ:www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml9613.htm+treasury+deface+paper+currency&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Sep 01 05, 12:13 AM

Flynn_17

And it isn't a crime to write on British paper money, because if you've ever been the the UK, there is a large chance you'll have a fair few notes with writing on them. It's a common practise to write on notes for clerical or banking uses while they aren't in circulation (i.e in the bank) Sep 01 05, 4:08 AM

lanfranco

McGruff, I'm fascinated. It makes perfect sense that there's a law on the books, but how did anyone expect to enforce it generally? Most people are not so obliging as to make their "embellishments" of bills as obvious as the couple in Woodstock did. Sep 01 05, 7:01 AM

McGruff

There's a website called wheresgeorge.com that used to sell rubber stamps so you could mark the bills you were tracking. They are no longer allowed to do that. Even though people have the stamps or write "wheresgeorge.com" on their bills, no one is going to be able to catch them, but the guy selling the stamps had to stop. So apparently even though it can't be generally enforced, there are cases that they do pick up on. From http://wheresgeorgestore.com Unfortunately, we no longer sell the rubber stamps (it's a long story). Here is some additional information from the Where's George? FAQ Page: #8 Is it legal to write on or mark currency? Where's George? does not encourage the defacement of U.S. Currency. The law defines 'illegal' defacement as defacement that renders bills unfit to be re-issued. For the legal details from the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, please Click Here #9 What happened to the official Where's George? Rubber stamps? We no longer sell any Where's George? rubber stamps. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. #10 So, where can I get a rubber stamp? We really can't help you there. Sorry. But any local office supply store may make one for you. Sep 01 05, 10:14 AM

gmackematix

Well, I was inspired to ask this by the UK equivalent of the "Where's George?" site called "Dosh Tracker". I'm sure the FAQ site there said that they could not encourage people to write the site's web address on the notes to help tracking them as defacement of currency was illegal in the UK. It then went on, erroneously it would seem, to say that it was legal in the US. As in the US, I suppose enforcement would depend on the nature of the defacement. I don't think the bank scribbling a multiple of ten on the odd note would count as an infringement. Expletives, abuse or advertising for example might be a different matter. Sep 01 05, 10:35 AM

NEfromNY

Pictures of Sting and the Beatles? McGruff is right about the US currency thing. Sep 03 05, 7:24 PM

helenasykes

IT IS ILLEGAL TO DEFACE BRITISH MONEY AND UP UNTIL A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WAS TECHNICALLY PUNISHABLE BY DEATH AS IT IS CLASSED AS 'HIGH TREASON', WHICH UNTIL A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WAS THE ONLY CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH IN BRITAIN!! Sep 09 05, 2:25 PM

gmackematix

Counterfeiting was at one time classed as high treason, but I don't think scrawling on bank notes ever has been. Incidentally, it was in 1998 that high treason ceased to be punishable by death in the UK. Nobody had been executed for treason in the UK since William Joyce in 1946. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_treason By the way, it is regarded as impolite to type in capital letters only. Sep 09 05, 6:08 PM