ISRI says coin recycling program soon to restart

The Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has posted a notice on its website saying the United States Mint has announced its intention to resume the mutilated coin redemption program after a three-year suspension following concerns of fraud.

ISRI says its congressional and agency advocacy has paid off by allowing recyclers and business owners to once again redeem from the U.S. Mint large amounts of bent, broke, or unusable coins (resulting from shredding operations or vending machines) for scrap value.

ISRI also says the U.S. Mint is suggesting that the new redemption program “will update and improve the redemption process to enhance security and ensure the integrity of the nation’s coinage [and] update the redemption rates.” The organization says the Mint also will declare it will no longer accept “fused” coins, or coins that are bound together after exposure to heat.

As part of the program, the Mint suggests it could provide information to law enforcement officials or third parties for purposes of criminal investigations or for seeking civil adjustments, according to ISRI.

The recycling organization says coin redeemers, including shredding plant operators, “have been holding millions of dollars—perhaps tens of millions of dollars—in mutilated coins waiting for the program’s redemption.” ISRI also says companies holding coins should not rely on the program restarting before the end of 2017, as final federal rulemaking can take a prolonged amount of time.

More information on the U.S. Mint’s proposed restart and changes to the program can be found on this Web page.