Mutilated currency

Mutilated currency is a term used by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...

 (BEP) to describe currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

which is very badly damaged, to the point where it is difficult to determine the value of the currency, or where it is not clear that at least half of the note is present. Common causes of damage are fire, water, chemicals, explosives, animals or damage from extended burying of the currency.

Banknotes which are merely very dirty, or very worn out, but where the value is clear, are not considered mutilated and can be traded in at any bank from where they will eventually be processed out of circulation.

In general, mutilated currency of US dollars can be sent to the BEP for evaluation, and if it is determined that at least half of the currency is present, or there is clear enough evidence that whatever parts are missing are destroyed, the owner of the mutilated currency can have the money value of the mutilated currency refunded to them. Annually, this amounts to about 30,000 claims and over 30 million dollars in refunds.