The Uncurrent Coin Redemption Program is the Federal Reserve’s channel for taking worn-but-genuine U.S. coins out of circulation and crediting a depository institution’s reserve account for their face value. It runs under 31 CFR § 100.10, and it is closed to the public: individuals and businesses cannot ship coins to the Fed directly, so any worn coins you want to redeem have to go through a bank or credit union that has an account with a Federal Reserve Bank.{1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.10 – Request for Examination of Uncurrent Coin for Possible Redemption} Since late 2024, it is also the only federal redemption path for worn coinage, because the U.S. Mint permanently ended its separate program for damaged coins.
What Counts as an Uncurrent Coin
Under 31 CFR § 100.10, an uncurrent coin is a whole U.S. coin that has lost weight through normal wear but is still clearly recognizable as genuine, identifiable by denomination, and machine-countable on high-speed equipment.{1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.10 – Request for Examination of Uncurrent Coin for Possible Redemption} A quarter from the 1960s that looks like a quarter but feels noticeably thinner qualifies. A quarter that has been bent, snapped, drilled, or fused to another coin does not.
That line matters, because the Federal Reserve accepts only uncurrent coins. Bent, broken, partial, or fused pieces are treated as mutilated, and any shipment containing them can be rejected. The Fed can also turn away shipments contaminated with material that would keep the coins from being melted into new coinage metal.{1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.10 – Request for Examination of Uncurrent Coin for Possible Redemption}
Damaged Coins No Longer Have a Federal Redemption Path
The U.S. Mint used to run a separate Mutilated Coin Redemption Program under 31 CFR § 100.11 that paid face value for bent, partial, and fused coins. It was suspended in 2018 and permanently eliminated by a final rule effective October 25, 2024, with the Mint citing counterfeit-submission risks and processing limits. The regulation was removed.{2Federal Register. Exchange of Coin}
So neither the Mint nor the Fed will redeem damaged coins today. For remaining options, the Mint’s final rule points holders toward local scrap metal dealers. Melting dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins for non-fraudulent purposes is not prohibited; melting pennies and nickels is restricted under 31 CFR § 82.2, with a narrow exception for coins that reach a recycling stream incidentally.{2Federal Register. Exchange of Coin}
Who Can Submit Coins to the Federal Reserve
Only depository institutions with a direct customer relationship with a Federal Reserve Bank can submit uncurrent coins for redemption. The regulation directs everyone else to deposit their coins at a bank or other financial institution willing to accept them; that institution then handles the Fed submission.{1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.10 – Request for Examination of Uncurrent Coin for Possible Redemption} The U.S. Mint does not accept uncurrent coins at all.
To use FedCash Services, a depository institution needs an account with the Federal Reserve, a subscription to the FedLine Web electronic access platform, and an arrangement with an armored carrier for transportation.{3Federal Reserve Financial Services. FedCash Services Depositing and Ordering} The Fed does not accept walk-in coin deposits from consumers or retail businesses.{4Federal Reserve Financial Services. FedCash Services Coin Depositing and Ordering}
How Coins Must Be Packaged
Operating Circular 2 sets the packaging standard. Each denomination of uncurrent coin goes in its own bag, tagged “UNCURRENT COIN.” Institutions can use canvas bags or heavy-duty clear plastic bags, and each type has to identify the denomination, dollar amount, depositor, and ABA routing number with any four-digit endpoint number. Every bag needs a tamper-evident seal.{5Federal Reserve Financial Services. Cash Services Manual of Procedures}
Plastic bags carry extra physical requirements: at least 6.5-mil gauge, a reinforced handle rated to support more than 100 pounds, transparency so contents are visible, and a label placed opposite the handle. The servicing Federal Reserve Bank may also require a deposit document with the shipment.{5Federal Reserve Financial Services. Cash Services Manual of Procedures}
How the Shipment and Credit Work
Physical movement happens through licensed armored carriers. The depository institution schedules pickup, the carrier issues a receipt and takes custody, and the sealed bags travel under continuous security to either a Federal Reserve Bank or a coin terminal. Coin terminals are secure facilities operated by armored carriers that hold Federal Reserve coin inventory and process deposits and orders on the Fed’s behalf.
On arrival, staff check that the tamper-evident seals are intact and log the shipment against the pre-filed documentation. Technicians then run the coins through high-speed automated counters that weigh and verify each piece, confirming the denominations and that the coins are genuinely uncurrent rather than mutilated. If the count matches the deposit paperwork, the Fed credits the submitting institution’s reserve account for face value. Discrepancies lead to an adjusted credit and a notice back to the bank, and the Fed can reject a whole shipment for foreign objects or contaminants.{1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.10 – Request for Examination of Uncurrent Coin for Possible Redemption} Redeemed coins go on to the U.S. Mint, where the metal is typically recycled into new coinage.
What to Do If You Have Worn Coins
Because you cannot submit coins to the Federal Reserve yourself, the practical routes are your bank, a coin-counting kiosk, or coin wrappers.
Most banks and credit unions accept coin deposits from their own customers. Some still keep coin-counting machines in their lobbies, though many larger banks have phased them out. If yours has not, you may need to roll the coins first. The U.S. Treasury recommends confirming your bank’s policy in advance.{6U.S. Department of the Treasury. Penny Production Cessation FAQs} Standard wrappers hold 50 pennies ($0.50), 40 nickels ($2.00), 50 dimes ($5.00), or 40 quarters ($10.00), and many branches supply them free.
Coinstar kiosks in many grocery stores are faster. They charge a service fee of up to 12.9% plus a $0.99 transaction fee for cash payouts. Most locations waive the fee if you take an eGift card instead.{7Coinstar. Help Center} On $100 in coins that gap is about $14 versus nothing, so whether the tradeoff makes sense depends on whether the gift card is one you’d actually use.
One note on pennies. With penny production ceasing, existing pennies remain legal tender and banks will keep accepting them for deposit.{6U.S. Department of the Treasury. Penny Production Cessation FAQs} As they wear out with no replacements being minted, the Uncurrent Coin Redemption Program is what handles the institutional side of retiring them from the money supply.