§ 491. — Tokens or paper used as money.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC491]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 25--COUNTERFEITING AND FORGERY
Sec. 491. Tokens or paper used as money
(a) Whoever, being 18 years of age or over, not lawfully authorized,
makes, issues, or passes any coin, card, token, or device in metal, or
its compounds, intended to be used as money, or whoever, being 18 years
of age or over, with intent to defraud, makes, utters, inserts, or uses
any card, token, slug, disk, device, paper, or other thing similar in
size and shape to any of the lawful coins or other currency of the
United States or any coin or other currency not legal tender in the
United States, to procure anything of value, or the use or enjoyment of
any property or service from any automatic merchandise vending machine,
postage-stamp machine, turnstile, fare box, coinbox telephone, parking
meter or other lawful receptacle, depository, or contrivance designed to
receive or to be operated by lawful coins or other currency of the
United States, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both.
(b) Whoever manufactures, sells, offers, or advertises for sale, or
exposes or keeps with intent to furnish or sell any token, slug, disk,
device, paper, or other thing similar in size and shape to any of the
lawful coins or other currency of the United States, or any token, disk,
paper, or other device issued or authorized in connection with rationing
or food and fiber distribution by any agency of the United States, with
knowledge or reason to believe that such tokens, slugs, disks, devices,
papers, or other things are intended to be used unlawfully or
fraudulently to procure anything of value, or the use or enjoyment of
any property or service from any automatic merchandise vending machine,
postage-stamp machine, turnstile, fare box, coinbox telephone, parking
meter, or other lawful receptacle, depository, or contrivance designed
to receive or to be operated by lawful coins or other currency of the
United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than one year, or both.
Nothing contained in this section shall create immunity from
criminal prosecution under the laws of any State, Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.
(c) ``Knowledge or reason to believe'', within the meaning of
paragraph (b) of this section, may be shown by proof that any law-
enforcement officer has, prior to the commission of the offense with
which the defendant is charged, informed the defendant that tokens,
slugs, disks, or other devices of the kind manufactured, sold, offered,
or advertised for sale by him or exposed or kept with intent to furnish
or sell, are being used unlawfully or fraudulently to operate certain
specified automatic merchandise vending machines, postage-stamp
machines, turnstiles, fare boxes, coin-box telephones, parking meters,
or other receptacles, depositories, or contrivances, designed to receive
or to be operated by lawful coins of the United States.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 710; Pub. L. 87-667, Sept. 19, 1962,
76 Stat. 555; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(H), Sept.
13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Secs. 282, 282a (Mar. 4, 1909,
ch. 321, Sec. 168, 35 Stat. 1120, and Sec. 168a as added Apr. 1, 1944,
ch. 151, 58 Stat. 149).
Mandatory punishment provision in subsection (a) was rephrased in
the alternative.
Sections were consolidated and changes were made in phraseology.
Reference to persons causing or procuring was omitted as unnecessary
in view of definition of ``principal'' in section 2 of this title.
Punishment provision in paragraph (a) of 5 years was changed to 1
year to make the offense a misdemeanor as was done in paragraph (b) of
this section, which represents the latest expression of the intention of
Congress. See definition of felony and misdemeanor in section 1 of this
title and note thereunder.
In paragraph (b) the $3,000 fine was reduced to $1,000 to conform to
paragraph (a) and as more in keeping with the gravity of offense.
Amendments
1994--Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 103-322 substituted ``fined under
this title'' for ``fined not more than $1,000''.
1962--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 87-667 inserted ``being 18 years of age
or over,'' before ``not lawfully authorized'', and ``or whoever, being
18 years of age or over, with intent to defraud, makes, utters, inserts,
or uses any card, token, slug, disk, device, paper, or other thing
similar in size and shape to any of the lawful coins or other currency
of the United States or any coin or other currency not legal tender in
the United States, to procure anything of value, or the use or enjoyment
of any property or service from any automatic merchandise vending
machine, postage-stamp machine, turnstile, fare box, coinbox telephone,
parking meter or other lawful receptacle, depository, or contrivance
designed to receive or to be operated by lawful coins or other currency
of the United States,'' and deleted ``for any 1-cent, 2-cent, 3-cent, or
5-cent piece, authorized by law, or for coins of equal value'' after
``intended to be used as money''.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87-667 substituted ``device, paper, or other
thing similar'' for ``device similar'', ``paper, or other device issued
or authorized in connection with rationing or food and fiber
distribution'' for ``or other device issued or authorized in connection
with rationing'', and ``devices, papers, or other things are intended to
be used unlawfully'' for ``or other devices may be used unlawfully'',
inserted ``or other currency'' before ``of the United States'' in two
places, and ``lawful'' before ``receptacle, depository'', and provided
that nothing in this section shall create immunity from criminal
prosecution under the laws of any State, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.
