Burning money
Encyclopedia
Money burning or burning money is the purposeful act of destroying money
. In the prototypical example, banknote
s are destroyed by literally setting them on fire
. Burning money decreases the wealth
of the owner without directly enriching any particular party. However, since it reduces the supply of money
, it increases the value of the remaining money, increasing (by roughly the same amount as the money burnt) the collective wealth of everyone else who holds money.
Money is usually burned to communicate a message, either for artistic effect, as a form of protest, or as a signal
. In some game
s, a player can sometimes benefit from the ability to burn money (Battle of the sexes). Burning money is illegal in some jurisdictions.
, burning money is equivalent to removing the money from circulation, and locking it away forever; the salient feature is that no one may ever use the money again. Burning money shrinks the money supply
, and is therefore a special case of contractionary monetary policy
that can be implemented by anyone. In the usual case, the central bank
withdraws money from circulation by selling government bonds or foreign currency. The difference with money burning, is that the central bank does not have to exchange any assets of value for the money burnt. Money burning is thus equivalent to gifting the money back to the central bank (or other money issuing authority). If the economy is at full employment
equilibrium, shrinking the money supply causes deflation (or decreases the rate of inflation
), increasing the real value of the money left in circulation.
Assuming that the burned money is paper money
with negligible intrinsic value, no real goods are destroyed, so the overall wealth of the world is unaffected. Instead, all surviving money slightly increases in value; everyone gains wealth in proportion to the amount of money they already hold. Economist Steven Landsburg
proposes in The Armchair Economist
that burning one's fortune (in paper money) is a form of philanthropy
more egalitarian than deeding it to the United States Treasury. In 1920, Thomas Nixon Carver
wrote that dumping money into the sea is better for society than spending it wastefully, as the latter wastes the labor
that it hires.
inspired the 2001 TV movie Hot Money
and the 2008 film Mad Money
.
Another, more common near-opposite is the creation of counterfeit money
. Undetected counterfeit money harms the rest of society by decreasing the value of existing money — one of the reasons why attempting to pass it is illegal in most jurisdictions and is aggressively investigated. Another way to analyze the cost of forgery is to consider the effects of a central bank's monetary policy
. Taking the United States
as an example, if the Federal Reserve decides that the monetary base should be a given amount, then every $100 bill forged is a bill the Fed cannot print and use to buy Treasury bonds. The interest
earnings (after expenses) on those bonds is turned over to the US Treasury, so any lost interest must be made up by U.S. taxpayers, who therefore bear the cost of counterfeiting.
, in which case a mental health professional
can be justified in restraining him or her to prevent the financial harm. The cognitive impact of burning money can even be a useful motivational tool: patients who suffer from nail biting
may be trained to burn a dollar bill every time they engage in the habit. One study found this form of suppression training by self-punishment to be effective compared to control groups, although not as effective as substitution training.
On the other hand, there are some situations where burning money might not be so unreasonable. It is said that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristippus
was once on a ship at sea when he was threatened by pirates; he took out his money, counted it, and dropped it into the sea, commenting, "Better for the money to perish because of Aristippus than vice versa." Cicero
would later cite this episode as an example of a circumstance that must be considered in its full context: "...it is a useless act to throw money into the sea; but not with the design which Aristippus had when he did so."
Publicly burning money can be an act of protest or a kind of artistic statement. Often the point is to emphasize money's intrinsic worthlessness. In 1984, Serge Gainsbourg
burned a 500 French franc
note on television to protest against heavy taxation.
On 23 August 1994, the K Foundation
(an art duo consisting of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) burned one million pounds sterling in cash on the Scottish island of Jura
. This money represented the bulk of the K Foundation's funds, earned by Drummond and Cauty as The KLF
, one of the United Kingdom's most successful pop groups of the early 1990s. The duo have never fully explained their motivations for the burning.
In the 1995 film Dead Presidents
, the title sequence
directed by Kyle Cooper
features close shots of burning U.S. bills
; it took two days of shooting and experimenting with the paper to get the effect right.
In the early 18th century, New York City
courts would publicly burn the counterfeit bills they gathered, in order to show that they were both dangerous and worthless.
In traditional Chinese
ancestor veneration, imitation money in the form of joss paper
are ceremonially burned, with the aspiration that the dead may use the money to finance a more comfortable afterlife.
, a threat to burn money can affect the strategies of the players involved; a classic example is the situation described as 'battle of the sexes
', where the ability to burn money allows the player to achieve the desired equilibrium without actually having to burn money.
can sometimes be destroyed by converting it into commodity
form, rather than completely forfeiting the value of the money. Sometimes, currency intended for use as fiat money becomes more valuable as a commodity, usually when inflation
causes its face value
to fall below its intrinsic value
. For example, in India
in 2007, Rupee
coins disappeared from the market when their face value dropped below the value of the stainless steel from which they were made. Similarly, in 1965, the US government had to switch from silver to copper-nickel clad quarter
coins because the silver value of the coins had exceeded their face value and were being melted down by individuals for profit. At the peak of inflation in the Weimar Republic
, people burned banknotes for warmth, as their face value had fallen below their value as fuel.
brief for Atwater v. City of Lago Vista
, Solicitor General
Seth Waxman
writes that arresting an individual who removes the corner dollar values "may expose a counterfeiting operation". It is unclear if the statute has ever been applied in response to the complete destruction of a bill. Certainly people have publicly burned small amounts of money for political protests that were picked up by the media — Living Things
at South by Southwest
, Larry Kudlow on The Call — without apparent consequence.
The question of legality has been compared to the much more politically charged issue of flag desecration
. In 1989, in a Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing on the Flag Protection Act
, former US Attorney General William Barr
testified that any regulation protecting something purely for its symbolic value would be struck down as unconstitutional. The Senate report recommending passage of the Act argued that Barr's theory would render 18 U.S.C. § 333 unconstitutional as well. In a dissent in Smith v. Goguen, Justice Rehnquist
counted 18 U.S.C. § 333 in a group of statutes in which the Government protects its interest in some private property which is "not a traditional property interest". On the other hand, the Government's interest in protecting circulating currency might not be purely symbolic; it costs the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
approximately 5 cents to replace a note.
Legal Tender, a 1996 telerobotic
art installment by Ken Goldberg
, Judith Donath
, and Mark Pauline
, was an experiment to see if the law could instill a sense of physical risk in online interactions. After participants were advised that 18 U.S.C. § 333 threatened them with up to six months in jail, they were given the option of remotely defacing small portions of a pair of "purportedly authentic" $100 bills over the web. A crime may be occurring — but "only if the bills are real, the web site is authentic, and the experiment actually performed." In fact, one bill was real and the other counterfeit. Almost all of the participants reported that they believed the experiment and the bills to be faked.
The destruction of money is also bound by the same laws that govern the destruction of other personal property. In particular, one cannot empower the executor
of one's estate
to burn one's money after one dies.
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
. In the prototypical example, banknote
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...
s are destroyed by literally setting them on fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
. Burning money decreases the wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
of the owner without directly enriching any particular party. However, since it reduces the supply of money
Money supply
In economics, the money supply or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an economy at a specific time. There are several ways to define "money," but standard measures usually include currency in circulation and demand deposits .Money supply data are recorded and published, usually...
, it increases the value of the remaining money, increasing (by roughly the same amount as the money burnt) the collective wealth of everyone else who holds money.
Money is usually burned to communicate a message, either for artistic effect, as a form of protest, or as a signal
Signalling (economics)
In economics, more precisely in contract theory, signalling is the idea that one party credibly conveys some information about itself to another party...
. In some game
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
s, a player can sometimes benefit from the ability to burn money (Battle of the sexes). Burning money is illegal in some jurisdictions.
Macroeconomic effect
For the purposes of macroeconomicsMacroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...
, burning money is equivalent to removing the money from circulation, and locking it away forever; the salient feature is that no one may ever use the money again. Burning money shrinks the money supply
Money supply
In economics, the money supply or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an economy at a specific time. There are several ways to define "money," but standard measures usually include currency in circulation and demand deposits .Money supply data are recorded and published, usually...
, and is therefore a special case of contractionary monetary policy
Contractionary monetary policy
Contractionary monetary policy is monetary policy that seeks to reduce the size of the money supply. In most nations, monetary policy is controlled by either a central bank or a finance ministry....
that can be implemented by anyone. In the usual case, the central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
withdraws money from circulation by selling government bonds or foreign currency. The difference with money burning, is that the central bank does not have to exchange any assets of value for the money burnt. Money burning is thus equivalent to gifting the money back to the central bank (or other money issuing authority). If the economy is at full employment
Full employment
In macroeconomics, full employment is a condition of the national economy, where all or nearly all persons willing and able to work at the prevailing wages and working conditions are able to do so....
equilibrium, shrinking the money supply causes deflation (or decreases the rate of inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
), increasing the real value of the money left in circulation.
Assuming that the burned money is paper money
Paper Money
Paper Money is the second album by the band Montrose. It was released in 1974 and was the band's last album to feature Sammy Hagar as lead vocalist.-History:...
with negligible intrinsic value, no real goods are destroyed, so the overall wealth of the world is unaffected. Instead, all surviving money slightly increases in value; everyone gains wealth in proportion to the amount of money they already hold. Economist Steven Landsburg
Steven Landsburg
Steven E. Landsburg is an American professor of economics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. From 1989 to 1995, he taught at Colorado State University.-Education:...
proposes in The Armchair Economist
The Armchair Economist
The Armchair Economist: Economics and Everyday Life is a 1993 economics book written by noted professor of economics Steven Landsburg. The underlying theme of the book, as Landsburg states on the first page, is that "[m]ost of economics can be summarized in four words: People respond to...
that burning one's fortune (in paper money) is a form of philanthropy
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
more egalitarian than deeding it to the United States Treasury. In 1920, Thomas Nixon Carver
Thomas Nixon Carver
Thomas Nixon Carver was an American economics professor. He grew up on a farm, the son of Quaker parents. He received an undergraduate education at Iowa Wesleyan College and the University of Southern California. After studying under John Bates Clark and Richard T...
wrote that dumping money into the sea is better for society than spending it wastefully, as the latter wastes the labor
Labour economics
Labor economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the market for labor. Labor markets function through the interaction of workers and employers...
that it hires.
Opposites
Central banks routinely collect and destroy worn-out coins and banknotes in exchange for new ones. This does not affect the money supply, and is done to maintain a healthy population of usable currency. The practice raises an interesting possibility. If an individual can sneak in and steal money away from the incinerator, the effect is the opposite of burning money: the thief is enriched at the expense of society. One such incident at the Bank of EnglandBank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
inspired the 2001 TV movie Hot Money
Hot Money
-Plot:The drama tells the story of three workers at the Bank of England incinerating plant in Essex. The trio, led by Bridget , hatch a plan to steal thousands of pounds by stashing the notes in their underwear.-Cast:-Production:...
and the 2008 film Mad Money
Mad Money (film)
Mad Money is a 2008 comedy-crime film starring Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes, and directed by Callie Khouri. It is loosely based on the 2001 British film Hot Money.-Plot:...
.
Another, more common near-opposite is the creation of counterfeit money
Counterfeit money
Counterfeit money is currency that is produced without the legal sanction of the state or government to resemble some official form of currency closely enough that it may be confused for genuine currency. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or forgery. Counterfeiting is probably...
. Undetected counterfeit money harms the rest of society by decreasing the value of existing money — one of the reasons why attempting to pass it is illegal in most jurisdictions and is aggressively investigated. Another way to analyze the cost of forgery is to consider the effects of a central bank's monetary policy
Monetary policy
Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment...
. Taking the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as an example, if the Federal Reserve decides that the monetary base should be a given amount, then every $100 bill forged is a bill the Fed cannot print and use to buy Treasury bonds. The interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
earnings (after expenses) on those bonds is turned over to the US Treasury, so any lost interest must be made up by U.S. taxpayers, who therefore bear the cost of counterfeiting.
Rationales
Behaviorally speaking, burning money is usually a purely negative act. An individual who compulsively destroys money may be showing signs of mental illnessMental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
, in which case a mental health professional
Mental health professional
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness. This broad category includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, mental health...
can be justified in restraining him or her to prevent the financial harm. The cognitive impact of burning money can even be a useful motivational tool: patients who suffer from nail biting
Nail biting
Onychophagia, or nail biting, is a common oral compulsive habit in children and adults.-Classification:Nail biting is considered an impulse control disorder in the DSM-IV-R; the ICD-10 classifies it as "other specified behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and...
may be trained to burn a dollar bill every time they engage in the habit. One study found this form of suppression training by self-punishment to be effective compared to control groups, although not as effective as substitution training.
On the other hand, there are some situations where burning money might not be so unreasonable. It is said that the ancient Greek philosopher Aristippus
Aristippus
Aristippus of Cyrene, , was the founder of the Cyrenaic school of Philosophy. He was a pupil of Socrates, but adopted a very different philosophical outlook, teaching that the goal of life was to seek pleasure by adapting circumstances to oneself and by maintaining proper control over both...
was once on a ship at sea when he was threatened by pirates; he took out his money, counted it, and dropped it into the sea, commenting, "Better for the money to perish because of Aristippus than vice versa." Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
would later cite this episode as an example of a circumstance that must be considered in its full context: "...it is a useless act to throw money into the sea; but not with the design which Aristippus had when he did so."
Symbolism
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
burned a 500 French franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
note on television to protest against heavy taxation.
On 23 August 1994, the K Foundation
K Foundation
The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF income...
(an art duo consisting of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) burned one million pounds sterling in cash on the Scottish island of Jura
Jura, Scotland
Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...
. This money represented the bulk of the K Foundation's funds, earned by Drummond and Cauty as The KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, one of the United Kingdom's most successful pop groups of the early 1990s. The duo have never fully explained their motivations for the burning.
In the 1995 film Dead Presidents
Dead Presidents
Dead Presidents is a 1995 American crime film written by Michael Henry Brown and also written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers , starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, N'Bushe Wright and Bokeem Woodbine...
, the title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
directed by Kyle Cooper
Kyle Cooper
Kyle Cooper is a modern designer of motion picture title sequences.Cooper studied graphic design under Paul Rand at Yale University. Early in his professional career, Cooper worked as a creative director at R/GA - an advertising agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles...
features close shots of burning U.S. bills
Federal Reserve Note
A Federal Reserve Note is a type of banknote used in the United States of America. Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. They are the only type of U.S...
; it took two days of shooting and experimenting with the paper to get the effect right.
In the early 18th century, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
courts would publicly burn the counterfeit bills they gathered, in order to show that they were both dangerous and worthless.
In traditional Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
ancestor veneration, imitation money in the form of joss paper
Joss paper
Joss paper , also known as ghost money, are sheets of paper and/or paper-crafts made into burnt offerings which are common in traditional Chinese religious practices including the veneration of the deceased on holidays and special occasions...
are ceremonially burned, with the aspiration that the dead may use the money to finance a more comfortable afterlife.
Game theory
In game theoryGame theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
, a threat to burn money can affect the strategies of the players involved; a classic example is the situation described as 'battle of the sexes
Battle of the sexes (game theory)
In game theory, battle of the sexes , also called Bach or Stravinsky, is a two-player coordination game. Imagine a couple that agreed to meet this evening, but cannot recall if they will be attending the opera or a football match. The husband would most of all like to go to the football game. The...
', where the ability to burn money allows the player to achieve the desired equilibrium without actually having to burn money.
For commodity value
Fiat moneyFiat money
Fiat money is money that has value only because of government regulation or law. The term derives from the Latin fiat, meaning "let it be done", as such money is established by government decree. Where fiat money is used as currency, the term fiat currency is used.Fiat money originated in 11th...
can sometimes be destroyed by converting it into commodity
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
form, rather than completely forfeiting the value of the money. Sometimes, currency intended for use as fiat money becomes more valuable as a commodity, usually when inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
causes its face value
Face value
The Face value is the value of a coin, stamp or paper money, as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the minting authority. While the face value usually refers to the true value of the coin, stamp or bill in question it can sometimes be largely symbolic, as is often the case with bullion...
to fall below its intrinsic value
Intrinsic value (numismatics)
In commodity money, intrinsic value can be partially or entirely due to the desirable features of the object as a medium of exchange and a store of value. Examples of such features include divisibility; easily and securely storable and transportable; scarcity; and hard to counterfeit...
. For example, in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 2007, Rupee
Rupee
The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...
coins disappeared from the market when their face value dropped below the value of the stainless steel from which they were made. Similarly, in 1965, the US government had to switch from silver to copper-nickel clad quarter
Quarter (United States coin)
A quarter dollar, commonly shortened to quarter, is a coin worth ¼ of a United States dollar, or 25 cents. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The choice of 25¢ as a denomination, as opposed to 20¢ which is more common in other parts of the world, originated with the practice of dividing...
coins because the silver value of the coins had exceeded their face value and were being melted down by individuals for profit. At the peak of inflation in the Weimar Republic
Inflation in the Weimar Republic
The hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic was a three year period of hyperinflation in Germany between June 1921 and July 1924.- Analysis :...
, people burned banknotes for warmth, as their face value had fallen below their value as fuel.
United States
In the United States, burning banknotes is prohibited under , which includes "any other thing" that renders a note "unfit to be reissued". In an amicusAmicus curiae
An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it...
brief for Atwater v. City of Lago Vista
Atwater v. City of Lago Vista
Atwater v. Lago Vista, , was a United States Supreme Court decision which held that a person's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the subject is arrested for driving without a seatbelt...
, Solicitor General
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
Seth Waxman
Seth P. Waxman
Seth Paul Waxman was the 41st Solicitor General of the United States. He was nominated by President Clinton on September 19, 1997, and confirmed by the United States Senate on November 9, 1997...
writes that arresting an individual who removes the corner dollar values "may expose a counterfeiting operation". It is unclear if the statute has ever been applied in response to the complete destruction of a bill. Certainly people have publicly burned small amounts of money for political protests that were picked up by the media — Living Things
Living Things (band)
Living Things are an American indie rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. The band, consist of chief provocateur singer/songwriter/guitarist Lillian Berlin and his two siblings Yves Berlin and Joshua "Bosh" Berlin , . Singer Lillian Berlin lyrics and songwriting has been described as " fiercely...
at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
, Larry Kudlow on The Call — without apparent consequence.
The question of legality has been compared to the much more politically charged issue of flag desecration
Flag desecration
Flag desecration is a term applied to various acts that intentionally destroy, damage or mutilate a flag in public, most often a national flag. Often, such action is intended to make a political point against a country or its policies...
. In 1989, in a Senate Judiciary Committee
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
hearing on the Flag Protection Act
Flag Protection Act
Reacting to protests during the Vietnam War era, the United States 90th Congress enacted Public Law 90-381 , later codified as 18 U.S.C. 700, et. seq., and better known as the Flag Protection Act of 1968. It was an expansion to nationwide applicability of a 1947 law previously restricted only to...
, former US Attorney General William Barr
William Barr (politician)
William Pelham Barr is an American attorney who served as the 77th Attorney General of the United States.Barr, the son of Mary and Donald Barr, Columbia University faculty members, was born in New York City and grew up on the Upper West side of Manhattan, attended Catholic parochial school Corpus...
testified that any regulation protecting something purely for its symbolic value would be struck down as unconstitutional. The Senate report recommending passage of the Act argued that Barr's theory would render 18 U.S.C. § 333 unconstitutional as well. In a dissent in Smith v. Goguen, Justice Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
counted 18 U.S.C. § 333 in a group of statutes in which the Government protects its interest in some private property which is "not a traditional property interest". On the other hand, the Government's interest in protecting circulating currency might not be purely symbolic; it costs the 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...
approximately 5 cents to replace a note.
Legal Tender, a 1996 telerobotic
Telerobotics
Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of robots from a distance, chiefly using wireless connections , "tethered" connections, or the Internet...
art installment by Ken Goldberg
Ken Goldberg
Kenneth Y. Goldberg is a Professor of Industrial Engineering and OperationsResearch , with a joint appointment in Electrical Engineering and...
, Judith Donath
Judith Donath
Judith Donath is a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center and was the founder of the at the MIT Media Lab. She has written papers on various aspects of the Internet and its social impact, such as Internet society and community, interfaces, virtual identity issues , and other forms of collaboration...
, and Mark Pauline
Mark Pauline
Mark Pauline is an American performance artist and inventor, best known as founder and director of Survival Research Labs. He is a 1977 graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida....
, was an experiment to see if the law could instill a sense of physical risk in online interactions. After participants were advised that 18 U.S.C. § 333 threatened them with up to six months in jail, they were given the option of remotely defacing small portions of a pair of "purportedly authentic" $100 bills over the web. A crime may be occurring — but "only if the bills are real, the web site is authentic, and the experiment actually performed." In fact, one bill was real and the other counterfeit. Almost all of the participants reported that they believed the experiment and the bills to be faked.
The destruction of money is also bound by the same laws that govern the destruction of other personal property. In particular, one cannot empower the executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
of one's estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
to burn one's money after one dies.