18 U.S.C. § 485 — Coins or bars

This law covers two kinds of wrongdoing involving fake coins or bars. First, it's a crime to falsely make, forge, or counterfeit any coin or bar that looks like a genuine U.S. coin worth more than 5 cents, or like a gold or silver bar coined or stamped at a U.S. mint or assay office. It's also a crime to counterfeit a foreign gold or silver coin that is either currently accepted as money in the United States or actually used and circulated here as money. Second, it's a crime to pass, utter (use as if genuine), publish, sell, possess, or bring into the United States any such false, forged, or counterfeit coin or bar — but only when the person knows it's fake and intends to defraud a government body, a corporation, or a person. Attempting to commit either offense is punished the same way. Anyone who violates this law can be fined under the general federal fine rules, imprisoned for up to fifteen years, or both.