"A bit of clarification is in order re: the photographic reproduction of U.S. Currency.

A few years ago Congress ordered the Treasury Department to come up with regulations that would permit the legitimate use of photos of U.S. Currency. The Treasury then wrote some horribly restrictive rules and asked for input from the Numismatic community.

I sent the Secret Service a 14 pound package of catalogs and books, explaining why their proposed rules would not work, and enclosed my own rewritten version of the law.

My package was never acknowledged, despite the fact that they received only a half dozen responses. However, when the new law came out, it was virtually a carbon copy of what I had proposed.

In short, reproduction of U.S. Currency, in black and white or in color, is legal for numismatic, educational or advertising purposes provided that the final illustration is either less than 75% of the original size or more than 150% of the original size. There is no restriction on the size of the negatives, no restriction on electronic images, and no restriction on film or television use. There is also specifically nothing in the law that requires that the image be altered in any way, such as removing the serial numbers.

I hope this clears up the situation. I may not be a lawyer, but I did write the law, and probably have a firmer grasp on it than most."