Is it illegal to make coin rings (deface coins)?

So many of you ask a question if it is illegal to make a ring out of coin or not. It is not illegal. And let us tell you why:

Legality

according to The law states:

Federal statute 18 USC 331 “whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States … shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”

The keyword is fraudulent. Because we are not defacing to defraud, there is no concern about legality. We are merely making jewelry, not gold plating nickel and trying to pass it off as a five-dollar gold piece, defacing the money like that is illegal. Which is not what we are doing.