Excerpt
Dec. 3 1954
On several occasions recently misstruck coins have been referred to this office or to field offices by persons who have obtained them in various ways. For the guidance of the field offices in handling these matters, I wish to state that pieces which have been misstruck, that is, coins struck on the wrong blanks or on blanks that are too large or too small to meet the standards, are subject to recovery by the Government as property of the United States, title to which has never left the Government, and when submitted to us, cannot be returned. These are not coins authorized by the Congress and no coins other than those are specifically so authorized may be lawfully issued.
W. H. Brett, Director