Not according to the article.I think if he'd fight that he'd win. Pennies are legal tender for all debts, public and private.
I find that interesting, and wonder when that ruling was made. I suppose I could find out.......if I wasn't too fucking lazy to look it up. I do remember an attorney telling me, many years ago, that a city MUST accept payment in any denomination of currency presented, as long as it is legal tender. He shared this with me as I was discussing a speeding ticket. A..... BIG speeding ticket.Not according to the article.
"Chambersburg officials told Justin Greene his passive-aggressive payment of 2,500 pennies wasn't allowed under a federal rule designating the copper coins as small change — not tender for debts greater than 25 cents."
Awesome. To appease the outrage over paying bills with pennies, the city will be spending hundreds (if not thousands) of taxpayer dollars to obtain a coin counter. That will only be used once.Reading the replies, I also wondered why it was not legal tender. Just did a quick search and found that they also got feedback from their decision and reversed it.
And, from the Treasury Dept:
Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."
This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.