Damaged coins
Coins that are significantly damaged may not be used as a means of payment and need not be accepted as payment. Such coins should be returned to your account bank, which authenticates the money and sends it to the Bank of Finland for reimbursement.
Under the Coins Act (216/1998), in Finland the State has the right to mint coins, and the coins are issued by the Bank of Finland. Coins that are significantly damaged may not be used as a means of payment and need not be accepted as payment.
The Bank of Finland is obliged to accept and reimburse damaged coins if it can be established with certainty that they are genuine. The Bank of Finland may, however, refuse reimbursement of coins which have been altered either deliberately or by a process that could be reasonably expected to have the effect of altering them.
In addition, the Bank of Finland may refuse to accept coins where the acceptance or processing of them constitutes a health risk for handlers or a submission fails to meet packaging and labelling standards.
Significantly damaged coins should be returned to your account bank, which authenticates the money, attends to customer identification and, if necessary, makes enquiries related to the prevention of money laundering. Coins should be packed per denomination in bags or boxes. The consignment must be accompanied by a declaration (damaged coins form) stating the identifying information of the sender, the denominations and quantities of the coins, and an explanation of what has happened to the coins. More detailed instructions can be obtained from your bank.