18 U.S.C. § 477
Section 477 · Possessing or selling impressions of tools used for obligations or securities
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case United States v. Dickey (1991)
Most recently applied in Richards v. Ashcroft (March 2005)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whoever, with intent to defraud, possesses, keeps, safeguards, or controls, without authority from the United States, any imprint, stamp, analog, digital, or electronic image, or impression, taken or made upon any substance or material whatsoever, of any tool, implement, instrument or thing, used, fitted or intended to be used, for any of the purposes mentioned in section 476 of this title; or
Whoever, with intent to defraud, sells, gives, or delivers any such imprint, stamp, analog, digital, or electronic image, or impression to any other person—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 25 years, or both.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §267 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, §153, 35 Stat. 1117).
Changes in phraseology were made.
Amendments
2001—Pub. L. 107–56 inserted “analog, digital, or electronic image,” after “imprint, stamp,” in first and second pars. and substituted “25 years” for “ten years” in third par.
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.
Termination Date of 2001 Amendment
Amendments by title III of Pub. L. 107–56 to terminate effective on and after the first day of fiscal year 2005 if Congress enacts a joint resolution that such amendments no longer have the force of law, see section 303 of Pub. L. 107–56, set out as a Four-Year Congressional Review; Expedited Consideration note under section 5311 of Title 31, Money and Finance.