The Coin Act 1696 ( 8 & 9 Will. 3. c. 26) was an act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

which made it

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

to make or possess equipment useful for

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

ing coins. Its title was "An Act for the better preventing the counterfeiting the current Coin of this Kingdom."

Provisions

The act came into effect on 15 May 1697. Section 1 of the act made it treason to "knowingly make or mend, or begin or proceed to make or mend, or assist in the making or mending of" any stamp, mould or the like which could be used to make gold or silver coins current in the realm, or any tool which could be used to emboss letters or marks on the side of a coin. It was also treason to knowingly buy, hide or conceal, or have possession of such items "without lawful Authority or sufficient Excuse for that Purpose."

Aiding or abetting Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally al ...

such conduct was also treason. Section 2 of the act made it treason to "wittingly or knowingly convey or assist in the conveying" any of the items described in section 1 out of the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

without lawful authority. "Knowingly receiving, hiding or concealing the same" without lawful authority was also treason. This section differed from section 1 in that "sufficient Excuse" was not a defence. Section 3 of the act made it treason to mark the edges of any coin, whether the coin was current or not, or even a counterfeit coin (except if done by a person working in the Royal Mint). Section 4 of the act made it treason to colour or gild a coin, or anything resembling a coin, so as to make it resemble gold or silver. Section 5 of the act provided for the destruction of coin-producing machinery found in the possession of anyone not an employee of the

. Section 6 of the act made it a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

to take counterfeit money, or to mix copper with silver. The penalty for this offence was death. Section 7 of the act stated that corruption of blood was not to apply to any of the offences under this act. Section 8 of the act provided that trials under the act were to be conducted either in the

Court of King's Bench The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...

or before the justices of

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...

, the

assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

, or the Court of General Gaol Delivery. Section 9 of the act required any prosecution for offences under the act to begin within three months of the offence. This time limit was later amended to six months for offences under sections 1 and 3 (by the Assay of Plate Act 1702 ( 1 Ann. c. 3) and by the Perpetuation, etc., of Acts, 1708 (

7 Ann. This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the year 1708. For acts passed until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland. See also the list of acts o ...

c. 25)).

Legacy

The act was continued until the end of the next session of parliament after 25 March 1701 by section 3 of the Coin (No. 2) Act 1697 ( 9 Will. 3. c. 21) and until the end of the next session of parliament after 25 March 1709 by section 1 of the Assay of Plate Act 1702 ( 1 Ann. c. 3). The act was extended to cover

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

by the

Treason Act 1708 The Treason Act 1708 ( 7 Ann. c. 21) is an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which harmonised the law of high treason between the former kingdoms of England and Scotland following their union as Great Britain in 1707. This act is partl ...

(

c. 21) and made perpetual by Perpetuation, etc. of Acts 1708 (

c. 25). The whole act was repealed by section 1 of the

Coinage Offences Act 1832 The Coinage Offences Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 34) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated for the United Kingdom all legislation concerning the counterfeiting and clipping of coins into one act. Such conduct w ...

( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 34).

Notes

External links

Text of the act
{{Authority control Acts of the Parliament of England 1696 Repealed English legislation Treason in England Currency law in the United Kingdom