The Counterfeiting Coin Act 1741 (15 Geo. 2 c. 28) was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

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 diplo ...

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

coins, where previously the crime of counterfeiting such coins had been a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

. Its

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

was ''An act for the more effectual preventing the counterfeiting of the current coin of this kingdom, and the uttering or paying of false or counterfeit coin.'' It has since been

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

ed.

Reason for the Act

Section 2 of the Act began with an explanation for why the Act was necessary:

Provisions

Offences

Sections 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 of the Act came into force on 29 September 1742. Section 1 made it high treason to "wash, gild or colour any of the lawful silver coin called a

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

or a sixpence, or counterfeit or false shilling or sixpence," or alter such a coin to make it look like a "lawful gold coin called a

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

" or half-guinea, or to file, alter, wash or colour "any of the brass monies called halfpennies or farthings, or to make those coins look like a shilling or sixpence. The last part of this section was amended by the Counterfeiting Coin Act 1797 to extend it to all copper coins ordered by royal proclamation to be

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

in the realm, not just halfpennies and farthings. Following the words quoted above, section 2 continued to impose a

mandatory minimum sentence Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...

of 6 months' imprisonment for uttering a false coin, knowing it to be false. On release the offender then had to provide

sureties In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

to be of good behaviour for another 6 months. For a second offence, the punishment was 2 years' imprisonment followed by another 2 years of good behaviour under surety. A third offence was 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 resu ...

, punishable with death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. Section 3 provided that a person who committed an offence under section 2 and then committed the same offence again within 10 days, or was found in possession of more counterfeit money within 10 days was to be deemed "a common utterer of false money" and sentenced to 1 year imprisonment and then provide sureties for his good behaviour for another 2 years. If a person convicted of this offence ever uttered or tendered false coin in payment again, he was guilty of felony without

benefit of clergy In English law, the benefit of clergy (Law Latin: ''privilegium clericale'') was originally a provision by which clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, ...

. Section 6 made it a crime to "make, coin or counterfeit any brass or copper money, commonly called a halfpenny or a farthing," to be punished with 2 years' imprisonment followed by providing sureties for another 2 years' good behaviour.

Other matters

Section 4 provided that there was to be no corruption of blood for offences under the Act. Section 5 stated that the same rules of procedure and evidence which applied to already existing crimes of counterfeiting coins were to apply to crimes under this Act, except that a time limit of 6 months applied to starting a prosecution for treason or felony under the Act. Section 7 stated that anyone who apprehended someone for treason or felony against the Act, or for an offence under section 6, was to be given a reward for each person convicted: 40 pounds for each traitor or felon, and 10 pounds for each person offending against section 6. The reward was to be paid by the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of the county within one month of the conviction. If the sheriff failed to pay then he was to forfeit double the reward money, plus treble the costs of suing him, which would all be paid to the informer. Section 8 said that anyone who committed an offence against the Act but who then provided information leading to the conviction of two or more other offenders was to be

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

ed. Generally speaking, the rules of evidence and jurisdiction in the 18th century were that what happened in one county could not be proved in a court in a different county. However section 9 permitted a previous conviction under the Act in one county to be proved in a court in another county by a certificate signed by the court clerk. Section 10 increased the fund for prosecuting counterfeiters from £400 to £600 ''per annum''. (This fund had been set up by the Act of ''7 Anne c.24'', section 4, in 1708.)

Extension of the Act

In 1797 the provisions of this Act which applied to halfpennies and farthings were extended to all copper coins by the Counterfeiting Coin Act 1797.

Reason for the Act

Provisions

Offences

Other matters

Extension of the Act

See also