AN ACT TO AUTHORISE THE PROVISION AND ISSUE OF A SILVER, NICKEL, AND BRONZE TOKEN COINAGE, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATION OF SUCH COINAGE AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.

[13th April, 1926.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

Definition.

1.—In this Act the expression "the Minister" means the Minister for Finance.

Provision and issue of silver, nickel, and bronze coins.

2.—(1) The Minister may provide and issue silver, nickel, and bronze coins of the several denominations specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act, and may take such steps for the provision and issue of such coins as he shall think proper.

(2) Every coin issued under this Act shall be of the standard weight and the standard fineness specified in respect thereof in the second and third columns respectively of the Schedule to this Act, but there shall be allowed in respect of all such coins the remedy (or variation from the standard weight or the standard fineness) stated in respect thereof respectively in the fifth column of the Schedule to this Act.

(3) The several denominations of coins issued under this Act shall respectively bear to the sovereign the fractional values stated in the fourth column of the Schedule to this Act.

(4) The Minister may by order prescribe the dimensions and design of the several denominations of coins to be issued under this Act and every coin issued under this Act shall be of the dimensions and design so prescribed in respect thereof.

Calling in of coins issued under this Act.

3.—The Minister may by order call in coins of any particular date or denomination issued under this Act.

Prohibition of other coins or tokens.

4.—(1) Save and except coins issued by the Minister under and in accordance with this Act, no piece of silver, nickel, copper, or bronze, or of any other metal or mixed metal of any value whatsoever shall be made or issued in Saorstát Eireann as a coin or a token for money or as purporting that the holder thereof is entitled to demand any value denoted thereon.

(2) Every person who shall make or issue any piece of metal or of mixed metal in contravention of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Legal tender in silver, nickel, or bronze coins.

5.—(1) A tender of payment of money if made either in silver or bronze coins issued by the Minister under this Act and not called in under this Act or partly in such coins and partly in British coins or wholly in British coins shall be a legal tender, in the case of silver coins for a payment of an amount not exceeding forty shillings but for no greater amount and in the case of bronze coins for a payment of an amount not exceeding one shilling but for no greater amount.

(2) A tender of payment of money if made in nickel coins issued by the Minister under this Act and not called in under this Act shall be a legal tender for a payment of an amount not exceeding five shillings but for no greater amount.

(3) In this section the expression "British coins" means silver or bronze coins issued under the Coinage Acts, 1870 to 1920 in the late United Kingdom or in Great Britain and neither called in under those Acts in the late United Kingdom or in Great Britain nor declared by order under this Act to have ceased to be legal tender.

Termination of legal tender in British silver or bronze coins.

6.—The Executive Council may by order prescribe a date after which silver coins of all or any specified denominations issued under the Coinage Acts, 1870 to 1920 in the late United Kingdom or in Great Britain or bronze coins of all or any specified denominations similarly issued shall cease to be legal tender either generally or for any particular purposes specified therein and whenever any such order is made the coins to which it applies shall cease to be legal tender in accordance with such order.

Currency in which contracts, etc., are to be made.

7.—Every contract, sale, payment, bill, note, instrument, and security for money, and every transaction, dealing, matter, and thing whatever relating to money or involving the payment of or the liability to pay any money which is made, executed, entered into, done, or had shall be made, executed, entered into, done, and had according to the coins which are current and legal tender under the Coinage Acts, 1870 to 1920 (so far as not repealed by this Act) or this Act and not otherwise, unless the same be made, executed, entered into, done, or had according to the currency of some state or country other than Saorstát Eireann.

Application of certain enactments.

8.—(1) The Coinage Offences Act, 1861 shall apply to coins issued under this Act, and for the purposes of such application the references in section 1 of that Act to coin or any particular class of coin lawfully current by virtue of any proclamation or otherwise in any part of Her Majesty's Dominions shall be construed as including references to coins or that particular class of coins lawfully current in Saorstát Eireann by virtue of this Act, and the references in that section to silver coin shall be construed as including nickel coin.

(2) Section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 shall be construed and have effect as if the following articles were added to the Table of Prohibitions and Restrictions Inwards in that section, that is to say, counterfeits of coins issued under this Act and any coins or money purporting to be coins issued under this Act but not being of the standard weight or not being of the standard fineness prescribed by this Act.

(3) Section 2 of the Revenue Act, 1889 shall apply to imitations of coins issued under this Act, and for the purpose of such application the reference in sub-section (4) of that section to coins lawfully current by virtue of any proclamation or otherwise in any part of Her Majesty's Dominions shall be construed as including a reference to coins lawfully current in Saorstát Eireann by virtue of this Act.

General power of prescription.

9.—The Minister may by order prescribe any matter or thing the prescription of which by order is necessary or convenient for giving full effect to this Act.

Publication and commencement of orders.

10.—Every order made by the Executive Council or the Minister under this Act shall be published in the Iris Oifigiúil as soon as may be after it is made and every such order shall come into operation on the date (not being prior to the day on which the order is made) stated in that behalf in the order or, where no such date is so stated, on the day on which the order is made.

Expenses and proceeds of issue of coins.

11.—(1) All expenses incurred by the Minister in carrying this Act into effect shall be advanced out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof.

(2) The proceeds of the issue of any coins under this Act shall be paid into the Exchequer.

Repeal.

12.—The following sections of the Coinage Act, 1870 are hereby repealed to the extent hereinafter mentioned, that is to say:—

( a ) sections 4 and 5 save in so far as they relate to gold coins, and

( b ) The whole of section 6.

Short title.

13.—This Act may be cited as the Coinage Act, 1926 .

SCHEDULE

(1)	(2)		(3)	(4)	(5)
Denomina- tion of Coin.	Standard Weight		Standard Fineness	Fractional Value in relation to the Sovereign	Remedy Allowance
Imperial Weight Grams	Metric Weight Grams	Proportion of Weight (applicable to tests of 1,000 pieces in bulk)	Millesimal Fineness
SILVER:
Half-Crown Florin Shilling	218,18181 174,54545 87,27272	14,13795} 11,31036} 5,65518}	75 per cent. fine silver and} 25 per cent. alloy (copper).}	One-eighth One-tenth One-twentieth	1 in 180} 1 in 175} 1 in 150}	4 Milliemes
NICKEL:
Sixpence Three-pence	70 50	4,53593} 3,23995}	Pure nickel}	One-fortieth One-eightieth	1 in 125} 1 in 100}	—
BRONZE:
Penny Halfpenny Farthing	145,83333 87,50000 43,75000	9,44984} 5,66990} 2,83405}	Bronze, made up of 95½ per} cent. copper, 3 per cent. tin,} and 1½ per cent. zinc.}	One-two hundred and fortieth One-four hundred and eightieth One-nine hundred and sixtieth	1 in 40} 1 in 40} 1 in 40}	—

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Irish Legislation

Coinage Act, 1926