# Coin Act 1696 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Coin_Act_1696 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Coin_Act_1696.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_Act_1696 > Source revision: 1356937479 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Act of the Parliament of England Coin Act 1696 Act of Parliament Parliament of England Long title An Act for the better preventing the counterfeiting the current Coin of this Kingdom. Citation 8 & 9 Will. 3. c. 26 Territorial extent England and Wales Scotland Dates Royal assent 16 April 1697 Commencement 15 May 1697[a] Repealed 1 May 1832 Other legislation Amends Coin Act 1694 Amended by Coin (No. 2) Act 1697 Assay of Plate Act 1702 Treason Act 1708 Perpetuation, etc. of Acts 1708 Repealed by Coinage Offences Act 1832 Relates to Coin Act 1572 Coin Act 1575 Coin Act 1732 Counterfeiting Coin Act 1741 Status: Repealed Text of statute as originally enacted The **Coin Act 1696** ([8 & 9 Will. 3](/source/8_%26_9_Will._3). c. 26) was an [act](/source/Act_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) of the [Parliament of England](/source/Parliament_of_England) which made it [high treason](/source/High_treason) to make or possess equipment useful for [counterfeiting](/source/Counterfeit) 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](/source/Accomplice) 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](/source/Royal_Mint) 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](/source/Gilding) 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 [Royal Mint](/source/Royal_Mint). Section 6 of the act made it a [felony](/source/Felony) 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](/source/Attainder#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](/source/Court_of_King's_Bench_(England)) or before the justices of [oyer and terminer](/source/Oyer_and_terminer), the [assizes](/source/Assizes), or the [Court of General Gaol Delivery](/source/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](/source/Assay_of_Plate_Act_1702) ([1 Ann.](/source/1_Ann.) c. 3) and by the [Perpetuation, etc. of Acts 1708](/source/Perpetuation%2C_etc._of_Acts_1708) ([7 Ann.](/source/7_Ann.) 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](/source/Coin_(No._2)_Act_1697) ([9 Will. 3](/source/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](/source/Assay_of_Plate_Act_1702) ([1 Ann.](/source/1_Ann.) c. 3). The act was extended to cover [Scotland](/source/Scotland) by the [Treason Act 1708](/source/Treason_Act_1708) ([7 Ann.](/source/7_Ann.) c. 21) and made perpetual by [Perpetuation, etc. of Acts 1708](/source/Perpetuation%2C_etc._of_Acts_1708) ([7 Ann.](/source/7_Ann.) c. 25). The whole act was repealed by section 1 of the [Coinage Offences Act 1832](/source/Coinage_Offences_Act_1832) ([2 & 3 Will. 4](/source/2_%26_3_Will._4). c. 34). ## See also - [High treason in the United Kingdom](/source/High_treason_in_the_United_Kingdom) - [Coin Acts 1572 and 1575](/source/Treason_Act_1415) - [Coin Act 1732](/source/Coin_Act_1732) - [Counterfeiting Coin Act 1741](/source/Counterfeiting_Coin_Act_1741) - [Treason Act](/source/Treason_Act) - [Great Recoinage of 1696](/source/Great_Recoinage_of_1696) ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Section 1. ## External links - [Text of the act](http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=46874) v t e Legislation of the Parliament of England Acts by year 1225–1267 1275–1307 1308–1325 Statutes of uncertain date 1327–1376 1377–1397 1399–1411 1413–1421 1422–1460 1461 1463 1464 1467 1468 1472 1474 1477 1482 1483 1485 1487 1488 1491 1495 1496 1503 1509 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1523 1529 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1539 1540 1541 1542 1543 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1551 1553 1554 1555 1557 1558 1562 1566 1571 1572 1575 1580 1584 1586 1588 1592 1597 1601 1603 1605 1606 1609 1620 1623 1625 1627 1640 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660 1661 1662 1663 1664 1665 1666 1667 1670 1672 1675 1677 1678 1679 1680 1685 1688 1689 1690 1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Coin Act 1696](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_Act_1696) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin_Act_1696?action=history)). 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