Oldest Legal Tender In The World? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 3,403
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 08/14/2015 11:45 am Something that I have been thinking about for a while, as the subject had come up in several topics in the past few months... What is the oldest (still) legal tender in the world? By which I mean, what is the oldest coin or banknote that a legal scholar would agree may still be redeemed at face value. This does not mean that the coins still circulate, but rather that they could technically do so within the confines of the law. The oldest coin I can think of that fits this description would be the 1793 US issues, or possibly the 1792 issues at a stretch. I don't think that Franklin's 1787 Fugio cents would qualify, but am not 100% certain if they would be covered under the 1965 coinage act. Beyond the scope of US issues, the only other contender I can think of is the Maundy Money of the UK, although I am fuzzy on the details of their legality as currency. I know that most of the rest of the world has either had a major regime change, had to demonetize it's currency due to inflation or pressure for a modern currency, or has adopted the Euro as its official coinage. Am I missing anything? Report this Post to the Staff

Bacchus2 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2874 Posts	Posted 08/14/2015 11:49 am Yes - Maundy money is legal tender which I believe go back in their present form to about 1670 My Papal States coin collection: https://diadumenian.com/Papal%20Sta...0States.html Medieval coins collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Europe.html Indian Rupee Collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Rupees.html Minor world Silver: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...20coins.html Report this Post to the Staff
fioti Pillar of the Community United States 4212 Posts	Posted 08/14/2015 11:53 am First thought was the rappen, but Maundy makes sense. Report this Post to the Staff
Bacchus2 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2874 Posts	Posted 08/14/2015 11:55 am Guineas are also still legal tender - back to 1816 I think Edit - No apparently it's only the Sovereign back to 1838 that's legal tender - though the crown of 1818 is - for 25p :) My Papal States coin collection: https://diadumenian.com/Papal%20Sta...0States.html Medieval coins collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Europe.html Indian Rupee Collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Rupees.html Minor world Silver: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...20coins.html Edited by Bacchus2 08/14/2015 12:03 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 08/14/2015 12:02 pm Aren't there limitations on the Maundy coins? I read somewhere that the issues prior to either Victoria or William IV are no longer legal tender as the later ones are. Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 08/16/2015 9:38 pm I wonder if pelts that were used by our first people here in the US would still be usable. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16826 Posts	Posted 08/16/2015 11:30 pm The British pound is still exactly the same currency that it was prior to decimalization, so very old Bank of England notes are still just as valid now as when they were first written back in 1725. They're quite proud of their reputation for never reneging on their "promise to pay the bearer". As for coins, the situation with certain predecimal small silver coins is ambiguous. The legislation that revalued Maundy Money to be in new pence, rather than old pence, was retrospective, so all surviving Maundy coins have in theory had their nominal face values increased by 240%. This also theoretically applies to non-Maundy threepence coins with he same design and composition as Maundy threepences. Of course, the silver value alone is far above this nominal face value, so it rarely becomes an issue as very few people will be taking their "predecimal" Maundy coins down to the shops or the bank for face value. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
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