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 Replies: 28 / Views: 3,195 |
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Valued Member
United States
65 Posts |
Is there a reference that says this specifically that anyone is aware of please? I appreciate your consideration with my question. Edited by CreativeName
09/19/2023 7:44 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
All US coins minted since 1793 are still legal tender and can be spent at face value. With one very minor exception, the same is true of all US paper money printed since 1862. |
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Valued Member
 United States
65 Posts |
I appreciate the reply, thank you.
My question is if anyone knows of a reference that says this specifically that anyone is aware of please?
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
24977 Posts |
To my knowledge, no US coinage has been demonetized. It's all legal tender. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
https://www.govregs.com/uscode/titl..._section5103Quote:
§ 5103. Legal tender
United States coins [emphasis mine] and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts. The key phrase it seems is "United States coins." The reason you can't find anything that specifically says this or that coin is still legal tender is, as @Hondo Boguss says, because none of them have ever been demonetized. Thus, interpreting the plain text of the law, any coin that says United States on it is still legal tender. So you could still spend your 1792 Half Disme, but presumable not your 1652 New England threepence. Federal Reserve notes started in 1914, so currency from before that isn't legal tender. On the other hand, there is no federal law requiring a business to accept coins or currency. So whether a merchant could accept Jefferson nickels but not buffaloes would depend on state law.
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Valued Member
United States
65 Posts |
KBBPLL, thank you so much for the link.
Thanks to everyone for the efforts and replies.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
The funny thing to me is that "Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts" implies that they are legal tender for public charges, taxes, and dues. The only thing excluded from the list is debts. Not that I would pay my taxes in foreign gold...
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Moderator
Australia
16808 Posts |
Quote:
Thus, interpreting the plain text of the law, any coin that says United States on it is still legal tender. I think this should be qualified as "any coin issued under the authority of the United States government" is legal tender. Just because a bogus coin has the words "united states" on it, doesn't make it a real US coin. Which also means this stipulation can even extend to Fugio cents, as they were duly authorized by the United States in Congress Assembled, under the Articles of Confederation. Quote:
Federal Reserve notes started in 1914, so currency from before that isn't legal tender. No; as noted by Coinfrog, all US government-issued paper money issued since the original 1862 greenbacks remain legal tender. That list of legal tender banknote types is inclusive, but not exclusive. Gold and silver certificates, for example, are still legal tender, despite not being specifically named on the list. 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
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
24977 Posts |
Quote:So you could still spend your 1792 Half Disme, but presumable not your 1652 New England threepence. kbbpll, I will accept your 1652 New England threepence in payment. Or 1792 Half Dismes. Just sayin' Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
Edited by HondoB
09/20/2023 12:51 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4233 Posts |
The Articles of Confederation were not the United States of America. Discuss (ad nauseam).
I don't know what "Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks" covers in its entirety, but Federal reserve notes weren't printed until 1914 and "circulating notes" seems like a deliberate key phrase.
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Bedrock of the Community
United Kingdom
17895 Posts |
I spent a dateless Buffalo on one of my trips to the USA a couple of years ago. I was counting out the change on the shop counter and the teller must have seen the coin but she accepted it without a comment. On the other hand I've had strange looks and queries when spending half-dollars or small dollar coins!
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Moderator
United States
15392 Posts |
Is the Trade dollar still legal tender, or was it somehow demonetized when production of that series ended? |
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Moderator
Australia
16808 Posts |
Quote:Is the Trade dollar still legal tender, or was it somehow demonetized when production of that series ended? The history of the legal tender status of the Trade dollar is the most complex of any US-issued coin. 1873: First issued, and originally granted legal tender status, with a maximum limit of five Trade dollars per transaction. 1876: Legal tender status withdrawn. Coins continue to be minted, for export to China. Coins finding their way back to America in domestic trade are either outright refused or accepted with great reluctance and usually at a discount. 1885: Last Trade dollars struck. 1887: Brief six month redemption window opens and closes, for people to exchange unmutilated Trade dollars for full face value. Many coins returned from China were chopmarked, and so were unable to be redeemed. 1965: Declared legal tender again. Yes, Trade dollars are deemed to have been included in that " United States coins" clause. Not that it really mattered, because even in 1965 there was more than $1 worth of silver in a Trade dollar. 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
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Coinage act of 1965 specifically declares that all US coins when ever they were made are legal tender. That legislation restored the legal tender status of the Trade dollar, and made the Half Cent legal tender for the first time. Think of that, Half Cents were made from 1793 to 1857, but they were never legal tender until 1965. Quote:
I don't know what "Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks" covers in its entirety, There have been seven types of currency issued, Legal Tender notes (later became United States Notes),Gold certificates, Silver Certificates, Treasury (Coin) notes, National Bank Notes, Federal Reserve Bank Notes, and Federal Reserve Notes. The first four were issued by and were obligations of the United States. The last three were issued by organizations that were not technically part of the United States Government. The statement " United States coins [emphasis mine] and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." includes the first four types because they were United States Currency, but then extends the legal tender status to the last three types as well. The term "circulating" is probably there because the Federal reserve banks had some things that only passed between the banks, most famous being the $100,000 note. Since they were not "circulating" they were not legal tender. Edited by Conder101
09/20/2023 2:10 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2200 Posts |
Quote: Think of that, Half Cents were made from 1793 to 1857, but they were never legal tender until 1965. I don't get it. Half Cents obviously circulated and were used to buy stuff. How could they have not been legal tender? Were they non-legal tender? (I don't even know what that last question means!  ) Edited by jpsned
09/20/2023 4:21 pm
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Replies: 28 / Views: 3,195 |
Posted 09/19/2023 7:43 pm
