The Coinage Act 1816 (56 Geo. 3. c. 68), also known as the Coin Act 1816 or Liverpool's Act,[1] defined the value of the pound sterling relative to gold. One troy pound of standard (22-carat) gold was defined as equivalent to £46 14s 6d.,[2] i.e. 44½ guineas, the guinea having been fixed in December 1717 at £1 1s exactly. According to its preamble, the purposes of the Act were to:
- prohibit the use of silver coins (which would now be of reduced weight, 66 shillings rather than 62 shillings per troy pound), for transactions larger than 40s
- establish a single gold standard for transactions of all sizes.[3]
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to provide for a New Silver Coinage, and to regulate the Currency of the Gold and Silver Coin of this Realm. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 56 Geo. 3. c. 68 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 22 June 1816 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Coinage Act 1870 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Sargent, Thomas J. (2002). The Big Problem of Small Change. Princeton University Press. p. 303.
- ^ Lisle, George (1906). "British Currency: Gold". Accounting in Theory and Practice. William Green & Sons. p. 277.
- ^ Scott, William Amasa (1903). "XV.2: Currency Reform in England and the Act of 1816". Money and Banking. Henry Holt and Company.
External links
edit- Text as originally enacted
- The Royal Mint - official website
- The Royal Mint - official blog Archived 18 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
51°33′15″N 3°23′20″W / 51.5542°N 3.3889°W
 | This legislation in the United Kingdom, or its constituent jurisdictions, article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |