<p>HM TREASURY
GUIDELINES ON COINAGE AND BANKNOTES ISSUES
These guidelines are intended to assist members of the public who are
considering making coins, tokens for money or other items purporting that the
holder of them is entitled to demand the value denoted on them. They are
also intended to assist persons who are considering making reproductions of
coins and banknotes. They are intended to cover those areas in respect of
which the Treasury most frequently receives enquiries. They are not intended
to provide a comprehensive guide to all provisions of the relevant legislation.
These guidelines represent HM Treasurys interpretation of the relevant
legislation and are not intended to constitute legal advice. Persons wishing to
do anything covered by these guidelines or anything falling outside the scope
of them should seek their own independent legal advice before proceeding
with the project.
The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 and the Coinage Act 1971 should be
read alongside these guidelines.
The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981
Counterfeiting of coins and banknotes
The Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 makes provision for various
offences connected with the counterfeiting of coins and banknotes and the
possession of instruments that might be used for counterfeiting such items.
This Act provides, amongst other things, that it is an offence to (i) make a
counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin with the intention of
passing or tendering it as genuine or (ii) to make a counterfeit of a currency
note or of a protected coin without lawful authority or excuse.
It is also an offence for a person (i) to pass or tender as genuine a thing
knowing or believing it to be a counterfeit of a currency note or protected coin,
or (ii) to deliver to another person any thing knowing or believing that thing to
be a counterfeit of a currency note or protected coin with the intention that the
other person shall pass or tender it as genuine.
It is also an offence for a person to deli