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32 1927

CURRENCY ACT, 1927

PART V.

Legal Tender Notes.

Provision of legal tender notes.

45. —(1) It shall be lawful for the Commission to provide and issue in accordance with this Act notes to be known and in this Act referred to as legal tender notes for the following denominations namely ten shillings, one pound, five pounds, ten pounds, twenty pounds, fifty pounds, and one hundred pounds, and such legal tender notes shall be current in Saorstát Eireann in the same manner and to the same extent and as fully as gold coins to be issued under Part II of this Act will when so issued be current and shall be legal tender in Saorstát Eireann for the payment of any amount.

(2) Every legal tender note shall be of such form, size and design and printed in such manner and on such paper and numbered and authenticated in such manner as the Commission shall, with the sanction of the Minister for Finance, prescribe.

Application of certain enactments.

46. —Legal tender notes issued under this Act shall be deemed to be bank notes within the meaning of the Forgery Act, 1913, and any other enactment relating to offences in respect of bank notes which is for the time being in force in Saorstát Eireann and to be valuable securities within the meaning of the Larceny Act, 1861, the Larceny Act, 1916, and any other law relating to stealing which is for the time being in force in Saorstát Eireann and to be current coin of Saorstát Eireann for the purpose of the Acts relating to truck and any other like enactment.

Issue of legal tender notes.

47. —(1) When and so soon as the Commission is in a position to issue legal tender notes the Commission shall by notice in writing sent to every Shareholding Bank and published in the Iris Oifigiúil appoint a day (in this section referred to as the appointed day) not less than fourteen days after the sending and publication of such notice on which it will commence the issue of legal tender notes in accordance with this Act.

(2) If and whenever any person on or after the appointed day applies to the Commission at the place in Dublin appointed for the purpose by the Commission for legal tender notes and delivers to the Commission at such place and in accordance with the regulations in that behalf made by the Commission not less at any one time than one hundred ounces of gold bullion as defined by this Act or gold coins (in this section called Saorstát gold coins) which are for the time being legal tender under this Act in Saorstát Eireann for unlimited amounts or money (in this section called British money) in any form which is for the time being legal tender in Great Britain for unlimited amounts, the Commission shall issue to such person legal tender notes of an amount equal (as the case may be) to the value under this section of the gold bullion or to the nominal amount of the Saorstát gold coins or to the nominal amount of the British money so delivered by such person to the Commission.

(3) Until section 5 (which relates to coining from gold bullion on request) of this Act has come into operation it shall be lawful for the Commission if it thinks fit so to do to refuse to accept delivery of any gold bullion tendered to it under this section.

(4) The Commission may, whenever on or after the appointed day it thinks fit so to do, issue in Dublin to the general fund or the note reserve fund legal tender notes in exchange for any equal nominal amount of Saorstát gold coins or of British money.

(5) The Commission may, whenever on or after the appointed day it thinks fit so to do, issue in Dublin to any Shareholding Bank or to the general fund or the note reserve fund legal tender notes against—

(a) a bank draft payable at sight in London, approved by the Commission, and of a nominal amount equal to the amount of the legal tender notes so issued, or

(b) the transfer to the Commission for the account of the legal tender note fund of such amount of British Government securities approved by the Commission as in the opinion of the Commission is equal in value at the current market prices to the amount of legal tender notes so issued.

(6) The Commission may, whenever on or after the appointed day it thinks fit so to do, issue at the London Agency to any person or to the general fund or the note reserve fund legal tender notes in exchange for an equal nominal amount of British money.

(7) The Commission may at any time after the appointed day issue to any person in accordance with regulations made by it legal tender notes in exchange for an equal amount of legal tender notes previously issued under this Act.

(8) Gold bullion delivered to the Commission under this section which is of the standard fineness shall be valued for the purposes of this section at the rate of 123.27447 grains of such bullion to the Saorstát pound, and gold bullion so delivered which is of a fineness superior or inferior to the standard fineness shall be so valued at such higher or lower (as the case may be) rate as is proportionate to such superiority or inferiority of fineness.

(9) The Commission may refuse to accept delivery for the purpose of this section of any gold bullion tendered to it for such delivery which is of such fineness that in the opinion of the Commission or of the Minister it cannot be brought to the standard fineness without refining some portion of it and if the Commission so accepts any such bullion it may impose such charge as it thinks proper to meet the expense of refining such bullion.

(10) Whenever after the coming into operation of section 5 (which relates to the coining of gold bullion on request) of this Act the Commission issues under this section legal tender notes otherwise than in exchange for Saorstát gold coins or legal tender notes previously issued, the Commission may require the person to whom or fund to which such legal tender notes are so issued to pay therefor to the Commission such charge corresponding to the charge for coining for the time being made by the Minister under the said section 5 f as the Commission shall think proper.

(11) Every amount of legal tender notes issued by the Commission under this section shall be so issued in such denominations authorised by this Act as shall be specified by the person to whom such notes are so issued.

Calling in of legal tender notes.

48. —The Commission may, subject to such conditions as to time, place, manner, and order of presentation as it thinks fit, call in any legal tender notes issued under this Act on the terms of paying for such notes on presentation at their face value in gold coins which are for the time being legal tender under this Act in Saorstát Eireann for unlimited amounts or in money in any form which is for the time being legal tender in Great Britain for unlimited amounts or in legal tender notes issued under this Act or, if the person presenting such notes so agrees, by a draft on London.

Redemption of legal tender notes.

49. —(1) Every legal tender note shall be payable by the Commission on presentation at the London Agency and shall be so payable in money in any form which is for the time being legal tender in Great Britain for unlimited amounts.

(2) The Commission may, if and whenever and to such extent as it thinks fit, redeem in Dublin in gold coins which are for the time being legal tender under this Act in Saorstát Eireann for unlimited amounts or in money in any form which is for the time being legal tender in Great Britain for unlimited amounts or, if the person presenting the notes so agrees, by a draft on London, any legal tender notes presented to it for such redemption at the place in Dublin appointed in that behalf by the Commission.

(3) The Commission may refuse to redeem any legal tender note which is so worn or damaged that it is in the opinion of the Commission not identifiable as a particular legal tender note or that the portion of such note forthcoming is not sufficient in the opinion of the Commission to exclude the possibility of the residue of such note being redeemed on another occasion.

(4) The Commission may make by regulation or otherwise such arrangements as it thinks proper for the cancellation and destruction by it or on its behalf of such redeemed legal tender notes as it does not think proper to preserve for re-issue.

Provision of money to redeem legal tender notes.

50. —(1) All moneys required for the redemption of legal tender notes by the Commission (whether at the London Agency or in Dublin) in pursuance of this Act shall be provided by the Commission out of the legal tender note fund, and, if that fund proves insufficient, out of the note reserve fund and, if such last-mentioned fund proves insufficient, out of moneys advanced under this section to the Commission out of the Central Fund.

(2) Whenever the legal tender note fund and the note reserve fund have proved or are expected by the Commission to prove in the then near future insufficient to provide the moneys necessary for the redemption of legal tender notes by the Commission in pursuance of this Act, the Commission shall certify to the Minister the existence or expectation (as the case may be) of such insufficiency and the sum which is required by the Commission for the redemption in accordance with this Act of all such legal tender notes as in the opinion of the Commission will probably be presented for such the redemption in the then near future, and upon receipt of such certificate the Minister shall forthwith advance to the Commission out of the Central Fund or the growing produce thereof the sum so certified by the Commission.

(3) All sums advanced to the Commission out of the Central Fund under this section shall be repaid without interest to the Exchequer by the Commission out of the first moneys to the credit of the note reserve fund.

(4) For the purposes of this section any payment under this Act (otherwise than in legal tender notes) on presentation of legal tender notes which have been called in shall be deemed to be a redemption of such legal tender notes.