{"id":"C1909A00006","name":"Coinage Act 1909","slug":"coinage-act-1909","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"6 of 1909","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":18523,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1909A00006-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Coinage Act 1909","content":"COINAGE.\n\nNo. 6 of 1909.\n\nAn Act relating to Currency, Coinage, and Legal Tender.\n\n\\[Assented to 4th September, 1909.\\]\n\nBE it enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title.\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the Coinage Act 1909.\n\nDefinitions.\n\n2. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\n\n“British coins” means coins which have been issued in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom, and which have not been called in in pursuance of those laws:\n\n“Australian coins” means coins which have been issued in accordance with this Act, and which have not been called in in pursuance of this Act.\n\nStandard weight and fineness of coins.\n\n3. The standard weight and standard fineness of the gold, silver and bronze coins of the denominations mentioned in the Schedule are as specified in the Schedule.\n\nTreasurer may issue silver and bronze coins.\n\nCf. 33-4 Vic. c. 10 s. 3.\n\n4.—(1.) The Treasurer may cause to be made and issued silver and bronze coins of the denominations specified in the Schedule.\n\n(2.) All silver and bronze coins to be so made and issued shall be of the weight and fineness specified in the Schedule.\n\n(3.) In the making of silver and bronze coins, a remedy (or variation from the standard weight and fineness specified in the Schedule) shall be allowed of an amount not exceeding the amount specified in the Schedule.\n\n(4.) The Treasurer may cause to be made and issued nickel coins of the denominations, weight, and fineness specified in any proclamation under this Act.\n\nLegal tender\n\nCf. ib. s. 4.\n\n5.—(1.) A tender of payment of money, if made in coins which are British coins or Australian coins of current weight, shall be a legal tender—\n\n(a) in the case of gold coins, for the payment of any amount:\n\n(b) in the case of silver coins, for the payment of an amount not exceeding Forty shillings, but for no greater amount: and\n\n(c) in the case of bronze coins, for the payment of an amount not exceeding One shilling, but for no greater amount.\n\n(2.) A coin shall be deemed to be not of current weight if it has become diminished in weight by wear or otherwise—\n\n(a) in case it is a British coin, so as to be of less weight than the weight specified as the least current weight in the law of the United Kingdom applicable to the coin, and\n\n \n\n(b) in case it is an Australian coin, so as to be of less weight than the weight specified as the least current weight in any proclamation under this Act.\n\nProhibition of other than official coins.\n\nCf. 33–4 Vic. c. 10 s. 5.\n\n6. No piece of gold, silver, copper, or bronze, or of any metal or mixed metal, of any value whatever (other than a British or Australian coin), shall be made or issued as a coin or as a token for money, or as purporting that the holder thereof is entitled to demand any value denoted thereon.\n\nPenalty: Twenty pounds.\n\nContracts &c. to be made in currency.\n\nCf. ib. s. 6.\n\n7. Every contract, sale, payment, bill, note, instrument, and security for money, and every transaction, dealing, matter, and thing whatever relating to money, or involving the payment of or the liability to pay any money, which is made, executed, or entered into, done or had, shall be made, executed, entered into, done and had according to the coins which are current and are a legal tender in pursuance of this Act, and not otherwise, unless the same be made, executed, entered into, done or had according to the currency of some British possession or some foreign State.\n\nPowers of Governor-General.\n\nCf. ib. s. 11.\n\n8.—(1.) The Governor-General may by proclamation do all or any of the following things, namely:—\n\n(a) Determine the dimensions of and design for any Australian coin;\n\n(b) Determine the denominations, weight, and fineness of any Australian nickel coin, and the amount of remedy allowance to be allowed in the making thereof;\n\n(c) Diminish the amount of remedy allowed by the Schedule in the case of any Australian coin;\n\n(d) Determine the least current weight of any Australian coin;\n\n(e) Call in Australian coins of any date or denomination or any Australian coins coined before any date specified in the proclamation;\n\n(f) Direct that any coins, other than silver or bronze, shall be current and be a legal tender for the payment of any amount not exceeding the amount specified in the proclamation and not exceeding Five shillings; and\n\n(g) Revoke or alter any proclamation previously made.\n\n(2.) Every proclamation under this section shall come into operation on a date therein specified and shall have effect as if it were enacted in this Act.\n\nUtilizing of Trust Fund in purchase of bullion.\n\n9. Moneys standing to the credit of the Trust Fund may be invested by the Treasurer in the purchase of bullion for coinage.\n\nCoin to be deemed bullion until issued\n\n10. For the purposes of the Treasury Accounts, coin made in pursuance of this Act shall be considered as bullion until issued for circulation.\n\nRegulations.\n\n11. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters and things which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to this Act.\n\nSCHEDULE.\n\n```html\n

Denomination of Coin.

Standard Weight.

Least Current Weight.

Standard Fineness.

Remedy Allowance.

Imperial Weight. Grains.

Metric Weight. Grams.

Imperial Weight. Grains.

Metric Weight. Grams.

Weight per Piece.

Millesimal Fineness.

Imperial Grains.

Metric Grams.

Gold—

Five pound....

616·37239

39·94028

612·50000

\"\"39·68935

Eleven-twelfths fine gold, one-twelfth alloy; or millesimal fineness 916·6

\"\"1·00

0·06479

\"\"

Two pound....

246·54895

15·97611

245·00000

15·87574

0·40

0·02592

2

Sovereign.....

123·27447

7·98805

122·50000

7·93787

0·20

0·01296

Half-sovereign..

61·63723

3·99402

61·12500

3·96083

0·15

0·00972

Silver—

Florin.......

174·54545

11·31036

…

\"\"…

Thirty-seven – fortieths fine silver, three-fortieths alloy; or millesimal fineness 925

\"\"0·997

0·0646

\"\"

Shilling......

87·27272

5·65518

…

…

0·578

0·0375

4

Sixpence.....

43·63636

2·82759

…

…

0·346

0·0224

Threepence....

21·81818

1·41379

…

…

0·212

0·0138

Bronze—

Penny.......

145·83333

9·44984

…

\"\"…

Mixed metal, copper, tin, and zinc

\"\"2·91666

0·18899

\"\"None

Halfpenny.....

87·50000

5·66990

…

…

1·75000

0·11339

\n```","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"model":"kimi-k2.5","source":"moonshot-realtime","completionTokens":1793},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This appears to be the original 1909 Act as enacted, maintaining its original limited scope of establishing coinage specifications, issuance powers, and legal tender rules without significant expansion beyond that purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Technical metrological specifications in Schedule requiring precise weights in both Imperial (grains) and metric (grams) systems","Four distinct metal categories (gold, silver, bronze, nickel) each with different legal tender limits and manufacturing rules","Cross-references to UK legislation (33-4 Vic. c. 10, the British Coinage Act)","Multiple conditional provisions based on coin weight, wear, and whether coins have been 'called in' (withdrawn from circulation)","Defined terms require understanding of historical pre-decimal currency (shillings, pounds, pence)"],"plain_english_summary":"This 1909 Act creates the legal framework for Australian currency and physical coinage. It establishes what counts as official money in Australia and sets the technical specifications for making coins.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Authorises minting**: The Treasurer can issue silver and bronze coins; the Governor-General can approve designs, dimensions, and nickel coins via proclamation (official public announcement).\n- **Technical standards**: The Schedule specifies exact weights (in both grains and grams) and purity levels (fineness) for gold coins (such as sovereigns and half-sovereigns), silver coins (florins, shillings, sixpence, threepence), and bronze coins (pennies, halfpennies). Coins must meet these precise physical specifications, with small manufacturing tolerances (\"remedy allowances\") permitted.\n- **Legal tender limits**: It sets how much you can pay with coins before a recipient can legally refuse them:\n - **Gold coins**: Unlimited amount\n - **Silver coins**: Maximum of 40 shillings (£2)\n - **Bronze coins**: Maximum of 1 shilling\n - Coins worn below a specified minimum weight are not valid for payment.\n- **Prohibits private currency**: It is illegal (carrying a £20 penalty) for anyone except the government to manufacture coins or tokens that function as money.\n- **Currency requirement**: All contracts, payments, and financial transactions must use official Australian or British currency, unless using foreign currency.\n- **Financial backing**: Money from the Commonwealth Trust Fund can be used to purchase gold and silver bullion to manufacture coins.\n\n**Why it matters**: This Act established Australia's independent coinage system while maintaining British coins as legal tender, creating the physical and legal foundation for Australian money before decimal currency was introduced in 1966."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text of the Act itself defines its operative scope: it creates Commonwealth standards for coin weight and fineness (s 3 and Schedule), vests minting powers in the Treasurer (s 4), prescribes legal tender rules (s 5), prohibits private token coinage (s 6), requires contracts to use current legal tender (s 7), and gives the Governor‑General proclamation and regulation powers to implement and vary technical details (s 8, s 11). The Act does not, within its own text, state that it expands or contracts an earlier statute or specify an intended change of scope relative to prior law; absent other source documents, there is no internal textual indicator in this instrument that its scope has been altered from a prior instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Technical specificity in the Schedule: multiple precise weight and fineness figures for different denominations (Schedule).","Mixed allocation of powers between the Treasurer (coin issuance and bullion purchase) and the Governor‑General (proclamations altering technical standards and calling in coins) (s 4, s 8).","Dependence on proclamations and regulations for key operational details and for changing core parameters; proclamations have effect as if enacted (s 8(1)–(2), s 11).","Interaction between British coins and Australian coins, and cross‑reference to external United Kingdom law for least current weight of British coins (s 2, s 5(2)).","Legal tender rules that vary by metal (gold unlimited, silver and bronze limited) and that hinge on the notion of \"current weight\" (s 5).","Compliance and enforcement distributed across criminal penalty (s 6), private contractual obligations (s 7), and executive administrative action (s 8–11)."],"plain_english_summary":"# What this law does, who it affects, and how it works\n\n- Mechanical effect: The Act sets the legal framework for Australian coinage. It (a) fixes standards for coin weight and metal purity by reference to the Schedule (s 3 and Schedule); (b) gives the Treasurer power to make and issue silver, bronze and (by proclamation) nickel coins to those standards (s 4); (c) makes British and Australian coins of \"current weight\" legal tender within stated limits (s 5); (d) prohibits private persons from making coins or tokens (s 6); (e) requires money contracts and related instruments to be expressed in current legal tender unless they use the currency of a British possession or foreign state (s 7); and (f) gives the Governor‑General power by proclamation to set designs, denominations, weights, fineness, remedy allowances, least current weights, call in coins and similar details, with proclamations having the force of law (s 8(1)–(2)). The Act also permits the Treasurer to use moneys standing to the credit of the Trust Fund to buy bullion for coinage (s 9) and treats coin made under the Act as bullion for Treasury accounting until it is issued (s 10). The Governor‑General may make regulations to implement the Act (s 11).\n\n- Who decides: The Treasurer decides whether to have coins made and issues silver/bronze (s 4). The Governor‑General has broad executive rule‑making power by proclamation over denominations, dimensions, design, least current weight, remedy allowances, calling in coins, and related matters; proclamations operate as if they were enacted in the Act (s 8(1)–(2)). The Governor‑General may also make regulations to prescribe necessary or convenient matters (s 11).\n\n- Who pays / who bears costs: Coin production and bullion purchases are arranged by the Treasurer (s 4, s 9). The Act explicitly allows Trust Fund moneys to be invested in bullion purchases (s 9), so money from that account is available for the Government to buy metal for coinage; those uses have opportunity costs for the Trust Fund. Holders of coins may bear costs if coins are called in under proclamation (s 8(1)(e)). Private persons who make unauthorised coins or tokens face a monetary penalty (s 6).\n\n- What behaviour must change for private parties: Private creation or issue of any metal piece as coin or token is forbidden; contravention attracts a penalty of twenty pounds (s 6). Parties entering money contracts must use the coins that are current legal tender under this Act (s 7), unless they expressly use a different foreign or British possession currency (s 7). Cash payees may refuse coins that are not of \"current weight\" as defined (s 5(2)).\n\n- Legal tender mechanics and limits: British or Australian coins of \"current weight\" are legal tender: gold coins for any amount, silver coins up to 40 shillings, bronze up to 1 shilling (s 5(1)). A coin below the least current weight specified (by UK law for British coins, or by proclamation for Australian coins) is not of current weight and therefore not legal tender (s 5(2)).\n\n- Discretion and centralisation: The statute vests significant discretion in the executive. The Governor‑General can change technical features (design, denominations, weights, fineness, remedy allowances and least current weight), call in coins, and make those changes effective as law via proclamation (s 8(1)–(2)). The Treasurer has authority to commission minting and to use Trust Fund monies to buy bullion (s 4, s 9). Regulations may be made to fill implementation details (s 11).\n\n- Implementation, compliance burden, and enforcement mechanisms: Compliance for the public means using legal tender coins that meet the weight/fineness standards set in the Schedule or in proclamation (s 3, s 4, s 5). The Schedule contains precise technical specifications for denominations, weights and fineness (Schedule). Private issuers are deterred by the criminal penalty in s 6. The Act relies on proclamations and regulations for much of the operational detail (s 8, s 11), so implementation depends on executive instruments rather than further primary‑law amendments.\n\n- Concrete trade‑offs and incentive points (sourced to sections):\n - Concentrated decision power: Executive officials decide denominations, weights and call‑in dates by proclamation (s 8). That concentrates choice in a small group and means practical changes can be made without further primary legislation (s 8(2)).\n - Benefit/cost allocation: The Commonwealth (Treasurer) arranges coin production and may buy bullion using Trust Fund money (s 4, s 9). That central funding supplies coinage but uses Trust Fund resources that could otherwise be used elsewhere (s 9). Holders of coins face the risk of call‑in (s 8(1)(e)).\n - Limits on private supply and substitution effects: The Act prevents private token issuance (s 6). That channels demand for monetary media to official coinage; parties seeking alternative media for small payments must rely on non‑coin instruments or foreign/British possession currencies where appropriate (s 7).\n - Certainty vs flexibility: The Schedule gives precise technical standards (Schedule) providing certainty; at the same time the proclamation power allows the executive to alter technical parameters and call in coins (s 8), trading off parliamentary amendment for executive flexibility.\n\n- What is not in the text: The Act does not set out an explicit policy rationale or cost–benefit calculation in its own words. Any claim about motivations or wider public effects is an inference from the powers and limits the text establishes (see s 3–11 and Schedule)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/coinage-act-1909","history":"/api/acts/coinage-act-1909/history","analysis":"/api/acts/coinage-act-1909/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/coinage-act-1909/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/coinage-act-1909/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/coinage-act-1909/documents"}}