Part IIssuance of Bank Notes

1 Note Issuance Monopoly

(1)The Bank of England shall have the exclusive right of issuing bank notes within England and Wales.

(2)Notes issued under this Act shall be of denominations of ten shillings (10s.), one pound (£1), and five pounds (£5), and such larger denominations as the Treasury may authorise.

(3)Bank notes of all authorised denominations shall be legal tender throughout England and Wales for the payment of any amount.

2 Fiduciary Note Issue

The amount of the fiduciary note issue shall be fixed by Treasury minute and backed by approved government securities held in the Issue Department of the Bank of England.

Part IIProtection of Notes

3 Defacing Bank Notes

Any person who defaces any bank note by printing, writing, or stamping any words, letters, or figures upon it shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5.

4 Counterfeiting and Uttering

(1)Any person who unlawfully creates, counterfeits, or alters any bank note shall be guilty of a felony.

(2)A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

Part IIIGeneral

5 Citation

This Act may be cited as the Bank Notes and Fiduciary Issue Act.