Treason Act 1415 Explained

Short Title:Treason Act 1415
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of England
Long Title:It shall be treason to clip, wash, or file money.
Year:1415
Citation:4 Hen. 5. Stat. 1. c. 6
Commencement:16 March 1416
Repealing Legislation:Treason Act 1553
Status:repealed
Short Title:Forgery Act 1415
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of England
Year:1415
Citation:4 Hen. 5. Stat. 1. c. 7(Ruffhead: 4 Hen. 5. c. 7)
Royal Assent:18 November 1416
Commencement:19 October 1416
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Coin Act 1572
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of England
Long Title:An Act against the forging and counterfeiting of Foreign Coin, being not current within this Realm.
Year:1572
Citation:14 Eliz. 1. c. 3
Royal Assent:30 June 1572
Status:Repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Coin Act 1575
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of England
Long Title:An Act against diminishing and impairing of the Queen's Majesty's Coins, and other Coins lawfully current within the Realm.
Year:1575
Citation:18 Eliz. 1. c. 1
Royal Assent:15 March 1576
Status:Repealed
Collapsed:yes

The Treason Act 1415 (4 Hen. 5. Stat. 1. c. 6) was an Act of the Parliament of England which made clipping coins high treason, punishable by death. (It was already treason to counterfeit coins.[1]) The Act was repealed by the Treason Act 1553, and then revived again in 1562.[2] The Act originally only protected English coins, but was later extended in 1575 to cover foreign coins "current" within England.[3] By this time the Coin Act 1572 (14 Eliz. 1. c. 3) had already made it misprision of treason to clip foreign coins not current within the Realm.

Another Act in 1415, 4 Hen. 5. Stat. 1. c. 7, extended the jurisdiction to try this category of treason to all justices in the realm, instead of just the select few known as the King's justices.

The Coin Act 1575 (18 Eliz. 1. c. 1) also abolished (for coin clipping only) the penalties of corruption of blood and forfeiture of goods and lands.

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Treason Act 1351]
  2. [5 Eliz. 1]
  3. Coin Act 1575 (18 Eliz. 1. c. 1)