Here's Answers.com's definition for US legal tender: "Legal Tender is anything that, by law, a debtor may require his creditor to receive in payment of a debt in the absence of the appearance in the contract itself of an agreement for payment in some other manner. These tenders can consist of Request for Information (RFI), Request for Quotation (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), Expression of Interest (EOI) or Request for Tender (RFT) listings. You could make a contract denominated in euros. Your understanding of “legal tender” is flawed. A tender may be of money or of specific articles; these will be separately considered. ), https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/04/18/what-is-a-legal-tender-law-and-is-it-a-problem/#6ac67ec625da. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered in payment of a debt extinguishes the debt. It is doubtless true that the U.S. government suppresses and blocks use of alternative currencies – especially those based on gold – through various means. Each week, Alex and Jenn discuss a new topic and cover the impact that it can have on the lives and businesses of every day people! Claim: All businesses in the U.S. are required to accept coins and\/or currency as payment. The present legal tender law in the U.S. is Section 5103 of title 31, United States Code, which reads: United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes … You could make a contract denominated in Bitcoin, if you want to. Coming in denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50, the Liberty Dollars also featured a dollar sign, the word ‘dollar’ and the motto ‘Trust in God,’ similar to the ‘In God We Trust’ that appears on U.S. Legal tender. Just as obviously, there is no actual legal prohibition on such, or there would be no need to resort to laughable “counterfeiting” arguments. Assertion Of Authorized Information. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. offered) in money which is classified as “legal tender”. This could be through regulatory burdens, taxes, and many other forms of harassment. It must be made by a person capable of paying: for if it be made … Free legal help for Washingtonians who cannot afford a lawyer. Prosecutors actually argued in court that the 90% silver Liberty dollar coins were a counterfeit of the common twenty-five cent piece. Some jurisdictions allow contract law to overrule the status of legal tender, allowing § 486 and 18 U.S.C. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings. You could make a contract denominated in euros. In 2009, von NotHaus was arrested and charged with: one count of conspiracy to possess and sell coins in resemblance and similitude of coins of a denomination higher than five cents, and silver coins in resemblance of genuine coins of the United States in denominations of five dollars and greater, in violation of 18 U.S.C. The tender is an admission of the debt and, in some jurisdictions, if refused, discharges the debt. " This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Legal tender is anything recognized by law as a means to settle a public or private debt or meet a financial obligation, including tax payments, contracts, and legal fines or damages. § 2; and one count of uttering, passing, and attempting to utter and pass, silver coins in resemblance of genuine U.S. coins in denominations of five dollars or greater, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. Before the 1965 act, the Coinage Act of 1873 was still in place. § 486 and 18 U.S.C. _____ The 21st day of March, 1957. Circular No (4) of 2017 issued on 5/4/2017 Read more. (1) of 2017 on the Public Tender Law No. What is legal tender? European Stock Markets Close Lower on Account of US Earnings Season, US-China Trade Tensions Posted Friday, July 19, 2019 by Arslan Butt 1 min read Follow the top monetary occasions on FX Leaders financial schedule Exchange better, find more Forex Trading Strategies Arslan Butt Index and Commodity Analyst Arslan Butt is our Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst. I talked to a legal expert about it, and discovered – as I suspected – that it doesn’t mean quite the same thing as many people think it does. OLG gives basic immigration providers in the areas of household and employment and investor immigiration. Contrary to popular imagination, this does not ban people from using other forms of currency. Listen in to hear your rights and remedies to any situation you may encounter on a daily basis. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English... Legal tender - definition of legal tender by The Free Dictionary. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. In 2009, von NotHaus was arrested and charged with: one count of conspiracy to possess and sell coins in resemblance and similitude of coins of a denomination higher than five cents, and silver coins in resemblance of genuine coins of the United States in denominations of five dollars and greater, in violation of 18 U.S.C. They have to do it this way, because it is not actually illegal to transact business in whatever form of “money” the parties to the transaction agree upon. (You might also conclude that Bitcoin is not considered a great enough challenge to bother with.). Here is my (non-expert) explanation. One effect of the legal tender law is that it allows debts and obligations to be discharged in a cheaper form of “dollars” than coins made of gold and silver. § 2; and one count of uttering, passing, and attempting to utter and pass, silver coins in resemblance of genuine U.S. coins in denominations of five dollars or greater, in violation of 18 U.S.C. En savoir plus. Prerequisites For Making a Valid Tender. Section 5103 provides that "United States coins and currency . Search Public Tenders Law. § 485 and 18 U.S.C. You could make a contract denominated in Bitcoin, if you want to. The Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. Picano v Borough of Emerson explains this very succinctly: Finally, there is no basis for concluding that defendants violated 31 U.S.C. In 1965 the Coinage Act was passed and defined the United States legal tender as U.S. coins and currency. He is also the winner of the 2018 Knowledge Administration Management Award presented by the Worldwide HRD Congress. In a retail sale and under any other contract (unless the contract provides otherwise), the seller must accept payment if it is "tendered" (i.e. Thus, it in effect enables floating fiat Federal Reserve notes and deposits to be used in payment of “dollar” debts. legal tender synonyms, legal tender pronunciation, legal tender translation, English dictionary definition of legal tender. If a “dollar” was exclusively defined as a gold coin of a specific weight, then floating fiat Federal Reserve notes would be useless, just bits of colored paper. legal tender définition, signification, ce qu'est legal tender: 1. the money that can be officially used in a country 2. the money that can be officially used in a…. This currency included Federal reserve notes that were circulating from national and Federal reserve banks. The Associated Press reported: "Federal prosecutors successfully argued that von NotHaus was, in fact, trying to pass off the silver coins as U.S. currency. They have to do it this way, because it is not actually illegal to transact business in whatever form of “money” the parties to the transaction agree upon. One effect of the legal tender law is that it allows debts and obligations to be discharged in a cheaper form of “dollars” than coins made of gold and silver. § 1341 and 18 U.S.C. The Associated Press reported: “Federal prosecutors successfully argued that von NotHaus was, in fact, trying to pass off the silver coins as U.S. currency. § 371; one count of mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. … There is plenty of case law to show that governments can place reasonable restrictions on payment by legal tender up to and including excluding it entirely. It means that a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender. Beginning in 1998, a private businessman, Bernard von NotHaus, began to issue a warehouse receipt currency called “Liberty dollars” based on gold and silver. 1. It simply defines what a “dollar” is, in a contract or obligation that is denominated in dollars. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. This could be through regulatory burdens, taxes, and many other forms of harassment. Home; Authorized Knowledge Centre University Of Copenhagen ; Authorized Knowledge Centre University Of Copenhagen . Legal Tender. (This item originally appeared at Forbes.com on April 18, 2017. _____ (Registered on the 13th day of July, 1957).STATES OF JERSEY. If a “dollar” was exclusively defined as a gold coin of a specific weight, then floating fiat Federal Reserve notes would be useless, just bits of colored paper. A tender is an offer to do or perform an act which the party offering, is bound to perform to the party to whom the offer is made. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts. The issuance of United States Notes is subject to limitations established … It is doubtless true that the U.S. government suppresses and blocks use of alternative currencies – especially those based on gold – through various means. In that way, these forms of private money can be considered as economic assets. ), © all contents copyright Nathan Lewis 2005-TEXT. Obviously, we have a de facto prohibition on any gold- or silver-based currency that poses a significant challenge to the dominance of the floating fiat Federal Reserve “dollar.” The government seems to be terrified even of rinky-dink operations like the Liberty dollar. Visit the post for more. Circular No (2) of the year 2017 issued on 28/3/2017 on administrative correspondence Read more. Over the years, there has been some discussion about “legal tender laws” in the United States. The present legal tender law in the U.S. is Section 5103 of title 31, United States Code, which reads: United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. 2. A jury actually found him guilty of the charges, which suggests the degree of influence brought to bear upon the legal system to get the outcome that the prosecutors desired. § 2. The seizure warrant was for money laundering, mail fraud, wire fraud, counterfeiting, and conspiracy. The Coinage Act made it official that such currency must be accepted as payments for taxes, dues, public charges, and debts. I write about monetary and tax policy for the 21st century. 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