Coinage Act,1906
Act No : 3
Section : POWER TO CERTAIN PERSONS TO CUT DIMINISHED OR DEFACED SILVER COINS
SECTION 16: POWER TO CERTAIN PERSONS TO CUT DIMINISHED OR DEFACED SILVER COINS
Where any silver coin which has been coined and issued under the authority of the26[Central Government] is tendered to any person authorised by the26[Central Government]27[* * *] to act under this section, and such person has reason to believe that the coin-
(a) has been diminished in weight so as to be more than such percentage below standard weight as may be prescribed as the limit of reasonable wear, or
(b) has been defaced, he shall, by himself or another, cut or break the coin. Sections 16-to20-deal with diminished, defaced and counterfeit coins. Of these,sections 16-to19-deal with diminished or defaced coin, while section 20-is limited to counterfeit coin. As regards diminished or defaced silver coin, section 16-confers powers on certain persons, to be authorised in this behalf by the Central Government, to cut or breach such coin. Section 17-prescribes the procedure to be followed in regard to. coins cut or broken on the ground of their being of diminished weight. If diminished in weight beyond the limit of reasoanble wear, as may be prescribed, but not beyond a further limit to be prescribed in this connection, they will be accepted at something less than face value according to graduated scale, If diminished beyond this last percentage, the pieces will be returned to the tenderer and will be worth to him only their value as silver bullion. Section 18-prescribes the procedure to be followed in regard to coins cut or broken on the ground that they have been defaced. In cases where the cutting officer has reason to believe that the defacement was fraudulent he will return the pieces to the tendered who will bear the loss; and where the defacement is not fraudulent the coin, though it will be cut or broken, shall be received at full face value. An explanation has been added to this clause to show that defacement caused by sweating constitutes fraudulent defacement. Section 19-provides for the case where a coin is laible to be cut or broken both as being diminished in weight and as being defaced. In such cases the section provides that the person cutting or breaking the coin shall deal with it, if he has reason to believe that the coin has been fraudulently defaced, under the provisions of section 18, clause (a), relating to such coin, and otherwise under the provisions of section 17-as a coin which has been diminished in weight. As regards counterfeit coin, section 20-provides for such coin being wholly rejected by the person cutting or breaking them. Power is, however, also taken to require the tenderer to sell, in the case of silver coin, the pieces at bullion value to Government in cases where the officer considers this course to be for any reason desirable--See Select Committee Report.
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