Any person may take bar gold to the extent of £20,-000 to the English mint and have it returned to him in sovereigns and half-sovereigns. The Bank of England receives bar gold at £3 17s. 9d. per ounce and pays in gold coin. The English sovereign weighs 123.274 grains, and is a legal tender so long as it does not weigh less than 122.5.

English silver and bronze coins are fiat money, that is, their intrinsic value is materially less than their face value. The difference between the token value and the real or intrinsic value is called seigniorage and this is a large source of revenue.

English gold coins are a legal tender for any amount; silver coins are a legal tender for only forty shillings or less, and bronze coins for one shilling or less. The gold is largely handled by bullion brokers.

The Bank of England notes are very ordinary looking pieces of white paper with plain black printing, somewhat larger in size than those of the United States. The paper is especially made, is very strong, and is not easily burned. No note is paid out a second time. Every check or draft is paid in new bills.

In sending bank notes by mail the Englishman generally cuts them in halves, takes a careful record of their marks and numbers, and sends one of the halves by registered mail, and the other by ordinary post.

The Scotch and Irish banks have a paper issue of their own, and there are joint-stock banks and private banks that issue bank notes. These bank notes, although they pass current, are not legal tenders.