Chapter LXXXI. to authorize the Coinage of Five-cent Pieces
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CHAP. LXXXI.— An Act to authorize the Coinage of Five-cent Pieces.May 16, 1866. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the UnitedFive-cent pieces to be coined of copper and nickel. States of America in Congress assembled,* That, so soon as practicable after the passage of this act, there shall be coined at the mint of the United States a five-cent piece composed of copper and nickel, in such proportions, not exceeding twenty-five per centum of nickel, as shall be determined by the director of the mint, the standard weight of which shallWeight shape, devices, &c. be seventy-seven and sixteen hundredths grains, with no greater deviation than two grains to each piece; and the shape, mottoes and devices of said coin shall be determined by the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury; and the laws now in force relatingLaws relating to coinage of cents, &c., to apply to this coinage. to the coinage of cents, and providing for the purchase of material, and prescribing the appropriate duties of the officers of the mint and the Secretary of the Treasury, be, and the same are hereby, extended to the coinage herein provided for.
Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That all laws now in force relatingLaws relating to coins extended to this act so far as applicable. to the coins of the United States, and the striking and coining of the same, shall, so far as applicable, be extended to the coinage herein authorized, whether said laws are penal or otherwise, for the security of the coin, regulating and guarding the process of striking and coining, for preventing debasement or counterfeiting, or for any other purpose.
And the director of the mint shall prescribe suitable regulations to insure a due conformityRegulations as to alloy. to the required weights and proportions of alloy in the said coin, and shall order trials thereof to be made from time to time by the assayer of the mint, whereof a report shall be made in writing to the director. Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* That said coin shall be a legal tenderTo be legal tender to amount of a dollar.To be paid in exchange for currency. in any payment to the amount of one dollar.
And it shall be lawful to pay out such coins in exchange for the lawful currency in the United States, (except cents, or half cents, or two-cent pieces, issued under former acts of Congress,) in suitable sums, by the treasurer of the mint, and by such other depositaries as the Secretary of the Treasury may designate, and under general regulations approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. And under the like regulations the same may be exchanged in suitable sums for any lawful currency of the United States, and the expenses incident to such exchange, distribution, and transmission may be paid out of the profits of said coinage; and the net profits of said coinage, as ascertained in the manner prescribed in the second section of the act entitled “An act relating to foreign coins and the coinage of cents at the1857, ch. 56, § 2.Vol. xi. p. 163. mint of the United States,” approved February twenty-first, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, shall be transferred to the treasury of the United States: *Provided,* That from and after the passage of this act no issues ofNo fractional currency of less than ten cents to be issued, and old issues to be cancelled. fractional notes of the United States shall be of a less denomination than ten cents; and all such issues at that time outstanding shall, when paid into the treasury or any designated depository of the United States, or redeemed or exchanged as now provided by law, be retained and cancelled.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* That, if any person or persons notUnauthorized making &c., of such coins punished. lawfully authorized shall knowingly make, issue, or pass, or cause to be made, issued, or passed, or aid in the making, issuing, or passing of any48THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 81, 82, 83, 84, 85. 1866. coin, card, token, or device whatsoever, in metal or its compound, intended to pass or be passed as money for the coin authorized by this act, or for coin of equal value, such person or persons shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, and by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, at the discretion of the court.
Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted,* That it shall be lawful for the treasurerMay be redeemed in sums of not less than one hundred dollars. and the several assistant treasurers of the United States to redeem in national currency, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the coin herein authorized to be issued, when presented in sums of not less than one hundred dollars. Approved, May 16, 1866.