Treason Act 1415

{{Short description|Act of the Parliament of England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}

{{more citations needed|date=February 2010}}

{{Infobox UK legislation

| 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

| territorial_extent = {{ubli|England and Wales|Ireland}}

| royal_assent =

| commencement = 16 March 1416{{efn|Start of session.}}

| repeal_date = 1 May 1832

| amendments = {{ubli|Treason Act 1553||Clipping Coin Act 1562|Coin Act 1575}}

| repealing_legislation = Coinage Offences Act 1832

| related_legislation = {{ubli|Treason Act 1351|Forgery Act 1415}}

| status = Repealed

| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&seq=217

}}

{{Infobox UK legislation

| short_title = Forgery Act 1415

| type = Act

| parliament = Parliament of England

| long_title =

| year = 1415

| citation = 4 Hen. 5. Stat. 1. c. 7{{br}}(Ruffhead: 4 Hen. 5. c. 7)

| territorial_extent = {{ubli|England and Wales|Ireland}}

| royal_assent =

| commencement = 16 March 1416{{efn|Start of session.}}

| repeal_date = 1 May 1832

| amendments =

| repealing_legislation = Coinage Offences Act 1832

| related_legislation = {{ubli|Treason Act 1351|Treason Act 1415}}

| status = Repealed

| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&seq=217

| collapsed = yes

}}

{{Infobox UK legislation

| 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

| territorial_extent = England and Wales

| royal_assent = 30 June 1572

| commencement = 8 May 1572{{efn|Start of session.}}

| repeal_date = 1 May 1832

| amendments =

| repealing_legislation = Coinage Offences Act 1832

| related_legislation = {{ubli|Treason Act 1351|Clipping Coin Act 1562|Coin Act 1575}}

| status = Repealed

| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915519&seq=679

| collapsed = yes

}}

{{Infobox UK legislation

| 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

| territorial_extent = England and Wales

| royal_assent = 15 March 1576

| commencement = 8 February 1576{{efn|Start of session.}}

| repeal_date = 1 May 1832

| amendments =

| repealing_legislation = Coinage Offences Act 1832

| related_legislation = {{ubli|Treason Act 1351|Clipping Coin Act 1562|Coin Act 1572|Coin Act 1696}}

| status = Repealed

| original_text = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915519&seq=697

| 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. (The Treason Act 1351 (25 Edw. 3 Stat. 5. c. 2) had already already it treason to counterfeit coins.)

The act was repealed by the Treason Act 1553 (1 Mar. Sess. 1. c. 1), but was revived by the Clipping Coin Act 1562 (5 Eliz. 1. c. 11).

The act originally only protected English coins, but was later extended by the Coin Act 1575 (18 Eliz. 1. c. 1) in 1575 to cover foreign coins "current" within England.

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, the Forgery Act 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.

The acts were repealed by section 1 of the Coinage Offences Act 1832 (2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 34).