Look what "Investopedia" prublishes about "Lawful money"...

"What Does Lawful Money Mean?
Any form of currency issued by the United States Treasury and not the Federal Reserve System, including gold and silver coins, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds. Lawful money stands in contrast to fiat money, to which the government assigns value although it has no intrinsic value of its own and is not backed by reserves. Fiat money includes legal tender such as paper money, checks, drafts and bank notes.

Also known as "specie", which means "in actual form."

Investopedia explains Lawful Money
Oddly enough, the dollar bills that we carry around in our wallets are not considered lawful money. The notation on the bottom of a U.S. dollar bill reads "Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private", and is issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve, not the U.S. Treasury. Legal tender can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of lawful money, but effects such as inflation can change the value of fiat money. Lawful money is said to be the most direct form of ownership, but for purposes of practicality it has little use in direct transactions between parties anymore."

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawfulmoney.asp

Thought it was interesting...

Well this invites the question,

"What other items of actual form can qualify?"

Would a house, a car, or any other tangible good; and the component of interest being the title to the good, or other recognized paper?

Thanks Martin Earl for the post and the thought it generated. jb

Yep, I brought this up before.

Coinage Act of 1792 uses the term "lawful tender".

It seems Congress bobs and weaves with regard to solidly defining the terms.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by martin earl

"What Does Lawful Money Mean?
Any form of currency issued by the United States Treasury and not the Federal Reserve System, including gold and silver coins, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds. Lawful money stands in contrast to fiat money, to which the government assigns value although it has no intrinsic value of its own and is not backed by reserves. Fiat money includes legal tender such as paper money, checks, drafts and bank notes.

Also known as "specie", which means "in actual form."

Investopedia explains Lawful Money
Oddly enough, the dollar bills that we carry around in our wallets are not considered lawful money. The notation on the bottom of a U.S. dollar bill reads "Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private", and is issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve, not the U.S. Treasury. Legal tender can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of lawful money, but effects such as inflation can change the value of fiat money. Lawful money is said to be the most direct form of ownership, but for purposes of practicality it has little use in direct transactions between parties anymore."

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawfulmoney.asp

Thought it was interesting...

---

Absolutely! Very interesting.

I remember somebody mentioned the same on SJC but I was not developed enough to get the same meaning as it gives now.

Thank you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by David Merrill

Absolutely! Very interesting.

I remember somebody mentioned the same on SJC but I was not developed enough to get the same meaning as it gives now.

Thank you.

---

It was me who mentioned it on SJC. :D

I wonder how they would catagorize this, it's issued by the Treasury:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxmvrX1leM..._Note_1966.jpg

Lawful Money Fiat?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Carl

I wonder how they would catagorize this, it's issued by the Treasury:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxmvrX1leM..._Note_1966.jpg

Lawful Money Fiat?

---

You know an interesting fact about the Notes that actually bear the Federal Reserve Bank seal is that there is not two separate distinct borders. Look at any one dollar note. Some of the older notes that bear the FRB seal have same layout - open space.

The open space is similar to the note that you, Carl, show. but look at any note with the Federal Reserve System seal - 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 there are two separate distinct spaces. borders and boundaries.

January 21, 1971

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by martin earl

"What Does Lawful Money Mean?
Any form of currency issued by the United States Treasury and not the Federal Reserve System, including gold and silver coins, Treasury notes, and Treasury bonds. Lawful money stands in contrast to fiat money, to which the government assigns value although it has no intrinsic value of its own and is not backed by reserves. Fiat money includes legal tender such as paper money, checks, drafts and bank notes.

Also known as "specie", which means "in actual form."

Investopedia explains Lawful Money
Oddly enough, the dollar bills that we carry around in our wallets are not considered lawful money. The notation on the bottom of a U.S. dollar bill reads "Legal Tender for All Debts, Public and Private", and is issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve, not the U.S. Treasury. Legal tender can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of lawful money, but effects such as inflation can change the value of fiat money. Lawful money is said to be the most direct form of ownership, but for purposes of practicality it has little use in direct transactions between parties anymore."

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawfulmoney.asp

Thought it was interesting...

---

Very interesting, thank you for pointing it out here again.

I wonder who the authors of investopedia are?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Treefarmer

Very interesting, thank you for pointing it out here again.

I wonder who the authors of investopedia are?

---

In my opinion, Investopedia should have checked with the Treasury Department and United States Code. ....."They shall be redeemed on demand for Lawful Money"....



What are United States Notes and how are they different from Federal Reserve notes?

United States Notes (characterized by a red seal and serial number) were the first national currency, authorized by the Legal Tender Act of 1862 and began circulating during the Civil War. The Treasury Department issued these notes directly into circulation, and they are obligations of the United States Government. The issuance of United States Notes is subject to limitations established by Congress. It established a statutory limitation of $300 million on the amount of United States Notes authorized to be outstanding and in circulation. While this was a significant figure in Civil War days, it is now a very small fraction of the total currency in circulation in the United States.

Both United States Notes and Federal Reserve Notes are parts of our national currency and both are legal tender. They circulate as money in the same way. However, the issuing authority for them comes from different statutes. United States Notes were redeemable in gold until 1933, when the United States abandoned the gold standard. Since then, both currencies have served essentially the same purpose, and have had the same value. Because United States Notes serve no function that is not already adequately served by Federal Reserve Notes, their issuance was discontinued, and none have been placed in to circulation since January 21, 1971.

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 authorized the production and circulation of Federal Reserve notes. Although the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) prints these notes, they move into circulation through the Federal Reserve System. They are obligations of both the Federal Reserve System and the United States Government. On Federal Reserve notes, the seals and serial numbers appear in green.
United States notes serve no function that is not already adequately served by Federal Reserve notes. As a result, the Treasury Department stopped issuing United States notes, and none have been placed into circulation since January 21, 1971.