Scottish Court of Session Decisions

Subject_1 DECISIONS of the LORDS OF COUNCIL AND SESSION, reported by WILLIAM FORBES, ADVOCATE.

The Governor and Court of Directors of the Bank of Scotland,
v.
the Commissioners of the Equivalent

Date: 11 Feb 1709

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The Directors of the Bank having, at the desire of the Privy Council, undertaken the re-coinage of all the current coin of Scotland, upon the conditions specified in an act of Privy Council; they received in the old species from all inbringers, for which they paid current coin; and gave in the said old species to the mint. As this was melted down and essayed in presence of the three Commissioners and Essaymaster, appointed for that end, the Bank was to receive a certificate for the loss in recoining, upon the Commissioners of Equivalent, to be paid on demand, and the Master of the Mint's bond for the rest, payable in weight and tale, in the terms of the Act of Parliament, 1686. There happened in the coining sometimes an excresce on the tale of five or six shillings, or thereby, in one hundred pounds, over and above the sum contained in the Master of the Mint's bond; through its not being possible to keep every piece of money to its due proportion of weight.

The Commissioners of the equivalent being charged by the bank to make payment to them of L527 7s. 10d. Sterling, as the difference upon the recoinage of the Scots and foreign money, with one half per cent. making in all L539 9s. 2d. contained in a certificate under the hands of the commissioners appointed by the Privy Council, for receiving in the old money: the Commissioners of the Equivalent suspended upon this reason, That the bank was debtor to them in a sum exceeding the charge, by the excresce of the specie after recoinage.

Answered for the Directors of the Bank,—The suspenders have no right to this excrescence; nor cannot, upon account thereof, pretend retention or compensation: because, had private persons embraced the privilege reserved to them in the Bank's agreement, and carried their own money to the mint, and waited the course of recoining; they must have got their certificates of loss instantly satisfied by the Commissioners of the Equivalent, without being questioned about the excrescence, or liable afterwards to quit it; and the Bank, by undertaking the re-coinage, came in place of the private persons, who got their old money exchanged at the Bank.

The Lords found, That the benefit by the augmentation of the tale, is to accrue to the Bank, as well as to any other private proprietors of bullion; and is not imputable pro tanto in payment of what is allowed in satisfaction of the loss sustained by the giving in, and giving out of the money.

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