Writing on paper currency

Primrose

Can anybody please tell me whether it's illegal to write on British paper currency, i.e. to put some identifying mark on it so that a specific note could be speicfically identified as opposed to another identical note of the same denomination.

dzug1

Yes it's illegal, which doesn't stop it being widely done and I've never heard of anyone actually being prosecuted..

No two notes are identical - they all have different serial numbers, so they are distinguishable anyway

Primrose

I realise they all have different serial numbers but these are pretty impossible to remember. . I was thinking of a scenario where somebody was helping themselves to the odd tenner from somebody else's wallet without their permission and marking it in some way so that it could be positively identified as belonging to the individual who had put a mark on it.

DCFC79

Yes you can mar it, just write on it in pen

adambro

It is an offence under the Currency and Banknotes Act 1928 which says "If any person prints or stamps, or by any like means impresses, on any bank note any words, letters or figures, he shall, in respect of each offence, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding [level 1 on the standard scale]." That currently equates to a £200 fine. I do however note that many marked notes are in circulation and so I don't think it is really anything worth worrying about.

Andy_L

Currency & Banknotes Act 1928
"Penalty for defacing bank notes

If any person prints or stamps, or by any like means impresses, on any bank note any words, letters or figures, he shall, in respect of each offence, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding [F1level 1 on the standard scale]."

so as long as you put a "squiggle" rather than letters or numbers you'd be legal.

Biggles

I couldn't possibly keep count of the number of bank notes I've had with writing on (letters, numbers, squiggles, crosses, anything), including one I drew from the LTSB ATM this morning.

Nobody's going to prosecute you for it.

Obi167

Why not use a UV reactive marker pen, then only you can see it (under UV light)

[Deleted User]

Some of them are real pieces of art.

pink68

although it is technically illegal i worked for a bank for nearly 20 years including for several years as chief cashier and we were always writing on the notes either the totals of bundles or marking them to make them easier to count in the atm's.

feel free to write, no-one checks!

lesley2337

people cashing up till's write on them so they know how much is in a pile etc... i don't see a problem with it! i've seen it loads of times!