Is it illegal to deface something with the Queen's image on it?

[The_DADDY (2) 10]

To deface something with the Queens image on it.

I remember at school when i was given a right telling off for drilling through a 1p piece.

The teacher said it was illegal and went on to say defacing a postage stamp was too.

Does anyone know if this is true?

[Helly 10]

I think it may be one of those archaic laws that classes it as treason (crimes against the Queen) and makes it still punishable by death. Well, thats what our technology teacher used to tell us when we sanded 10p coins into squares...

[tom3t0 10]

Ive heard high treason is still punishable by death, but seen as I don't plan to kill the queen it don't bother me.

 

I would be interested to know about the printing of money, are serial codes reprinted routinely, as Ive been known to torch £20's to prove a point.

 

Also, if Charles gets the throne, will they have to put a flap onto coinsfor his ears?

[simonj 10]

The Sex Pistols managed to survive

 

http://www.extraextra.org/9.JamieReid'GodSavetheQueen.jpg

[punk 10]

Ive heard high treason is still punishable by death

 

Not true any longer, we signed the 6th protocol of the European Convention of Human Rights and also added it into the 1998 Human Rights Act:

 

"The death penalty shall be abolished. No one shall be condemned to such penalty or executed."

[Thunzi 10]

Isn't it illegal to put a stamp on upside down too?

[Grandad.Malky 11]

Defacing Coins of the Realm

We receive e-mails from people asking whether it is illegal to deface coins. We are never quite sure why they need to know, or what they are intending to do. We are quite sure that it is still be illegal to deface coins, particularly current ones.

If you need to check on the legality, you could try contacting H.M. Treasury, or asking your local reference library, some libraries have a law library collection, otherwise you could ask a solicitor which will obviously cost money. While we are not in a authoritative position to give you a definitive answer we believe that you should be alright. The authorities quite sensibly are unlikely to prosecute anyone who damages one or two coins, but would probably get upset if someone defaced or printed an advertising slogan on several million of them. Similarly if your advert encouraged millions of others to do the same, you might have a problem.

The lack of response from the Royal Mint probably can probably be taken to indicate their lack of concern, and if you did find yourself facing legal action later, it would certainly be a mitigating factor, if not a defence, to be able to show that you had taken the precaution of asking the mint. Taking this logic a little further, you can probably understand the difficulty for the mint in answering your question. Assuming it is illegal to deface a coin, and also assuming that the Royal Mint are not concerned about you defacing a single coin, they can hardly write to tell you they have no objection, as they would not be allowed to give you permission to break the law.

 

http://www.24carat.co.uk/defacingcoinsframe.html

[whitehorses 10]

Yep, it's illegal, but who cares!

[donkey 10]

What's more archaic, that fact that it's illegal to deface stamps and money with the queen's head on it, or the fact that we still place the image of a monarch on stamps and coins anyway?

[andrewchase 10]

What's more archaic, that fact that it's illegal to deface stamps and money with the queen's head on it, or the fact that we still place the image of a monarch on stamps and coins anyway?

 

Republican?

[tom3t0 10]

But will we need flaps for Prince Charles coins?

[Code13 10]

I don't think it is illegal to deface the Queen's image or put stamps on upside down (a petty thing Irish Repbulicans in Northern Ireland were/are fond of doing), I think the bit about defacing coins is more to do with the integrity of the currency and laws going back to the days when coins were actually made of valuable metal and people tried to shave bits off them and melt the shavings down etc.