Legal tender - legal tender

It is a currency that the state has legally determined to be valid for all public and private transactions, and is more correctly called legal tender. Standard currency, subsidiary currency, and government notes issued and minted by the government are of course legal tender, but central bank notes are often legal tender as well. In present-day Japan, these include Bank of Japan notes and subsidiary currency used for small-scale transactions. Legal tender is allowed to be paid into the national treasury without limit for taxes and other purposes, and is also given the power of compulsory tender in private transactions, meaning that the presenter can force the other party to accept it. There are two types of legal tender: unlimited legal tender, which can be forced to accept without limit in private transactions, and limited legal tender, which can only be accepted up to a certain amount (in Japan, up to 20 times its face value). Standard currency, central bank notes, and government notes are the former, and subsidiary currency are the latter.

[Tadashi Saito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

国家が公私いっさいの取引に通用すると法定した貨幣のことで、正しくは法定貨幣という。政府の発行・鋳造する本位貨幣、補助貨幣、政府紙幣は当然法貨であるが、中央銀行券も法貨である場合が多い。現在の日本では日本銀行券と小口取引のために用いられる補助貨幣がこれにあたる。法貨は租税その他国庫への無制限な納入が認められるとともに、私人間の取引においても、これの提示者は相手にその受領を強制できるという強制通用力を与えられている。法貨には、私人間の取引において、その金額に制限なく受領を強制できる無制限法貨と、法貨としては一定金額までしか認められない制限法貨（日本ではその額面の20倍まで）とがある。本位貨幣、中央銀行券、政府紙幣は前者、補助貨幣は後者である。

［齊藤　正］

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