Treaty of Latin Union, 1885.

The President of the French Republic, his Majesty the King of the Greeks, his Majesty the King of Italy, and the Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation—

Desiring to maintain the Monetary Union established between the four states, and recognizing the necessity of modifying and completing on certain points the Convention of November 5, 1878, have resolved to conclude to this effect a new treaty, and have named for their plenipotentiaries the following, to wit:

ARTICLE 1. France, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland remain constituted a Union so far as regards the fineness, weight, diameter, tolerance, and circulation of their coined money of gold and silver.

[ART. 2 fixes the fineness, weight, tolerance, and diameter of the gold coins of 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5 francs (of which the tolerance of weight is respectively 1, 1, 2, 2, 3). Former gold coins to be received, if not 5 per cent below tolerance.]

ART. 3. The type of the silver coin of five francs struck with the stamp of the high contracting parties is determined as to fineness, weight, tolerance, and diameter as follows:

The contracting Governments shall reciprocally receive into their treasuries the said silver five-franc pieces.

Each one of the contracting states engages itself to redeem from the public treasuries of the other states the silver five-franc pieces whose weight shall be reduced by wear 1 per cent below the legal tolerance; provided that they have not been fraudulently altered, and that their impressions have not disappeared.

In France the silver five-franc pieces shall be received in the treasuries of the Bank of France for account of the Treasury, as results from the letters exchanged between the French Government and the Bank of France on the dates of October 31 and November 2, 1885, and annexed to the present treaty.

This engagement is undertaken during the life of the present treaty, as it has been fixed by paragraph 1 of Article 13, and without binding the bank at the expiration of this period by the clause of tacit renewal provided in paragraph 2 of the same article.

In case the provisions concerning the legal-tender quality of the silver five-franc pieces, struck by the other states of the Union, should be suppressed either by Greece, Italy, or Switzerland during the time of the engagement undertaken by the Bank of France, the power or powers which shall have acted counter to these provisions agree that their banks of emission shall receive the silver five-franc pieces of the other states of the Union under conditions identical with those under which they receive silver five-franc pieces coined with the national stamp.

Two months before the expiration of the term assigned for the denunciation of the treaty the French Government shall make known to the states of the Union whether or not it is the intention of the Bank of France to continue, or to cease, the fulfillment of the agreement hereto subjoined. In default of such communication the agreement of the Bank of France shall be submitted to the clause of tacit renewal.

[ART. 4 contains the usual regulations for subsidiary coins, and Article 5 fixes at 50 francs the maximum legal-tender payments of these coins at the treasuries. By Article 7 each state agrees to redeem its subsidiary coins in the gold or silver coins authorized by Articles 2 and 3, if presented in sums not less than 100 francs. This obligation to hold good one year after expiration of the treaty. Article 9 restricts the total issue of subsidiary coins to 6 francs per capita, or on basis of population, as follows

Permission is given, in addition, for special coinage of 20,000,000 francs by Italy and of 6,000,000 francs by Switzerland.]

ART. 8. The coinage of gold pieces fabricated under the conditions of Article 2, with the exception of that of the gold five-franc pieces, which remain provisionally suspended, is free to each one of the contracting states.

The coinage of silver five-franc pieces is provisionally suspended. It can be resumed only when a unanimous accord shall be established on the subject between all the contracting states.

If any one of the contracting states wishes to resume the free coinage of silver five-franc pieces, it shall always have the power to do so on condition of exchanging or reimbursing, during the whole duration of the present treaty, in gold and at sight, to the other contracting countries upon their demand, the silver five-franc pieces struck with its impression and circulating within their territory. Further, the other states shall no longer be free to receive the five-franc pieces of the state which shall resume the coinage of the said pieces.

The state which wishes to resume this coinage shall, in the first place, summon a meeting of its allies to regulate the conditions of this resumption; the power mentioned in the preceding paragraph, however, not being restrained to the establishment of an understanding; and the condition of exchange and reimbursement mentioned in the preceding paragraph not being modified.

In default of an understanding, and while claiming the benefit of the preceding stipulations in regard to the state which shall resume the free coinage of silver five-franc pieces, Switzerland reserves to itself the power to secede from the Union before the expiration of the present treaty: this power is always subordinated to these double conditions, to wit:

(1) That during four years after the ratification of the present treaty, Article 14 and the annexed arrangement shall not be applicable to the states which shall have resumed the free coinage of silver five franc pieces; and

(2) That the silver coin of the said states shall continue, during the same period, to circulate in Switzerland conformably to the stipulations of the present convention.

On its side, Switzerland agrees not to resume, during the same period of four years, the free coinage of silver five-franc pieces.

The Swiss Federal Government is authorized to continue the recoinage of the old emissions of Swiss silver five-franc pieces up to an amount of 10,000,000 francs; but on condition that it undertakes, at its own expense, to effect the retirement of the old coins.

[By ART. 10 it is rigorously exacted that each piece shall be stamped with the date of its coinage.]

[By ART. 11 France establishes a central bureau of administration and statistical documents concerned with emissions of coin, production and consumption of the precious metals, the monetary circulation, and counterfeiting and alteration of the moneys. Thereby common measures can be suggested for repression of counterfeiting, etc.]

ART. 12. Every request for admission to the present Union made by a state which shall accept the obligations and shall adopt the monetary system of the Union, can be accepted only by the unanimous consent of the high contracting powers.

These latter engage themselves to retire, or refuse, legal-tender quality to the five-franc pieces of the states which do not form part of the Union. These coins can not be accepted either into the public treasuries or into the banks of emission.

ART. 13. The present treaty shall go into effect after January 1, 1886, and shall remain in force up to January 1, 1891.

If, one year before this time, it has not been denounced, it shall be extended in full force from year to year, by tacit renewal, and shall continue to be obligatory during one year after the January 1st which shall follow the denunciation.

ART. 14. In case of the denunciation of the present treaty, each of the contracting states shall be required to receive back the silver five-franc pieces which it shall have emitted, and which shall be in circulation or in the public treasuries of the other states, on condition of paying to these states a sum equal to the nominal value of the coin received back, all under provisions determined by a special arrangement which shall remain annexed to the present treaty.