Coinage Act 1870
The Coinage Act 1870 stated the metric weights of British coins. For example, it defined the weight of the sovereign as 7.98805 grams. The Act was repealed by the Coinage Act 1971.
The Act also vested the titles of Master of the Mint and 'Governor of the Mint of Scotland', which had ceased minting coins in 1707, in the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The Act also gave the British government the authority to establish branches of the Mint in overseas British possessions. In 1907, the government used that power to establish a branch of the Mint in Ottawa, at the request of the Canadian government. It repealed the authorization in 1931, when the Mint in Ottawa came under full Canadian control.
A contemporary history suggests that the Act was influenced by the criticisms of George Frederick Ansell.
