Prohibiting 'base currency'

[joelsanda]

I was looking over the Information for Cruisers and Yachties document, published by the Kiribati government. The first item in their list of Prohibited Imports:

• Base or counterfeit coin, currency or banknotes of any country

I'm guessing this means you can't bring in foreign currency with the intent to import? How do you import currency?

Can anyone with cruising experience explain this to me? Obviously they're not going to whine about bringing in a wad of bills, or are they? Are they really saying you can't bring in money from another country, or is the distinction here "importing", which means ... ?

Thanks :-)

[St Anna]

Well, I assume the legalese of;
"Base or counterfeit coin, currency or banknotes of any country" intends - counterfeit, or abiity to counterfeit any currency.

There is usually a limit [both max and min] on currency brought into many countries

Are you intending to go through Kiribati?

[joelsanda]

Yeah, I can understand the counterfeit part, but as far as I know base currency is used to refer to currency used to help valuate another one. I suppose my larger question is more financial than legal, which is how folks carry money when they cruise. I suppose banks are available, but when you're visiting smaller islands where they may not be an option it seems to me a stash of greenbacks is the way to go.

One day I'd love to enter the South Pacific through the Line Islands, but that's a few years away. Just keeping the dream alive by reading up on noonsite and various government sites with documents for cruisers :-)

[CapnBilll]

Perhaps they meant debased currency? As in the same sentence they stated "or counterfeit"

[itsaboat]

I don't think it is "base currency", but "base coin" that is the problem. Coins historically were made from precious metals, such as gold and silver. Counterfeiters would make them out cheaper, or "base" metals and pass them off as genuine. A little googling brought up this excerpt from an 1897 publication.

[Dean101]

Originally Posted by joelsanda

I was looking over the Information for Cruisers and Yachties document, published by the Kiribati government. The first item in their list of Prohibited Imports:

• Base or counterfeit coin, currency or banknotes of any country

I'm guessing this means you can't bring in foreign currency with the intent to import? How do you import currency?

Can anyone with cruising experience explain this to me? Obviously they're not going to whine about bringing in a wad of bills, or are they? Are they really saying you can't bring in money from another country, or is the distinction here "importing", which means ... ?

Thanks :-)

I would read that to mean coin (or) currency (or) banknotes, as in a list separated by commas. The base I take to mean base metal coinage and the counterfeit to apply to legal tender notes (cash) or banknotes from any country.

Maybe they were trying to be concise but ended up with a confusing statement.