# legal tender Summary::A legal medium of payment. >[!Ref] Lexicon ># legal tender > A legal medium of payment. Money (q.v.) or media of exchange (q.v.) which the law requires a creditor to accept at [face value](https://www.freemarketcenter.com/lexicon/index.html#face%20value) when offered (tendered) in payment of any outstanding monetary debt or obligation. In practice, a law bestowing legal tender quality affects only monetary obligations already contracted. > [[Human Action - Mises (HA)]] 450,780,783-85; [[Theory of Money and Credit (M.)]] 69-71. --- # References