Chose in possession

The Jolly Contrarian’s Glossary The snippy guide to financial services lingo.™ →Go uptown Index — Click the ᐅ to expand: Glossary Tell me more Sign up for our newsletter — or just get in touch: for ½ a weekly 🍺 you get to consult JC. Ask about it here.

To be contrasted with chose in action, a chose in possession is something which you can physically hold, as distinguished from something you are legally entitled to, whether or not you hold it, and whether or not it even has physical extension at all.

So: A cuddly toy is a chose in possession. A contractual right to be delivered a cuddly toy that you have just bought for dear junior on Amazon is a chose in action.

a physical bearer bond is both a chose in action and a chose in possession.

A bank note? Probably a chose in possession — at least to the extent of its papery self — but there is an argument that, as an articulation of abstract value, it is not even that.

A debate that, before the great bifurcation, was almost inconceivable to frame — people would look at you funny if you tried to distinguish between the physical and theoretical value of a bank note — and was seen as rather arid academic snorefest for a long time after it, until the sudden arrival of crypto assets onto the scene.

Suddenly, every lawyer is a metaphysician.

See also

• Bailment
• Crypto assets
• The great bifurcation