Posted on 03/22/2011 8:41:51 PM PDT by TheConservativeCitizen
Ron Paul and Sovereign Citizen types are going berserk about this pretty interesting currency case.
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110319/NEWS01/110319006/Liberty-Dollar-creator-convicted-federal-court
A man has been convicted and could face 25 years in federal prison on counterfeiting charges, for what the government describes as a form of domestic terror designed to destabilize US currency. Bernard von NotHaus is some kind of anti-fed type who has minted and distributed millions of “Liberty Dollars”: silver coins that are 100% backed by precious metals he owns and are meant to be a more stable alternative to the US dollar. He claims the Liberty Coins are a form of barter, and that their use is voluntary with the understanding its not real money, but the coins are marked with the words dollars, USA, Trust in God, and the $ sign.
http://www.silvermonthly.com/1459/the-strange-case-of-the-liberty-dollar/
A short video about the Liberty Dollar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYGDVUb8MjA&feature=player_embedded
He started in the 90′s with warehouse receipts for silver he owned, the Secret Service investigated him, but since the notes were actually backed up by silver and the words “legal tender” were not used on the receipts, it was judged not counterfeiting. The problem began when he minted the coins and in an effort to help introduce them into general circulation made them somewhat resemble real money. Bernard von NotHaus states the coins constitute a voluntary bartering system with both parties understand the coins are not actual US currency, he claims his system is an alternative, not a counterfeit to the US dollar.
I think this case opens up some interesting discussion about the nature of currency. We can all agree that children trading baseball cards, or World of Warcraft players trading digital weapons and armor does not constitute counterfeiting despite both cases developing a complex and intricate barter system complete with supply and demand relationships, price inflation, and fluctuating exchange rates with real currency. At what point do we cross the line and an innovative barter system becomes counterfeiting?
PS: In case anyone wonders, I have never owned nor have had any financial stake in the Liberty Dollar, and would strongly advise a consultation with a lawyer, an accountant, and a federal agency before accepting or using anything that could conceivably be construed as counterfeit money.
Not sure this would fall under that definition. And I now want one. Off to ebay I go.
According to someone who looked into this on an earlier thread this guy was running some kind of scam. It is not illegal to make coins per se but his appeared kinda confusing as to what they really were. I get ads all the time to buy special coins from long established companies.
Did he sell them for US currency?
yet it is ok when our government hires the fed...nothing more than a partnership of “private” banks to print worthless money backed up by nothing...a ponzi scheme that madoff would have admired!
And that is the argument that hung him. It is legal to produce coins as collectibles; but it is illegal to produce coins intended to circulate as money whether they resemble US coins or not.
The gubmint is pretty anal about competition with the dollar. In the 70's they went after several grain elevators that were trading and circulating warehouse receipts represent more grain than they actually had on hand. The treasury said it was a form of fractional reserve banking and prosecuted them.
That means many people who produce a valued coin with silver or gold would go to jail.I have tons of coins people have produced through the years.
Not if the producer can reasonably claim they were produced as collectibles. That’s what numismatic means and it’s the legal out for coin producers. If on the other hand a coin producer were to represent his coins as an alternative to the dollar he’d better start looking over his shoulder.
There are several issues here, and I’m not a lawyer, nor did I sleep in anything but my own bed last night.
The anecdote posted above about grain warehouse receipts is interesting, assuming it is true. It would seem to me that such activity would constitute the creation of a security. That it is “fractional reserve banking” may or may not be illegal, and, that may or may not be a proper definition although it sounds right. But it is definitely creating a security. And that would fall under securities laws which are rather stringent unless you happen to be a mortgage banker.
Nonsense!I’ve been collecting coins for over 40 years and have tons of these coins.Who brainwashed you of what value is when metal owners are making over 500% profits.Governments will do anything to con and fleece the sheep.
The coins are made of silver.
The government didn't hire the Fed. The government created (and owns) the Fed.
When you find yourself signing up to buy, you will know that you have become senile, and it's time to put your affairs in the hands of trusted relatives.
$49 (free shipping) for the “20 Dollar” 1oz silver round. Nice piece. Just grabbed one myself.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220743237490&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
Are they really coins, or are they bullion made of precious metal (999.99 pure silver or gold) and in the shape of a coin?
I own silver bullion. These are one ounce pieces with an Indian head on one side and a buffalo on the other but has no stated denomination except for “999.99 pure silver”. They can be traded for the value of the silver but not used as money, per se.
Rumor has it that a Treasury Department committee is sitting now, and scheduling the minting of counterfeit nickels. At this point, the metal in the existing nickels is worth 1.5 or so times the face value. This might be a good time to collect nickels, and wait for the intrinsic value to increase to 4 - 5 times the face value. Just thinking out loud ...
Our treasury began counterfeiting quarters and dimes in the mid-60s, in order to finance the Vietnam War with inflation, by debauching the currency.
But some of them are so purty.
Hang ‘em high.
The government didn't create the Fed? Then what was the Federal Reserve Act all about?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.