This is a troubling development: Liberty Dollars Not Legal Tender, United States Mint Warns Consumers But the troubling part isn’t in the headline, it’s at the end of the press release:
NORFED’s “Liberty Dollar” medallions are specifically marketed to be used as current money in order to limit reliance on, and to compete with the circulating coinage of the United States. Consequently, prosecutors with the United States Department of Justice have concluded that the use of NORFED’s “Liberty Dollar” medallions violates 18 U.S.C. § 486, and is a crime.
This represents a reversal from previous rulings from the gov’t; which has, up to this point, given the alternative currency movement a pass. Referencing the code, this appears to be the pertinent section:
TITLE 18
PART I -CRIMES
CHAPTER 25 – COUNTERFEITING AND FORGERY
§ 486. Uttering coins of gold, silver or other metalWhoever, except as authorized by law, makes or utters or passes, or attempts to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver or other metal, or alloys of metals, intended for use as current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, shall be fined under this title [1] or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
But, I would like to know, how do they plan to enforce this? If I want to accept silver for my services, I’m not sure that they have any grounds for prosecution, short of a sting operation.
There is also the issue of use of the phrase current money, which is essentially defined as legal tender. This is not a term used to describe Liberty Dollars.
If they wish to broadly interpret current money to include ALD, then it also applies to any token used in any business that substitutes for a fixed amount of cash; car wash tokens, bus tokens, arcade tokens, etc.
Maybe the mint and the justice department should have read the disclaimer on the Libertydollar.org website. They might have realised that this issue has been researched already.
“Gold and Silver Libertys are neither legal tender, money, “current money” nor coins; they do not resemble nor appear to be coinage minted, issued, authorized, or approved by any government agency; and do not relate to taxation or avoidance of taxation. They are privately minted one-ounce gold and silver examples of the goods on deposit for the warehouse receipts distributed by NORFED.”
Henceforth, all Gold and Silver Libertys will be provided with the clear understanding that it is NORFED’s intent that all Gold and Silver Libetys are provided as examples of the goods on deposit for the warehouse receipts distributed by NORFED. Of course, what you and thousands of other freedom loving, consenting adults choose to do in response to the government’s fiat money is beyond NORFED’s ability or duty to police.
The International Libertarian has an entry on the subject, as well as several pertinent quotes from Federal Reserve spokesmen (and others) who reviewed the currency and found nothing illegal about it.
The story had 4 mentions today (9/16/2006) USA Today, Free Market News Network, Asheville Citizen-Times and the original Rocky Mountain News story.
Only the USA Today story mentions a rebuttal from NORFED and the Liberty Dollar. In fact, not even the home site for the Liberty Dollar, libertydollar.org, has a mention of the tempest in a teapot that the mint announcement seems to have stirred up. I had to go to a third party site to read the entire press release.
So what has happened? Goliath just introduced David to millions of Americans as a nationally recognized underdog. Just as Pepsi went up against Coke with their “take the Pepsi Challenge” campaign, the Liberty Dollar will take it to the people to decide which currency they should use. Welcome to “Just try the Liberty Dollar” campaign. So keep doing “the drop” and spreading the word. We are within our rights to offer Liberty Dollars for goods and services to whoever will voluntarily accept them.
Liberty Dollar Says NO to the US Mint Allegations (via the Wayback Machine)
