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oldmansmith | 09-15-2006 07:30 AM
USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money Thank God we live in a free society. One shutters to think what it would be like if we didn't... By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY WASHINGTON � The government Thursday warned consumers and businesses that it is illegal to use alternative money known as "Liberty Dollar" coins, which organizers promote as a competitor to the almighty dollar. "We don't want consumers to be fooled," U.S. Mint spokeswoman Becky Bailey says, noting U.S. Attorneys offices across the USA have noticed a marked increase in inquiries about the coins. The coins' producers vowed to fight the government's decision. Evansville, Ind.-based National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code, otherwise known as NORFED, has been making the Liberty Dollar coins for eight years and claims $20 million is in circulation. The group says the money, unlike official U.S. cash, has a hedge against inflation because it is made almost entirely of silver and is backed by stocks of silver and gold in a vault in Idaho. The coins are then spent by the group's 2,500 Liberty Associates in stores run by fellow supporters or are accepted unknowingly by clerks who are unaware they are not receiving real money. The Justice Department has determined that use of Liberty Dollars, which come in varying denominations, "is a crime," according to the Mint, which issued a rare public warning Thursday. "The United States Mint is the only entity that can produce coins," Bailey says. The Mint notes the coins share some resemblances to real money, such as the term "Trust in God" instead of "In God We Trust" and use of a torch in the design. Such similarities may confuse people into thinking the money is real, the Mint says. But NORFED says it will challenge the government, arguing it has never claimed Liberty Dollars were official money and that it has a right to offer an alternative. "The designs and verbiage ... are original and are not copies of any U.S. Mint currency," NORFED Executive Director Michael Johnson said in a statement. It's unclear how many people or businesses are unknowingly holding Liberty Dollars, which cannot be exchanged for real money at banks. In a case in Buffalo, a man and his son are set to go on trial next month after they knowingly tried to buy beer at a Buffalo Sabres hockey game with Liberty Dollars. The Mint did not say if government officials will seek to prosecute individuals or NORFED after its warning. Reed Runk, part-owner of Kendall Funk & Bismark Jewelers in Chambersburg, Pa., says the store has been accepting Liberty Dollars for about a year and has sold a few as well. Runk says the store will continue to accept and sell the coins. "We just feel that they are something that educates people as to what the monetary systems are like in the world, that they are a fiat system, that if people lose faith in them, they will collapse," he says. Besides, "They are a good-looking coin."

TheKingsSon | 09-15-2006 09:55 AM
Re: USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money This is ALL good. The more publicity this can get the better. Courts are scare tactics.... if people have the guts and fortitude to carry this through this can be a real turning point. Nevertheless, we WILL still have a one world government and NO MAN wil be able to buy or sell save he have the mark, thus it is written and it shall be done!

Scorpio | 09-15-2006 10:05 AM
Re: USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money you said it KS, a 'crime'............ so bartering would also be considered a 'crime'? etc,

runcible | 09-15-2006 01:44 PM
Re: USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money There is another thread discussing this. Perhaps a mod could merge this thread into that one?

GREENSILVERHORN | 09-15-2006 02:29 PM
Re: USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money Quote:
Originally Posted by runcible (Post 358941) There is another thread discussing this. Perhaps a mod could merge this thread into that one?
Guess your lowering your boom too runcible? pretty soon it will be my bullion. then where does the price go?

Lore | 09-15-2006 03:10 PM
Re: USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money The achilles heel of the NORFED model is their adoption of the existing coinage paradigm. They actually say that they offer an 'alternative' to Fed products. In effect, they set themselves up as another Fed, which defeats the purpose of the free money movement. Rather than competing for 'coinage of the realm,' NORFED should concentrate instead on the use of silver IN ANY FORM as money (a la goldmoney). The Fed doesn't dare outlaw the sale / use of generic rounds or bars without somehow banning the metal itself, which is absurd. If they try it, they'll look ridiculous and add momentum to the movement. I need to increase my focus on generic rounds and bars.

The Great Ag | 09-15-2006 04:46 PM
Re: USA today: Feds lower boom on alternative money The article is mis-leading. NORFED does not "coin" metal. To do so would be illegal. Just like FEDEX does not do first class mail; only the post office can. FEDEX overnights. It's all in the definition. NORFED mints silver pieces in various denominations, but they do not "coin" silver and gold metals. If someone were to spend a Liberty Dollar and claimed them to be "legal tender" or a "coin" then that person is comitting fraud, not NORFED. Also, I think it is funny how the article stated, "Liberty dollars cannot be exchanged for real money at banks." If they only knew. Maybe one day. The Great Ag

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