Speaking of copper...
 

I ordered 10 of these at the beginning of the month. Haven't received them yet, they are on backorder. Think I'll hang onto them for awhile, although I could probably get $10 each for them all day on eBay!

Re: Speaking of copper...
 

Interesting. I kinda like the liberty dollar concept, but I just can't get over the idea that they're charging $20 for essentially a silver round worth $12.85, and $1 for a copper round worth about 20 cents. (Copper is about $3.20 a pound.) I can get 10 old pennies and give you the same amount of copper...

I don't know the answer to gold/silver/copper coinage. But I don't think it works with a face value. I think it has to float, so the one oz. silver round is worth $12.85 today, maybe a few cents more or less tomorrow. (Also, all rounds should work, not just Liberty Dollars.) If things were actually priced in terms of gold/silver/copper (instead of a dollar value that is then converted to oz. of silver), it wouldn't fluctuate that much - if a gallon of milk costs 1/4 an oz of silver, I don't think it'll matter if silver goes up or down a few cents or even a dollar next week - it'll still cost 1/4 oz. If this ever actually happened, first of all, it would stabilize the value of the metals - I don't think they'd fluctuate as much, since their value is tied to actual goods. I think a lot of the fluctuation has to do with the value of the dollar - not the inherent value/scarcity/supply/demand of the metals.

Sure, there might be some adjustments from time to time ... corn gets more scarce due to ethanol use, so an ear of corn starts to cost 1.25 or 1.5 copper coins instead of 1. That computer costs 3/4 an oz. of gold instead of 1 oz. as technology makes it cheaper. There's a shortage of silver and it becomes more valuable relative to milk or bread or whatever and their prices go down in silver (but stay the same in terms of copper or gold). Etc.