Part of the noble equation of liberty is honest money. Fortunately the National Organization to Repeal the Federal Reserve Act (NORFED) has given us the Liberty Dollar system to help us achieve just that.
Created by former Hawaiian Mintmaster Bernard von NotHaus, the Liberty Dollar is one ounce of silver embodied in one of the most beautiful pieces you’ll ever see. It has a face value of $20, with other denominations available—i.e. you also have pieces and scrip of $10 and $5, which are 1/2 oz and 1/4 oz respectively.
These are fully convertible, though at a discount from face value, to federal reserve notes (FRNs) through the LD network, which consists of distributors who retail the “coins”—apparently some statute says coins are only what the government produces as legal tender—for a slight markup over the bullion price.
Since 1998, according to libertydollar.org, more than $20 million worth have been put into people’s hands. I’ve purchased a few myself, mainly for store of value. The current value of one ounce of silver is less than 20FRNs, so the one-ounce LD having a face value of $20 encourages many to spend them with willing merchants.
Indeed, such popularity of real money over the government-monopoly funny money has caused some consternation with the federales:
In September 2006, the US Mint issued a statement claiming circulation of the Liberty Dollar was unlawful. Some poobahs at Treasury have recently sent threatening letters to officers of NORFED and to the NORFED distributors, reiterating the warning, “You can’t do that (circulate LDs) no more because it be a federal crime.”
Right.
As an associate or customer, one receives some outstanding literature and other media describing money down through the ages. It especially details how governments have devalued money by clipping coins or reducing precious metal content, like, forever.
In our day, with the advent of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, the government began to sever real value from the paper notes. Today, it effectively pays interest on these notes with wealth it confiscates thru the income tax (also passed in 1913).
Talk about a license to steal!
The value of an FRN is now 4% of what it was in 1913. Qui bono?
If you do the cumulative arithmetic, it has to come to trillions of dollars of wealth transfer from citizens to government (and to its crony banks and corporations). Did they think we wouldn’t notice?
I receive periodic emails from the Liberty Dollar organization. The latest one is quite alarming. Bernard’s bank in Indiana is terminating his NORFED account. Then his executive director caved and left the organization. The feds are putting the screws to the Liberty Dollar.
In the Free State, Liberty Dollars are king cotton, we use them all the time. The feds are telling us that it’s a crime to exchange an LD for goods and services. What should we do?
Here’s my concept, announce it first to all the media:
Someone go to Vermont and buy a couple of dozen Ben
and Jerry’s cookies. Then someone pick up a couple of
dozen $5 LDs. Assemble 50 people on the steps of the
Keene federal building. Hand one side the cookies, hand
the other side the $5 LDs. Then on cue, they make the
exchange. One side eats the cookies and the other side
walks away with the LDs. See what happens.
Just an idea—inspired by “Hmmm, I wonder what Russell from Keene would do in this situation?”
