Liberty Dollars Not Legal Tender, United States Mint Warns Consumers
November 22nd, 2006Look what happened to the last guy who tried to change the funny money situation.
Via U.S. Mint:
Under 18 U.S.C. § 486, it is a Federal crime to pass, or attempt to pass, any coins of gold or silver intended for use as current money except as authorized by law.
Well, yes:
“it is a Federal crime to pass, or attempt to pass, any coins of gold or silver intended for use as current money except as authorized by law.”
The operative part is the *Last 5 words* of the sentence. “Except as authorized by law means that clearly there are lawful uses of the Liberty Dollar, when used merely as barter or exchange, rather than as counterfeit coinage.
Passing off something as currency is, and has pretty much always been, a crime. Nothing new here.
Barter, however, is legal. If you can trade monopoly money for cabbage, good for you. That is not illegal. This is the exact same situation: except that the company involved isnt printing silly monopoly bucks on strips of paper, they are providing REAL SILVER, something that is attractive for barter, and can be readily appraised.
You may use these trinkets to trade for cabbage, legally, as long as both parties are aware that the trinket is NOT coinage of the United States.
The first moron that DOES confuse the trinket with true coinage, is counterfeiting and should be prosecuted.
It is possible (ok, likely) that the trinket looks too much like true coinage, and the company should make the disclaimer more clear, alter their marketing, or alter the appearance of the trinket.
Meanwhile, manufacture and use of the trinket purely as an instrument of barter, remains legal.
Attempting to “spend” them with uninformed merchants is the crime being addressed by this article.
Getting silver is a good idea, and in many cases it can be used to trade for goods and services that you need.
West