Liberty Dollar

[turnwrite]

Well, this forum is swarming with libertarians, so I'm hoping a few of you will be able to help me out with a certain conundrum I ran into recently.

The Liberty Dollar.

https://www.libertydollar.org/index.php

After extensively looking at their website, I'm afraid I still do not quite understand. It seems like a good idea, but there are several things which confuse me, so if anyone would care to clarify and elaborate, that would be wonderful.

Does it actually help anything to use these? I mean, I understand that it makes a statement, but other than that.. I know US dollars are not backed by gold, and these are, but since US dollars are so universally accepted, what exactly is the problem? Sure, in principle it is better to have money backed by something of tangible value, but in practice, are Liberty Dollars actually any different?

And also, supposing that I decided it was a good idea to order some Liberty Dollars. How would I actually go about spending them? I mean, if they are backed by gold and US dollars aren't, then wouldn't these have a much higher value than US dollars? So wouldn't something that cost, say, $20 in US dollars cost much less in Liberty Dollars? How exactly does that work?

I assume that some of you heartless libertarians and Ron Paul-ites will have far more knowledge about the Federal Reserve and our monetary system than little ol' me, and thus will be able to explain this Liberty Dollar to me.

Thanks for helping..

:smokey:

[Akumulator]

Liberty dollars are not legal tender, so you can't "buy" anything or settle any debts in circumstances that require payment by legal tender.

It says...

Liberty Dollar FAQ

Is The Liberty Dollar legal?
Yes, The Liberty Dollar is absolutely 100% legal, lawful, and Constitutional! Legal opinions have been obtained by prominent attorneys that validate that the Liberty Dollar complies with all US laws and the Uniform Commercial Code.

But I'm sure it's only at participating businesses.

Edit: HERE (http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/spend-liberty-dollars/index.htm)

There's apparently 109 merchants within 100 miles of me that accept Liberty Dollars.

[turnwrite]

It ends up working like a barter. You can spend it anywhere you can convince people to take it. According to them, this is just about anywhere, though I'm sure average McDonald's cashiers would have a hard time accepting this...

But I'm wondering about, once you get someone who's going to accept it, how does it work? Is one Liberty Dollar equal to one US dollar? Wouldn't it be worth much more, being based on actual silver? How does that exchange rate work?

[AsLan^]

Two things I noticed...

There doesn't seem to be any information on how to redeem your Liberty dollars for silver. They only seem to provide information for how you can convert your Liberty dollars into US dollars, and you can only do so at a rate of $200 per month. Sounds a little shady to me, if it were backed by silver, couldn't they just sell the silver and give you the money?

Well actually... a little reading on their site and I discovered this page Why Pay Twice for Silver (http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/faqs/why-pay-twice.htm)

It seems, you are only buying half the face value worth of real silver, the other half is supposed to take care of "bulk material costs".

The other thing, the United States Mint has this to say about it:

Under 18 U.S.C. § 486, it is a Federal crime to utter or pass, or attempt to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver intended for use as current money except as authorized by law. According to the NORFED website, "Liberty merchants" are encouraged to accept NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions and offer them as change in sales transactions of merchandise or services. Further, NORFED tells "Liberty associates" that they can earn money by obtaining NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions at a discount and then can "spend [them] into circulation." Therefore, NORFED’s "Liberty Dollar" medallions are specifically intended 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.

[giant]

It says...
Just to clarify a little, Shawn's statement is correct and the liberty dollar folks don't claim it is legal tender (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_tender). I believe whether it is legal to use at all is a separate issue.

[Jubelum]

A total waste of time and energy.

If you want to own silver and use it as currency, there is no need to get involved with these folks. Just go over to kitco.com and get yourself going.

I personally take all internationally-standard gold and silver coins for payment, including Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, Pandas, American Eagles, etc. At least you can get Federal Reserve Paper out of them at any time... and they are beating the hell out out of any savings account right now.