TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. US Government Responds
2. Ron Paul Dollar Rockets!
3. Platinum Ron Paul Dollar?
4. Liberty Dollar Assertion
5. Special: Redeem $1 Certs for $1 Coppers
6. Update on the Copper Liberty
7. Annual Audit & Silver Summit
8. Letter / Article to the Editor
9. Success Story / Incident of the Month
10. Question of the Month
11. Liberty Associate of the Month
12. Quote of the Month
1. US Government Responds
US Government responded to Liberty Dollar Complaint. Shortly after noon
on Thursday, July 19, 2007, the last day to respond, the US Attorney
representing the Attorney General Gonzales, Secretary of the Treasury
Paulson and Director of the US Mint Moy responded to our lawsuit by filing a
Motion and a supporting Brief to Dismiss our lawsuit with the US District
Court in Evansville, Indiana. It represents a sizable amount of work and a
serious attitude towards our lawsuit. I am confident that our attorneys will
give our response their very best effort and justice will prevail.
Please click
HERE to view the government’s
Motion and Brief.
2. Ron Paul Dollar Rockets!
I am pleased to report that the Ron Paul Dollar in gold, silver and
copper has been very well received. Approximately 2,500 silvers, over 10,000
coppers and upwards to 100 gold Ron Paul Dollars have been ordered. But the
big pay off is the press it has generated for Ron Paul’s presidential
campaign... which is the real intent of the issue itself.
On July 23, Coin World ran two stories on Ron Paul. One was a large in
depth article about Ron Paul’s life, work, ideas, and voting record. The
second article featured the Ron Paul Dollar with excellent photos. The two
articles totaled two pages of coverage and was extremely well done and well
focused.
As soon as the first Gold Ron Paul Dollar is available I plan to donate
$2,300 (the maximum amount allowable by the Federal Election Commission) to
the Ron Paul campaign. I encourage everyone to take a stand as this election
is happening on our watch. Please don’t let this opportunity to pass without
giving Ron Paul your support. And while the Ron Paul Dollar is an
“independent contribution” that Ron Paul cannot endorse, we will continue to
use the profits from this issue to support Ron’s campaign and hope you do
too. Please don’t let the truth die.
3. Platinum Ron Paul Dollar?
Just when I thought we had done everything possible to commemorate Ron
Paul’s Presidential campaign.... and bring more attention to it.... I just
got a request for a Platinum Ron Paul Dollar. A lady supporter wants to
order ten Platinum RP Dollars, but we need to mint at least 25 to make it
economically possible. Interested in Platinum? Very unique and a little
pricy... in fact the whole fabrication process and minting is pricy too...
plus the special dies, etc... But oh what a great collectable of real value.
Currently platinum is about $1300+ an ounce so the reverse will carry a
$2000 Face Value! That’s the most valuable Liberty Dollar to date! So the
Liberty Associate exchange rate for the $2000 Platinum Ron Paul Dollar will
be spot plus 15% for singles and spot plus 12% for 10 or more. We need to
order at least 25 Platinum RPD. And as this is a very special item, we will
limit the issue to only 100 maximum. So if you get one, it will be one of
only 25 minimum to 100 maximum. If you are interested, please call the
office and lock in your order. If for some reason we don’t reach the 25
minimum, your money will be returned.
4. Liberty Dollar Assertion
When I made my presentation to the American Institute for Economic
Research (AIER) on June 21, I stated an “Assertion” at that the Liberty
Dollar Model could solve our country’s monetary problems. I said in
particular that the Liberty Dollar provided a proven, peaceful, proactive,
and profitable solution to the national debt, trade imbalance, Social
Security, declining value of the US dollar and every other money related
problem.
How? Simply by returning the US dollar to a value based monetary unit
that is market driven, the US government could grow its way out of debt.
Money is so central to all human events that the only action necessary is
to change the money. Of course this is already happening on an individual
basis. But how could America right its monetary course given the existing
monetary structure?
When Michael Badnarik asked me to be his Secretary of the Treasury, I
explained that the new Secretary could take two simple actions given his
current powers and duties:
1. Whereas the US Mint is currently producing a one ounce Silver Eagle
with a face value of $1, the Secretary could change the face value to $20
so it could be used in commerce.
2. Whereas the Bureau of Engraving and Printing prints a $20 Federal
Reserve Note, the Secretary could change it to a Silver Certificate that
could be redeemed for the new $20 Silver Eagle.
These two actions by the Secretary of the Treasury would gradually
convert the money to a value based monetary system and finance the
government’s way out of its current monetary quagmire and resolve the
national debt.
The new Secretary of the Treasury could announce this change on his first
day in office. Will it throw the world markets into disorder? No. Quite the
opposite, it will bring order to the market. Will metal prices increase?
Yes. But they are already increasing as people and foreign governments flee
the depreciating US dollar. The metal prices will continue to increase
regardless of any government action, be it negative or positive.
Will everybody rush out to get the new silver based currency? No. Did
everybody save the old pre-1964 silver quarters when the new clad quarters
were issued in 1965? No. People’s attitudes about money change slowly. Plus
the government can specify market exchange mechanisms while maintaining a
disciplined monetary system ala the Liberty Dollar Model that puts the
government in a positive cash flow position.
So the simple solution to our country’s monetary problems is to view the
government as a wholly owned corporation by the people. As such the
government corporation provides a market driven currency with a face value
that has a significant premium over its bullion value. The government
corporation profits from issuing specie and audited warehouse receipts in
gold and silver. No need for the IRS either.
Is this Assertion a viable solution? Is there any historic evidence that
such a value based model will work or has worked in the past? The answers
are a resounding, yes! Over the past 5,000 years of monetary history, gold
and silver has always held its value. While on the other hand, fiat systems
like the current Federal Reserve scheme have always failed.
Early American history provides a clear example of how our Founding
Fathers corrected the country’s monetary course after the Revolutionary War.
When General George Washington won the Battle of Yorktown in 1781 and
secured independence for the United States, the country had anything but
peace. Inflation was over 5000%, unemployment was everywhere, buildings were
deserted, open lawlessness, kidnappings and ride by shootings were common.
Riots and lack of goods and food was noted by historians of the time.
Our Founding Fathers mentioned that they had to fight their way through
angry crowds to get into what is now Independence Hall. The country was at
war with itself because of the fiat money issued during the Revolutionary
War. But within two years after signing the US Constitution that removed the
bank’s ability to “issue bills of credit” the young country was at peace,
everybody was back at work and the stores had stocked shelves.
This can and will happen again. But not until we change the monetary
system. We either change the money or lose our country to tyranny. That is
the choice we face today.
To understand that value is the correct course of action, one must
understand that we have been on the wrong course since 1913 when the Federal
Reserve was granted control over the US dollar by Congress. Since that time
the United States, and gradually the whole world, has been living a monetary
lie. We have witnessed the largest relocation (theft) of the people’s money
into the private hands (Federal Reserve owners), who control the government.
The Liberty Dollar model offers a rational, reasoned, and disciplined
method to provide an orderly revaluation of the US and global monetary
system into real terms. Anything short of such a solution will wreck havoc
and disorder on the global monetary system.
Admittedly, the Liberty Dollar model will not be accepted, or even
appreciated, for quite some time. It is during that time, you can do what is
right by protecting your own purchasing power, personal wealth and profit.
We are witnessing a global revaluation from fiat to substance. Substance has
always won. It will win this time. Please do what is in your best
interest... and hope that includes some Liberty Dollars.
5. Special: Redeem $1 Certs for $1 Coppers
In an effort to support Ron Paul for President and get more $1 Ron Paul
Dollars circulating to create more buzz.... As a Special Offer you can
redeem $1 Certificates for $1 Copper Ron Paul Dollars for the next 20
days... Your return of $1 Certs must be postmarked before midnight
Wednesday, August 22. Normally, a redemption such as this is not possible
but we know that the more Ron Paul Dollars that are out there, the more
people will hear about the Truth Candidate. Please consider this Special
Offer and send in your One Dollar Certificates. No other Certificates will
be accepted for this offer... only $1 Certs, please. Fulfillment will take
place as soon as we receive the Copper Ron Paul Dollars, still projected for
November. If we can ship sooner we certainly will. Be sure to include your
name, address and a nominal flat shipping fee of only $4 per redemption,
regardless of the number of $1 Certs. Plus the shipping fee can also be paid
in $1 Certificates or US dollars.
6. Update on the Copper Liberty
I am pleased to inform you that we finally received the shipping
documents for the Copper Libertys. But I regret to inform you that the
shipment was delayed and our best guess is that the Copper Libertys will not
be arrive in Evansville until the end of August. The Fulfillment Office has
processed all the paperwork and is set to swing into overtime and get the
long awaited copper orders to you ASAP. Of course, if you wish to cancel
your order, please call the office.
Meanwhile, the dies for the Copper Ron Paul is advancing and we still
anticipate that the Copper Ron Paul Dollars will ship in November as we
initially stated.
7. Annual Audit & Silver Summit
There is still room for another person on this year’s Annual Audit and
Inspection of the Warehouse at Sunshine Mint in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. If you
have never been to a mint, or you like the idea of piles and piles of gold
and silver, or you have a keen interest in the Liberty Dollar or, even if
you have gone on a mint tour... this is one of the best! The tour includes a
visit into the vault so you can see the Gold and Silver Libertys that back
up the paper Warehouse Receipts and digital currency. The Audit and Tour is
scheduled for 10:00 AM on Tuesday, September 18. Please call the office
888.LIB.DOLLAR for a reservation, as it is limited to only six Associates
per year.
The Silver Summit that is also in Coeur d’Alene starts on Thursday,
September 20 – 21 with mine tours the day before and after the event. I am a
perennial speaker and will be there again this year. The Silver Summit is
free and open to the public and usually draws 400-500 silver enthusiasts. It
is a hoot with the Mogambo Guru and the usual suspects.
More info is available at:
http://thesilversummit.com
8. Letter / Article to the Editor
[Editor note: This online discussion was between Sameer, a guy with his
head in a dark place and Jim Davidson, a fellow Liberty Associate. Sameer’s
comments are in quotes]
Dear Sameer,
Well, I've had about enough. Bernard von NotHaus is a friend of mine. He
has been a guest in my home. I believe he is a decent and honorable man.
And, quite frankly, I am tired of you accusing him and his business
associates of things they are not doing.
“So the liberty dollar isn't a scam in that they aren't scamming their
own direct customers.”
Correct.
“...but they are telling their customers to scam other people into
thinking that a '20' liberty dollar is actually worth usd 20, when it is
really only worth usd 12.”
No, they are not. You insist on applying bad motives to people you
evidently have not met, and you insist on assigning a bad character to the
behavior of people you have not observed in this behavior. It seems to me
you should take a step back and consider what is involved in an exchange of
value.
When someone accepts an ounce of silver in payment, it does not matter to
you if that ounce of silver was minted by the USA Mint and carries a face
value of One Dollar, does it? Yet, the Mint places that face value on the
one ounce silver pieces it mints deliberately, and with malice, knowing that
in so doing they are preventing most people from being able to spend those
silver ounces in most places for anything more than a dollar. In other
words, the Mint is deliberately deceiving people into accepting a negligent
face value which is not even a tenth of the true value of the ounce of
silver.
Yet, you won't accuse the Mint of trying to scam other people, would you?
Perhaps you would. A tender of payment is not a coerced payment. Nobody is
forcing anyone to take a Liberty silver piece in payment.
The price of silver is published. So, no one is denying anyone the
knowledge of what an ounce of silver is worth.
The silver pieces are not fraudulent in saying that they are other than
the exact weight they actually are - and I've measured a whole bunch of
them. Liberty silver pieces are an ounce troy in weight, exactly. And they
are of the correct size to be of the density of very pure silver, as they
are labeled. Get one, and a micrometer, and see for yourself.
You want to insist that people cannot accept an ounce of silver for $20
worth of goods without being defrauded. But, it is not up to you to
determine what is accepted in trade by other people. You are welcome to
refuse an ounce of silver with a $20 face value, (if you are reading this
and are one of the first five to call you will receive a silver ron paul
dollar) and accept an ounce of silver with a $1 face value (or a $10 face
value?) or accept a piece of paper with no silver in it which has a picture
of Andrew Jackson and a $20 face value. But it is not up to you to determine
what I, or John Doe, or Jane Roe accept.
A buyer and a seller make a market. That is the rule. If the buyer offers
a silver Liberty in tender and the seller accepts it, then that is an
exchange. Value for value. And it is wrong of you to interfere, or call
either party names. I assume you call both parties names - the buyer is a
scammer and the seller is a fool, in your opinion, yes?
The rule is not ‘a buyer and a seller and Sameer's good opinion make a
market.’ And it shall never be the rule, except where you are buyer or
seller. You have no authority to impose your opinion on others, and even if
you had the power to impose your opinion, it would still be an imposition.
“... worth usd 13 at current silver prices.) And since as I understand
if, if you're a ‘member’ you can buy the '20' liberty dollar for a price
close to spot.”
At a discount to face, but at a considerable premium to spot.
“So you're basically telling your customers to pass off a token that they
only paid 13 usd for as something worth 20 usd.”
No. Nobody pays $13 for Liberty silver pieces today. The last I checked,
the prices available were much closer to $18. Be that as it may, no one is
being told to "pass off" anything as being worth $20. People are free to
accept or reject Federal Reserve notes,
aren't they? And those have no intrinsic value - no silver at all.
People are free to accept or reject the Liberty silver pieces. And they
have $13 of silver value, plus the added value of being an ounce rather than
the large number of ounces required to gain the spot price on the world
markets. Plus they have some numismatic rarity compared to the USA silver
eagle one ounce coins. Plus they have a useful
face value.
“Of course they're not worth 20 usd, because no one in their right mind
would trade 20 usd for a '20' liberty dollar.”
How do you know? Do you know everyone? And whose sanity is in question,
when people trade US$20 of goods and services for paper tokens all the time,
which have no silver value to them?
“Of course ‘worth’ is subjective. US dollars have no ‘intrinsic’ value
but they are worth something because you can trade them for goods and
services.” And so are silver eagle coins minted by the USA Mint, though they
are clearly worth more than their one dollar face value. And, apparently, in
my direct experience, so are silver Liberty pieces. A thing is worth
whatever it brings in exchange.
What you seem to be saying is that no one is ever allowed to make a
profit. Do you think that the person who sells me five pounds of steak at $4
per pound actually paid $20 for what he sells to me at that price? No,
certainly not. He paid perhaps $12 for five pounds of steak, or less if he's
closer to the source, or buys in greater quantity. He might have added a $1
of labor to the steak by trimming it into some popular shape or cut.
If the seller of beef steak can sell what he buys for $13 at a price of
$20, then why cannot the seller of silver pieces do so? Or is profit
necessarily a scam?
“I guess the liberty dollar people think, well if we can convince enough
people that a '20' liberty dollar is worth usd 20, then it will be worth usd
20".
There's another way that a silver Liberty may become worth more than
US$20. If the Fed continues to do what it has done for the last 90+ years,
then the US dollar is going to continue to decline in value. Do you remember
when a dollar was worth 371.25 grains of silver? I do. I still have a silver
dime that my Great Aunt Dori gave me which was minted back before Lyndon
Johnson declared that silver was ‘too valuable’ to be used for money.
How did we get from silver valued on the world market at about $1.29 per
ounce in 1963 to a world market price of $13? We got there because of the
inflationary policies of
the Federal Reserve which has, on average, in that time, reduced the
purchasing power of the dollar by around 90%.
“At that point you'll be sort of like the fed, in that your currency is
worth more than its intrinsic value.”
If a currency has a face value less than its intrinsic value, what
happens? It does not circulate. A currency, which has a face value greater
than its intrinsic value remains in circulation. That's Gresham's Law.
Now, it is sort of interesting that the various mints of the various
nationalist governments of the world mint gold and silver coins, still. They
evidently do so because there is a demand for such things. They do so
because they can buy low and sell high. They do so because they wish to fill
the market with their products, against the interests of those with whom
they compete unfairly - unfairly because they have taxpayers to take up the
slack whenever they FUBAR things.
But it is also interesting that all those nationalist government mints
put face values on their coins that are below the value of precious metal in
the coins. In the case of the USA, the penny and nickel in ordinary
circulation have face values less than the value of the metals - so the USA
gov't has made an extraordinary rule forbidding Americans to export those
coins nor melt them down for metal.
Why do those coins have absurdly low face values? To prevent them from
going into circulation to compete with the national paper money.
And why does the Liberty dollar have a sensible face value? So that it
can go into circulation and be used as money.
“And you'll be rich rich rich, because you'll be making these tokens that
you can sell for 20 usd at a cost of just 13 usd!”
Nonsense. You have no idea. If one buys silver for $12 and takes that
silver to a mint, do you think they'll provide you with silver pieces for $1
in minting costs? They won't, I can assure you. Once you buy the silver, now
$13, and pay a mint to mint it, you also have to pay die costs and
transportation costs to distribute these.
“It doesn't matter if you have a political opinion that the usd is
worthless, because all that usd you're pulling in will still buy you a
javelin.”
I don't believe the political opinion being expressed is that the USD is
worthless, but that it becomes worth less and less over time owing to the
inflationary policies of the Federal Reserve.
“But until then, you're scamming people.”
No, they aren't. Those who offer silver pieces as payment are offering a
valid itemr in exchange. Nobody is required to accept the silver. Anyone is
able to find out the world market price of a five thousand ounce contract
for silver. So, there is no way to scam people in this matter. The price of
silver on the world market is freely available.
Anyone who accepts silver Liberty pieces in exchange is voluntarily
accepting the benefit of having a $20 silver piece, which contains an ounce
of very pure silver. If they think, as I do, that owning some silver may be
a hedge against further inflation, or if they think, ‘my what a pretty
coin,’ who are you to deny them the choice? And who are you to accuse anyone
who offers that choice as a tender in payment of scamming anyone?
“And, even then, if you think the fed is a scam...which I don't...”
I'm curious why you think it must be a scam to offer an ounce of silver
with a $20 face value, but it is not a scam to offer a flimsy bit of paper
with a $20 face value, as a tender in payment.
Is it because there are many more people accepting the paper fiat money
every day than there are who accept the silver money? If that is so, then
the majority would be the only standard of truth, and the world ‘must have
been’ quite flat.
Regards, Jim Davidson
9. Success Story / Incident of the Month
[Editor note: Recent Success Story submitted to the Office by Matt
Whitlock from Gainesville, Florida. Please send in your success story.]
I couldn't believe the overwhelmingly positive response I got tonight.
I ordered some pizzas online from my local Domino's and the total was
$14.89. I had three tens and three ones in my wallet, but I felt like
spreading some Liberty, so I left two of the tens on my desk and took a $100
bill from my drawer and added it to my wallet. Thus, I set out to pick up my
pizza (I never have it delivered) with $113 USD and $2 ALD.
When I got there and the guy at the counter told me the total, I opened
my wallet and thumbed through the bills and told him, "I'm a bit short on
small bills at the moment. I can give you fifteen if you take Liberty
Dollars," and I put the fifteen on the counter, "or I have this," taking out
and holding up the hundred, "if you can break a hundred."
The guy smiled and said, "I don't know if we take Liberty Dollars, let me
ask," and he went back to the prep tables to ask the manager.
They both came back to the counter and the manager picked up the bills I
had laid on the counter and held them up, and they both began to read the
text printed on them. I just stood there quietly and calmly while they read
the text to themselves. The guy was smiling and nodding as he read.
When they finished, the guy made a comment like, "that's awesome," and I
told them briefly about how it's a private currency to the Federal Reserve
like FedEx is to the postal service and how it's inflation-proof because
it's backed by silver, which has real value, rather than being backed by
nothing. And the manager said, "that's really cool," took a couple of
dollars out of her pocket, put them in the cash drawer, and said, "there,
problem solved." She went off into the back, still holding up the Liberty
Dollar certificates and reading them again. The guy was smiling the entire
time.
This was my first attempt at spending Liberty Dollars, and I'm amazed at
the reaction I got. It seems people really are concerned about the state of
the dreaded FRNs and are ready and willing to accept a better alternative.
10. Question of the Month
QUESTION: Why are the $1 Copper Ron Paul Dollars not coming out until
November? What takes so long?
ANSWER: The simple fact is that we were not able to find a US
manufacturer to mint the Copper Liberty or Ron Paul Coppers in the United
States for under a dollar. So in respond to the call for a Copper Liberty we
are reluctantly having them minted outside the country. Production time and
transportation time adds up to a long wait but we anticipate the Ron Paul
Coppers by November.
11. Liberty Associate of the Month
Every Liberty Associate is different. No surprise because everybody is
different. But what is constantly amazing to me are the differences and the
high quality of people who are attracted to the Liberty Dollar. It is simply
amazing. And so it is the Liberty Associate for this month. He not only
moves to his own drummer, he broadcast it far and wide. Fortunately he has
moved to the Great State of New Hampshire and while I was attending the
recent Porcfest, we met up and did another radio interview. For the
thousands of times that this Associate has furthered the cause of Liberty
and his outstanding support of the Liberty Dollar, I am proud to name Ian
Bernard with Free Talk Live as the Liberty Associate of the Month. If you
are not familiar with Free Talk Live, it is talk radio that you control.
Tune into the most amazing talk radio: FreeTalkLive.com. Thank you Ian for
your support and congratulations on being the Liberty Associate of the
Month!
12. Quote of the Month
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human liberty; it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt
Closing Remarks:
Many thanks to all the Liberty Associates, Merchants, and RCOs for your
continued support. For it is only by banding together and adopting a free
and independent currency which provides us with “just weights and measures”
will we be able to throw off the yoke of a manipulated monetary/tax system
and generate a peaceful and prosperous society.
Thank you again for all your efforts to return America to value – one
dollar at a time!