Has anyone collected or received any of these? Liberty Dollar Well, I am definitely not what I would call knowledgeable on banking and the Fed Reserve system. I am not looking to insight a rebel uprising, I was just curious about the coins themselves. The website, well it is an interesting read and makes some interesting points. That I leave for you to judge for yourself.
Someone came into a local dealer's shop , wanting to know how many thousands of dollars these certificates were worth. The dealer offered a dime for the 1 dollars, half a dollar for the five dollars, and the rest I can't remember. Boy, did this man look depressed after he heard this. Oh, the coins? I would rather buy from another, more reputable source than take the chance. If it's too good to be true, then it's definetly not true.
As I read it, the mistake this man made was to try to redeem them at an establishment that didn't participate in the program. This is the same as many local communities that produce their own "currency" and "coins" that are redeemable for face value at participating stores in that community. Two examples... Traverse City, MI creates and sells currency and Manitoulin Island, ON creates currency and $1 and $2 coins called "Haweater Dollars" that are legal tender anywhere on the island. Outside the communities they are pretty much worthless and just souvenirs.
[QUOTE='Ol Silver]As I read it, the mistake this man made was to try to redeem them at an establishment that didn't participate in the program. This is the same as many local communities that produce their own "currency" and "coins" that are redeemable for face value at participating stores in that community. Two examples... Traverse City, MI creates and sells currency and Manitoulin Island, ON creates currency and $1 and $2 coins called "Haweater Dollars" that are legal tender anywhere on the island. Outside the communities they are pretty much worthless and just souvenirs.[/QUOTE] Close, but he thought they were rare currency items that he had found. One more comment about the coins, I don't see how this is possible for the guy to back these. If silver dropped to say $1 per ounce, he would be paying $10 for about a dollar's worth of silver.
A few days ago somebody was arrested who had tried to use such Liberty pieces for some payment. Guess there is nothing wrong with that "per se", but maybe these people were a little too pushy ... http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060122/1068456.asp Christian
Yeah, I understand the risk in backing these in this way. My thought was, it could be interesting to collect a set of so called "community currencies" used across the United States. Maybe more of an exonumia collection as opposed to numismatic collection. You know, kind of like people who collect Chucky Cheese tokens. I was just wondering if anyone has or does collect these or any other non government or community based currencies, that are legal of course. To buy the NOFRED would be paying a premium over bullion, but it might be cool to own a little known piece of monetary history when or if they are gone someday. I really never realized there were so many Local Currencies.
The author takes a few correct concepts about the Federal Reserve System, sensationalizes them, throws in a gimmick "solution," and markets it. He doesn't really comprehend the subject matter and doesn't understand the nature of money or the dollar. If you intend to buy anything from them, treat the silver coins as silver rounds and the paper notes as the equivalent of a collectible like a baseball card or post card; but without a base of collectors to sell to.
I have a few from various communities and countries in my collection. I purchased them as souvenir's or novelties and never considered them to have any value (other than face where redeemable) then or now. I could see where they would be fun and interesting to collect just like wooden nickels, challenge coins, etc..
