Back in 1998, Bernard von NotHaus introduced the original Liberty Dollar. At that time, he issued One Ounce .999 fine Silver Liberty rounds that were valued at $10 per ounce, and Warehouse Receipts that were denominated in Liberty Dollars ($1, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100) just like US currency and based on the same valuation of ten dollars per ounce. He promoted his new currency to everybody, and people were immediately interested.
That interest grew until, five years later, the Liberty Dollar had reached a circulation of $5 million dollars. People loved the idea of having money that was actually backed by something of value, and his model of valuing an ounce of silver at $10, despite the fact that the average SPOT Price was just a bit below six dollars per ounce. By agreeing to accept the currency at the $10 per ounce base, those who used the Liberty Dollar were able to purchase the money at a discount and spend it at a profit.
Then, in 2003, the Liberty Dollar enjoyed a surge in acceptance when a small operation in Berryville, Arkansas was able to get almost every business in the area to accept the currency. This created a new business model called the Regional Currency Office model and dozens of people came to Berryville to learn how to get the currency accepted in their own communities. This resulted in an increase in circulation that reached $85 million dollars only three years later in 2006.
Of course, that was when the United States government decided that the Liberty Dollar might actually pose a threat to the US dollar, because the US dollar is backed only by the “full faith and credit of the United States.” It has no intrinsic value of any kind, and is subject to inflation whenever the money supply exceeds the demand. Because the US government, acting through the Federal Reserve Bank, could simply create money out of thin air whenever they wanted to spend it, inflation had become a common factor in the lives of most Americans.
Now, suddenly, there was a new Silver-Based money that was able to keep pace with inflation. When, around 2005, the price of silver rose above nine dollars per ounce, Bernard von NotHaus raised the Silver Base from $10 per ounce to $20 per ounce, and reissued certificates and coins on that base. People who had the original $10 base certificates were able to exchange them for the new $20 base certificates, which essentially doubled their spending power!
The model worked. It worked so well that over quarter of a million people got involved and spread the Liberty Dollar throughout the nation. Had it not been for one old Civil War law that had only been used twice before to prosecute anyone, the Liberty Dollar would have been a complete success and would probably have exceeded $1 billion in circulation by now.
Unfortunately, that law — 18 USC 486, which says “Whoever, except as authorized by law, makes or utters or passes, or attempts to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver or other metal, or alloys of metals, intended for use as current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” — gave the government the authority they needed to attack both Bernard and the Liberty Dollar. Bernard was arrested and charged with counterfeiting, despite the fact that his money was quite different in appearance from US money, and he was ultimately convicted of counterfeiting under the law just cited. His issuance of silver Libertys that were used as money, the judge ruled, did violate that particular law; had the Silver Currency been intended only as bullion, as we do today, and had not been used in barter commerce, there would have been no basis for the charges against him.
Using physical silver in barter is specifically prohibited under 18 USC 486, and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment up to five years for each offense. This was the final result of the clarification of the law by Judge Richard L. Voorhees on Bernard’s case.
Bernard’s Paper and Digital currencies, the judge ruled, were perfectly lawful. Whether they were in digital or paper form, they constituted a type of document known as a “warehouse receipt,” and warehouse receipts have a long history of being used as negotiable instruments even in common law, before the United States Code was ever written. The laws of the United States and of virtually all nations specifically permit warehouse receipts to be used as negotiable instruments, and they are commonly used as collateral for loans. This means that the paper money or digital money that Bernard issued did not violate any laws, and Bernard is still redeeming some of the old silver certificates to this day. People contact the Liberty Dollar Financial Association because we have the same toll-free number that was used back then, and we tell them how to reach out to Bernard in order to redeem their silver certificates.
When the Liberty Dollar Financial Association began issuing currency back in 2021, we wanted to avoid any conflict with the government. LDFA did not want to give the government any reason to interfere with our mission or have undesirable effects on our members. For this reason, we developed a new model, denominating LDFA’s new warehouse receipts in ounces and fractions of ounces, rather than in dollars. We’ve made every attempt to make this as easy to understand as possible, including printing a QR code on the back of each paper certificate that would show anybody the exact value of the silver that backed that certificate at that moment. Many of our members embraced the idea, but —
Well, in practice, it has proven quite difficult for merchants to understand how the currency works, and why it is beneficial for them to accept it. This money has actual value backing it, unlike the “Legal Tender” US dollars. Because the price of silver tends to rise with inflation, this money makes it possible to preserve your spending power, while inflation strips the spending power from any US dollars you may have on hand or sitting in the bank.
For this reason, and after careful research and consideration, LDFA is now going to launch a new currency using Bernard’s original model. We are returning to an agreed base value per ounce, and because silver’s SPOT price is around the $20 per ounce, LDFA has selected $30 per ounce for silver as the initial base for the new Liberty Dollar, and will issue paper Silver Certificates with dollar value denominations: $1, $5, $10 and $30 denominations.
Before you begin to panic, let me say this: Sometime this week, you will see a new Wallet appear in your account. The new Liberty Dollar Wallet will be available to all Members, along with the SPOT Silver Wallet and Cubits Wallet. You always have the option of participating in whichever Wallet(s) you prefer.
The SPOT Silver Wallet will operate as it always has, showing you how many ounces you own and the total current US dollar value of your account. The Cubits Wallet will also continue, because LDFA’s food program will become more and more necessary over the coming weeks and months.
The Liberty Dollar Wallet is the new evolution of Bernard’s original model, and will be denominated in Liberty Dollars, versus the US dollar value of your silver based on SPOT. This new Wallet will reflect the Liberty Dollar value, by multiplying the number of ounces you place into it by $30 per ounce. They can be spent and exchanged with other members and merchants who agree to accept them, on a dollar for dollar basis with US dollars.
This means that, if you are looking at an item that costs $30 USD, and the merchant selling it is a member of LDFA, then that merchant will accept 30 Liberty Dollars in exchange for that item. This is how the new monetary system works; we all agree among ourselves that we value an ounce of silver at $30, whether we are buying or selling.
Of course, to make this model truly work, we need to do things the way Bernard did.
Any day now, when the new Wallet appears, you will be able to get these new Liberty Dollars for less than their face value. Until such time as the SPOT price of silver begins to approach $30, you will be able to buy the currency and the silver that backs it at a 10% discount off their face value; this means that for every 30 Liberty Dollars worth of Paper (Silver Certificates) or Digital Warehouse Receipts you buy, you will pay only $27 US, but you will be able to spend them at their face value. In this way, you’re actually increasing your spending power, rather than simply preserving it.
So what happens when the price of silver rises close to $30? Here’s the answer:
When the SPOT price of silver goes over $25 and remains there for a 30 day moving average, we will the raise our base value to $50 per ounce, which will allow us to offer even greater discounts on the money—at least until SPOT goes over $35-40. There will be adjustments in the discount from time to time as needed, but the money will continue to be backed by silver and usable in commerce.
Within your new wallet, you will find links to redeem your silver as Silver Liberty One Ounce .999 Fine Silver Bullion Rounds, a way to convert them from Digital Warehouse Receipts to Paper Warehouse Receipts (Silver Certificates), and a way to sell your silver back to us for cash. When we buy back the silver from this wallet, however, we pay the same price that we are selling them for at that time, but minus a 5% exchange fee. We know you will need cash sometimes, but this wallet is not just a place to keep your money; we want to get Liberty Dollars circulating everywhere, and we’ll be showing you ways to help get your local merchants on board with them.
Please remember that you cannot use Silver Libertys as money anywhere. Only the Warehouse Receipts, whether Paper or Digital, can lawfully be used as money for public or private transactions. Silver Libertys back the Warehouse Receipts; they are .999 fine silver bullion that can be redeemed by surrendering your warehouse receipts to the warehouse.
PLEASE NOTE: just because Liberty Dollars are lawful for use in commerce, don’t confuse them with Legal Tender. That term is reserved for the currency that the issuing government will accept in payments of debts to that government. In this case, we are currently referring to the US government; smaller county or municipal governments, and even state governments, could adopt the Liberty Dollar for use within their jurisdictions if they chose to do so.
The new Liberty Dollar gives merchants a reason to embrace the currency, and will rapidly increase the number of places where you can spend it. Merchants will find this new currency to be much easier to understand and a lot more profitable. I know from my own experience in Berryville that, when Liberty Dollars are used on par with US dollars, merchants are much more likely to agree to accept it. Once they understand it, they will also have the option of becoming a member of LDFA and exchanging the currency at a discount themselves, which means that every time they use the Liberty Dollar to make change, they make more profit on that sale.
In addition, giving Liberty Dollars out in change will have the result of bringing customers back to that merchant’s store to spend them again. In this way, the money keeps circulating in the local economy, so people who appreciate sound money with real silver backing it will be coming to the local businesses who accept the Liberty Dollar.
Now, let’s talk about what effect this has on you.
First off, it means that for every dollar you deposit into your new Liberty Dollar Wallet by purchasing silver, you’re going to receive $1.10 worth of Liberty Dollars into your account. This increases your spending power by 10% instantly.
It means that you can exchange your digital Liberty Dollars for the paper Silver Certificates one for one. If you have Liberty Dollars in that Wallet, you can exchange them with no extra fee for Liberty Dollar Silver Certificates at any time, and LDFA will even cover the postage.
It also means you can redeem your digital Liberty Dollars for our Silver Libertys, also without any additional fees, other than simple shipping and handling. (We can’t just stuff them in an envelope and slap a stamp on it; sorry, but that’s the real world. We have no choice but to charge the shipping costs.)
In short, by bringing back Bernard’s original model, we expect to eliminate a lot of the headaches people had with LDFA, and increase your spending power while we’re at it. The Liberty Dollar General Store will be relaunched within the next couple of weeks, and any of our members who are merchants can market their goods through that interface, which gives you one place to spend them immediately. We have most of our food stock up there at the moment, ready to ship, and more items will be coming soon.
In addition, we’ve come up with a way to help put these new Liberty Dollars into circulation in your local community. This involves providing all participating Members with some cards they can give to prospective merchants. The cards read:
“Why I Use Liberty Dollars
And Why You Should, Too!
1. To avoid transaction fees
2. To help you control your profits
3. To support our local economy and community
4. To keep my purchases and location anonymous
5. To separate myself from a cashless society
6. To help keep Local Money Local
Using Liberty Dollars means using Real Money with Real Value
Take a few minutes to learn why Liberty Dollars
are beneficial for you and your business
www.whylibertydollars.com”
When you offer Liberty Dollars in payment for any purchase, even if the Merchant declines to accept them, just hand them one of these cards. This will enable them them to check out the linked website and learn why Liberty Dollars can help them make more money and benefit their local communities. We believe that this will bring many merchants on board and make Liberty Dollars a viable way to pay everything but taxes and Big Box Stores like Walmart and Target and such.
Of course, the biggest effect will be felt most keenly by LDFA Service Centers, Branch Offices and Regional Currency Offices, because they are able to purchase the currency at a deeper discount. This will increase their profitability and give them great incentives to start approaching the merchants in town about accepting Liberty Dollars.
“So,” you may be thinking. “What about when I need cash? Does this mean I can withdraw $30 for every ounce of silver I have in that Wallet?”
Not exactly — but we will still buy the silver back from you when you need US dollars. We will pay you the same price we are selling it for at that time, but there will be a small 5% exchange fee. This is because the Liberty Dollar Financial Association is much more than just a place to buy silver or to be used as a bank. Our purpose is much more serious than that: it’s to provide people a genuine value based currency that will hold its value. As such, we offer the convenience of buying your silver back when necessary to help you pay debts that will not accept Liberty Dollars, but our goal is to get as many Liberty Dollars into circulation worldwide as we possibly can.
We know that there will be questions, and we will be more than happy to answer them. These new developments will take place over a short period of time, to allow for adjustment. For example, those of you with our current Silver Certificates denominated in ounces will be able to exchange them for the new Liberty Dollar Certificates, but there will be a price adjustment because of the new pricing model.
LDFA looks forward to working with all of our members to bring this new model into reality, and we hope that all of you will find it as exciting as we do. After all, this is what we are all about: bringing sound money back to the people of America—and the world.
If you have any questions, please contact us at our office during regular business hours at 843-782-4007 or email us at customerservice@ldfa.nl.
Nov 02, 2022