The reason behind the raid is unclear. The Justice Department's position, according to a year-old consumer alert on the Web site of the United States Mint, is that using Liberty Dollars "as circulating money is a federal crime."
I wonder where the provisions of this alleged "federal crime" are clearly stated in law. I should think that such a statute mighty require something a bit sturdier than an online "consumer alert."
Mint officials said the Liberty Dollar looks similar to legal tender, with inscriptions that say, "Trust in God" and "USA."
It's not the inscriptions on the coin which shake them up, but that each Liberty Dollar is worth much more than Federal Reserve coinage.
It's not clear, however, what the Justice Department's view is on the legality of possessing the coins for novelty or as protection against the declining value of government notes.
It's pretty clear to me.
Mr. von NotHaus said he suspects the raid is in response to "the competition" his currency poses to the U.S. Mint.
Like duuhh!
"This is an example of Bernanke trying to protect his own nest because he knows it's got holes in it," Mr. von NotHaus said, referring to Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. "He can't have something like the Liberty Dollar running around competing with his currency. It points out the fallacy of the fiat monetary system(i.e. the system that creates money out of nothing). They had to do something. Their currency is losing and we're going to the moon."
It is not unlikely, in my opinion, that the FBI and other Federal agents were dispatched to the scene by none other than Bernanke himself. It never occurred to me until now that the Federal Reserve might have arrogated to itself law enforcement authority with the ability to manipulate and command, not just the currency of the realm, (which they've done for decades), but the key Federal law agencies themselves.