Got Silver? We do in The Shire! THIS IS AWESOME!!!

[Lumpy]

http://granitestatepress.com/2010/02/new-hampshire-dissidents-print-currency-and-set-up-mints/

Disaffected by what they say is a continual climb in inflation and a weakening dollar, a handful of dissidents in the state are launching alternative currencies that they intend to inject into circulation.

Ron Helwig, 45, a computer programmer in Deerfield, has set up a sole proprietorship called Silver Shire, which will soon release a $10 equivalent silver piece into circulation in New Hampshire. Helwig moved to New Hampshire in 2005 as part of the Libertarian Free State Project.

"Most people believe that money is something special, and that only governments can produce it," Helwig said. Instead, he argues, money should be treated like any other product in the market.

Abelardo "Abbie" Gonzalez, 25, a computer technician in Winchester, is also setting up a printing and minting operation. Gonzalez will produce a silver-backed paper currency called the "Toz" that will initially be distributed in denominations of $2 equivalents, and backed by 1/20 of an ounce of silver.

"Other denominations will be introduced afterward," Gonzalez said. He already has a silver cache but will not disclose how much he has amassed.

Meg Reilly, a spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury, did not return a phone call or an email to respond to the legality of printing or minting alternative currency.

Gonzalez and Helwig are friends, but Helwig said the timing of their startups is coincidental, and that their respective currencies will compete with one another, as well as with the standard dollar.


Abelardo Gonzalez displays the Toz, a silver-backed alternative currency which he plans to release in $2 denominations early this year in Keene. (COURTESY)
According to Gonzalez, local barter entices consumers "to spend more of their money locally, as opposed to spending it at a large corporate retailer where prosperity is instantly removed from the community."

Independent paper printers and minters, some of whom align themselves with the libertarian ideas of Representative Ron Paul of Texas, or identify as anarcho-capitalists, argue the dollar is unstable, and that the U.S. Treasury has a monopoly on currency in the U.S.

Helwig cites distrust in the federal dollar, and believes that monetary competition from within the U.S. can lead to a stronger economy.

"For several years before the current banking crisis and the big bank bailouts, I've been a proponent of honest money," he said. "The permanent inflation brought to us by the Federal Reserve system is, I believe, an atrocity that needs to be ended."

No law exists to prevent minting or distributing alternative currency. Notes and coins that are easily distinguishable from U.S. coins and dollars, and highly localized, are often treated as legitimate barter, while tender that could be mistaken for federally-issued money can draw intervention from investigators.

Helwig and Charles Hampe of Belmont were associates of a man named Bernard von NotHaus, who created Liberty Services in Evansville, Ind., formerly NORFED, to mint coins such as the Liberty Dollar as an alternative to federal marks. Twenty million were in circulation last year.

They would go door-to-door to convince local shop owners to accept it.

"Some would say yes and some would say no," Helwig said.

Walmart, Staples, Burger King, Trustworthy Hardware and Winnisquam Pizza in Laconia accepted the Liberty Dollar. Hampe said he put between 2,000 and 5,000 coins into circulation, accounting for several thousand ounces.

But in November 2007, 12 FBI agents raided the Evansville office and froze company computers, took files and computers, gold, silver, platinum and nearly two tons of recently minted copper Ron Paul Dollars on charges of money laundering, wire fraud, counterfeiting and conspiracy.

Hampe lost $2,000 in a wire account he had with Liberty Services. "It's unconstitutional and ridiculous not to allow us to use silver and gold," Hampe argued.

NotHaus was hit with a slew of charges in May and is expected to go to trial in March. Helwig said that government agents and judges who approved the warrant were "misinformed" as to the constitutionality of printing coins and he and other supporters believe the company will prevail in court cases.

New Hampshire printers and minters are now preparing to reintroduce currencies, and they say they're more protected against intervention than Liberty Services was. Their currencies will be introduced in fractions of an ounce, or in grams, and production will be decentralized and conducted in many small operations across the region.

"If there are dozens or hundreds of people producing their own money, then there's no way (federal investigators) could shut it down," Helwig said. "A personal mint could be small and light enough to be easily hidden or moved."

Some operations have long been bartering alternative currencies. For instance, Ithaca Hours is a local tender paper currency traded in Ithaca, N.Y. since 1991.

Money, called legal tender or fiat currency in the U.S., has been controlled at the national level since the Civil War era. It was later moved off the gold standard at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944.

Debates continue about whether a move to a local or a global currency, such as the Euro, would be more stable than a national currency.

Morrison Bonpasse, president of the Single Global Currency Association, based in Newcastle, Maine, believes that Helwig and other proponents of local currencies confront an even larger obstacle than federal opposition.

"A lot of people create attractive currency and coins, but they really don't last," he said. "The key to currency is trust, and that's very hard to deepen."

[Ron Helwig]

Be sure to put in your pre-order!

There's already 160 of the 1 gram silver cards pre-ordered - we should be able to get that over 1,000 easily.

[WithoutAPaddle]

Bunker Hunt

[Lumpy]

Be sure to put in your pre-order!

There's already 160 of the 1 gram silver cards pre-ordered - we should be able to get that over 1,000 easily.

How is it going now Ron? It seems that ToZCash is doing better than ever though! Hope your invention is doing well too!
I'm stuck in back mAss for a while but I think about this EVERY DAY!

[thinkliberty]

Shire sliver is going on the liberty on tour, with a mini package! 

see:
http://www.libertyontour.com/2010/07/18/shiresilver/

[PattyLee loves dogs]

Appreciate the initiative of these insightful individuals !!!     

[Ron Helwig]

How is it going now Ron? It seems that ToZCash is doing better than ever though! Hope your invention is doing well too!
I'm stuck in back mAss for a while but I think about this EVERY DAY!

PorcFest was a really good experience, and we're trying to improve things for future events like the Live Free or Die Rally, and hopefully the Keene free market thing. With Keene's Last Biscuit being on board as a merchant, we should have a decent start to getting it in regular use.

I still need to sign up more merchants, as well as get the deal set up where people can get paid for getting other merchants signed up. There's some web work to do, as well as physical marketing material to make.

Puke is doing some good work on the graphics front, and we should be starting online advertising soon. The online store is almost ready as well.

Lots of potential, but lots of work to do!