Buying lower-cost Liberty Dollars without becoming an "Associate"

[PowerPenguin]

The LD's are not changing in value.  An ounce of silver will buy, today, approximately what an ounce of silver bought a hundred years ago.  Similar, to use an example, an ounce of gold would buy a pretty decent men's suit a hundred years ago; oddly enough, an ounce of gold will do the same thing, today.

This isn't entirely true. Spot prices fluctuate regardless of the rate of inflation on any given day (which is presumably constant more or less). We can say, however, that it maintains its value over the long haul, based on monetary and industrial demand. Conversely, fiat currency is a certain failure.

The only thing changing in value in that equation are the FRN's, and that's what the changing face value on the LD's represents.

However, as several people have posted, accepting silver at significantly above face value is still silly.  Not that I might not pay for the convenience of using LD's, since they are a widely-recognized (at least, as widely as such things are) form of alternative currency.  But I would only use them for small transactions.  At any larger transaction, the added cost of the LD versus the spot price of silver gets too high.

Joe

Fair enough, but as you said, only a super-minority of educated, freedom minded individuals (like 0.000001% of the population) is going to go for that. They don't know what's going on, and don't want to deal with the weight, keeping up with spot prices, lack of banking storage, etc. In this way, the Fed is not a monopoly de jure, but rather de facto, as they make it *soo easy* to play their game, and quite annoying not to, for most people.

[MaineShark]

This isn't entirely true. Spot prices fluctuate regardless of the rate of inflation on any given day (which is presumably constant more or less). We can say, however, that it maintains its value over the long haul, based on monetary and industrial demand. Conversely, fiat currency is a certain failure.

Spot price is not the same as value.  Spot price is a result of trading on the currency markets, and does not reflect the value of metals in useful sizes.

Spot price is an indicator of value, but not directly equal to value.

Fair enough, but as you said, only a super-minority of educated, freedom minded individuals (like 0.000001% of the population) is going to go for that. They don't know what's going on, and don't want to deal with the weight, keeping up with spot prices, lack of banking storage, etc. In this way, the Fed is not a monopoly de jure, but rather de facto, as they make it *soo easy* to play their game, and quite annoying not to, for most people.

There's no need to know the spot price and whatnot.  Just learn to think in ounces...  I will often give people prices in "this much FRN's, or this many ounces of silver," or somesuch, and let them decide...

Joe