| | The Mises article that Robert Malcom pointed to has the usual conservative nonsense in it. First of all, it was never illegal for Americans to own gold bullion. Even after Presidental Order 6102, you could own up to $100 in gold coin, and those with a recognized need (jewelers and dentists among others) were also left free to work. While I recognize the evil intent and consequence of Order 6102, claiming that it made owning gold illegal is false. President Franklin Roosevelt's first Secretary of the Treasury was William H. Woodin, himself a recognized numismatist who saw to it that "historical" gold coins (Minted before 1933) remained available. (See here: www.coin-newbies.com/articles/gold_never_illegal.html)
On a more subtle point, the author conflates the words "Greek tyrant." The original Greek tyrants were merchants in the cities of Ionia whose rise to power was financed by the first coinages, then in electrum. It is true that three hundred years later, Dionysius of Syracuse was a tyrant at a time when most cities were democracies or oligarchies. However, the story in the article presented is misstated. Here are the facts from Nobel prize winning economist Robert Mundell:
In 388 or 387 BC Plato made the first of his three visits to Syracuse. Whether the idea derived from Plato, or from frequent earlier trials with overvalued money in the Greek states, Dionysius issued tin coins around this time overvalued four times. The idea would be consistent with Plato--at least the later Plato--who held in The Laws that domestic money should be non-exportable, restricted in supply, and exchangeable with "Hellenic" money at what amounts to an exchange control authority. Dionysius' first issue must have been accepted because he tried it again, on the second occasion by overvaluing silver coins twice. Nevertheless, although he compelled these coins to be accepted under penalty of death, the penalty was insufficient to keep these coins in circulation at their nominal value and they soon fell to their commodity value. Whether the story told by Plutarch, that Dionysius got rid of Plato by sending him to the slave market at Corinth, where several philosophers were present by a happy chance so they could buy his freedom, is true or not, Plato's intervention into the practical game of power politics proved to be a dismal failure. -- From Uses and Abuses of Gresham's Law in the History of Money.
Also, I concur with Ted Keer that calling privately struck silver and gold rounds "dollars" is purposely misleading at least and just plain ignorant at worst. As has been demonstrated repeatedly, calling bullion by the name of money of account (dollar, franc) is a basic error when done in ignorance and a basic crime when done knowingly.
More to the point, we have enjoyed a wide range of privately-issued gold and silver bars and rounds for a full generation now and no one ever had this kind of a problem with the federal government. Over the years, I have had little gold bars from Engelhard, Mocatta, and the Austrian Mint. Silver rounds and art bars are too common to go into detail on. Many even mimic the classic heads of Miss Liberty as well as other icons from US government coins of the 19th and 20th centuries. No one has ever had a problem.
Finally, for all of its errors in theory and practice, the US Treasury and the US Mint have been fighting hard against a motley gang of second-handers who thinly disguise coin-like objects and sell them via mass media. It is as if someone made a dark brown liquid called "Cocca Colla" and used script logos, etc. Barry Goldwater, Jr. sells his services as a marketer for the National Collector's Mint of Westchester, New York. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0824biz-goldwater0824.html
One of the ingredients in this noxious mix is the "Republic" of the Marshall Islands which contracts to have these coins made. That much would be fine... except ...
From the Usenet Newsgroup, rec.collecting.coins --
Q: I have a collection of The Milestones of Space Exploration $50 silver Proof
Coins issued by the Repulic of the Marshall Islands ... They are legal tender of the Marshall Islands and are .999 pure silver.
A: You may also note that the Marshall Islands has since rescinded their offer
to exchange these coins for legal tender.
[To be fair, Canada did the same thing for its $5 silver coins as the price of silver rose and fell greatly around $5 over the years. -- MEM]
On the one hand, you should be free to buy whatever you want and certainly the US Government has a dismal record when it comes to managing circulating money. On the other hand, these knock-offs definitely infringe on the common perception of US Treasury and US Mint products.
And again, honest sellers and buyers of gold and silver rounds and bars have been trading without interference for over 35 years.
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