Feds Surrendering Stash Of Gold, Silver, Copper

The ‘federal government’ has agreed to give back a massive stash of gold, platinum, silver and copper that had been confiscated in the “Liberty Dollar” case in which a defendant was accused of counterfeiting but eventually given probation on a count of conspiracy.

A federal court filing in North Carolina reveals that thousands of pounds of copper, at least 16,000 ounces of silver, and unannounced amounts of gold were involved. Most is being returned to those who could provide documentation that they had paid for the coins or bullion.

WND had reported back in 2007 when the case erupted.
That was when the FBI and U.S. Secret Service raided Liberty Dollar, which made and distributed coins that it described as “private voluntary barter currency.”

At the time, Bernard von NotHaus, the “monetary architect” for the company in Evansville, Indiana, said ‘agents’ “took all the gold, all the silver, all the platinum, and almost two tons of Ron Paul Dollars that were just delivered.”

The company information said Von NotHaus developed the Liberty Dollar in 1998 as an “inflation-proof” alternative currency to Federal Reserve notes. The U.S. government, however, historically has taken a dim view of anything monetary that could be perceived as substituting for its greenbacks.

Authorities have attacked such alternatives as counterfeiting, while supporters of such bartering tool attack the Federal Reserve notes as fakes.

In this case, Von NotHaus was charged with conspiracy and was sentenced by Judge Richard L. Voorhees to three years of probation and six months of house arrest.
The judge also had ruled that anything confiscated in the case not specifically deemed as “contraband” should be returned.

A report from CoinWorld explained that it involved “millions” of dollars worth of silver, platinum, gold and copper.

The filing from Acting U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina revealed that 265 of the 327 petitions that were filed for the return of property should be approved.

Another 27 petitions were subject to settlements and seven were denied for faulty or absent paperwork or other factors. The remaining had other issues.

The report said, “Von NotHaus introduced the Liberty Dollar in 1998, marketing the pieces using … the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and the Internal Revenue Code. The organization touted Liberty Dollars as an alternative to Federal Reserve notes, and sought to develop a network of merchants that would accept them in lieu of Federal Reserve notes.”
He sued in 2006, asking for a declaration that they were “private voluntary barter currency,” and shortly later the raid happened.

Since the raid, the report said, “prices for many Liberty Dollar issues, especially those with limited mintages, continue to rise in the secondary market.”

The exact items being returned were not identified, but individual listings did cite 16,000.5 troy ounces of raw silver and 3,039.375 pounds of copper coins.

Most of the bullion and coins were awarded to people who had documentation of their ownership, “evidenced by warehouse receipts and electronic Liberty Dollars, and unfulfilled but paid-for orders for forfeited property such as Ron Paul dollars, Chiropractic and Hawaii Dala coins.”

“These petitions are largely supported by documentation and/or plausible factual explanations that comport with the information known to the United States,” the government said.

One case involved a credit card processor which, pursuant to a contractual arrangement, “held a security interest in the Liberty Services merchant account from which United States currency was preliminary forfeited.”

The original organization explained its position regarding Liberty Dollars like this:

“It’s incredible how few people know the facts about the Federal Reserve. The organization chaired by Ben Bernanke is not ‘Federal’ – it is instead a cabal of private and international banks that does not answer to the United States government. And while there is some precious metal stored in Fort Knox, it doesn’t back the debt based ‘fiat’ U.S. dollar that they issue, because nothing backs it except your trust in the system!

Even a casual look at the Fed’s history leads one to wonder how an institution that profits mightily from its own policies of victimizing Americans has maintained control over the money of the wealthiest nation on Earth. For those who have made a serious inquiry, the Federal Reserve is shadowed in deceptive origins and fraudulent policies.”

Its alternative was a series of coins made of precious metals that could be exchanged for an assigned dollar amount. Over its history, the company had produced the California Bear, Chambersburg Dollar, Evansville Dollar, Hawaii Dala, Peace Dollar and the Ron Paul Dollar, among others.

http://www.wnd.com/2015/08/feds-surrendering-stash-of-gold-silver-copper/