by Björn Schöpe
May 23, 2013 – In 2011 Bernard von NotHaus was condemned by a US court for counterfeiting money. He had issued coins and banknotes quite similar in appearance to the official currency of the USA. His so-called Liberty Dollars were backed up by gold resources and officially intended as barter in a community of numismatics. After the verdict the Central States Convention decided in 2013 to ban these numismatic product from their event for the first time.
Now, Joseph VaughnPerling, a collector has introduced the New Liberty Dollar. According to a CoinWorld article he wishes to ‘preserve as much of the beauty and artistry of the original Liberty Dollar, but subtracting or replacing the elements that based on our analysis of the legal case were the most problematic for the jury.’
Indeed, those who want to purchase a ‘medallion’ and visit the new website are faced with a couple of questions to make sure they understand that the project is not about a private currency but about medals with simply a certain innate value. Nevertheless on the obverse appears a big ‘$50’ which reminds of a face value. But it is specified by the abbreviation ‘MSRP’ – Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Instead of the inscription ‘Trust in God’ on the Liberty Dollars we read on the New Liberty Dollar ‘Right to contract’. The design, although modified still quite close to the original one, is no longer copyrighted by von NotHaus who divested his rights on the Liberty Dollar to a society which sold them to VaughnPerling.
VaughnPerling is contacting dealers to create a network of distributors. We will see how the story ends and whether authorities are convinced by the affirmation that this is not intended as barter. The website of the New Liberty Dollar declines all responsibilities: ‘The product is what it is, what you do with it once you own it is entirely your concern.’ So it seems that VaughnPerling would, at least, not be surprised to hear of someone using his New Liberty Dollar as more than just a medal …
You can read an article on the subject on CoinWorld.
Some more details are revealed in this esylum article.
The decision of the Central States Convention was published here.
We reported also on the verdict of von NotHaus.
And this is the website of the New Liberty Dollar.