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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >Everything you said makes sense except for one fact.  I am holding in my 
> hand as I type, a 1 oz. Fine gold (.999) $50 Liberty coin, U.S.,.  It is 
> Minted by the U.S. gov't and  it is legal tender.

Your coin is legal tender only because of its fiat value, not the value of 
the metal in the coin.  By the way, you'd be God's own fool to pay a $50 
restaurant tab with one ounce of gold.

The mechanism by which the government enforces the non-currency use of gold 
is by specifying that any contract you make specifying gold as tender is 
unenforceable.  You could enter into a contract of any kind with someone 
specifying 
that they pay you in $20 bills, or quarters, or money orders and you can be 
forced in court to comply with the contract.  But if you specify that you 
will 
be paid in X oz. of gold, the courts cannot enforce the contract.  This law 
still stands.  What it does is effectively preclude issuing coin based on the 
value of the metal.


James