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NORFED Liberty Dollar Newsletter - August 2003

LIBERTY DOLLAR NEWS: August 2003 Vol. 5 No. 8 ACTION ITEM: Scoop up some NEW $5 Silver Libertys, order the 5th Anniversary book, and keep sharing The Liberty Dollar with someone new every day... IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. NEW FIVE ($5) DOLLAR SILVER LIBERTY
  2. 66% Off The Liberty Dollar SOLUTION book
  3. Sample Chapter of book: What is a Dollar?
  4. Board of Directors
  5. List of Liberty Merchants in Austin
  6. Businesses Stop Accepting Liberty Dollar
  7. Calling all Success Stories
  8. Update on Regional Currency Office (RCO)
  9. Incident of the Month
  10. Question of the Month
  11. Liberty Associate of the Month
  12. Quote of the Month
  1. NEW FIVE ($5) DOLLAR SILVER LIBERTY

Today we're announcing the First Issue of the all- new $5 Silver Liberty, containing one half ounce (0.50oz.) of .999 fine Silver, to celebrate the 5th Anniversary! That's right, now you can use a hefty half-ounce Silver Liberty in addition to the popular one ounce $10 Liberty. Wait until you see your first one! After developing the $1 Silver Liberty to ac- company the $1 silver certificate, it seemed nat- ural to mint a $5 Silver Liberty to accompany the $5 certificate. But would it work? Well, the acclaim we received for the $1 Liberty was enough encouragement to convince us that we should pro- duce the $5 Liberty. But who knows? The U.S. half dollar is, after all, the least used denomina- tion. As a collectable, it will be popular, but only the market will tell if it will function in commerce. Now, for only $5, this is a super piece, plus $5 is a very convenient denomination and could indeed prove to be a winner. The $5 Silver Liberty is 32 mm in diameter, which is approximately 1-1/4 inches diameter, and just a quarter of an inch

smaller than the 39mm, one-ounce $10 Liberty. So it is "big", but yet certainly significantly dif- ferent in size so it cannot be confused with the $10 Liberty. It still looks very impressive for a $5 piece. Like the $1 Liberty, it is dated 2003 in commemoration of the 5th anniversary. The obverse design retains the same "Liberty Head" as on the $1 and $10 Libertys. The reverse, while similar to the $1 with a truncated torch design, looks very money-like. I must confess after seeing the initial specimens, I am quite taken with the reverse design. The large 32mm format allows for more of the torch to show and the $5 face value is very prominent for daily use. With the larger size, it was possible to carry the phone number and URL as on the $10 Silver Liberty, which was not possible on the $1.00 Liberty. Luckily the $5 Silver Liberty is larger than the $1 silver so it is earlier to mint, and the cost per ounce for the intrinsic metal is also much better than with the $1 Silver Liberty. So, Associate pricing is as follows: the minimum order is 10 at $5 each. Quantities of 50 to 99 are $4.50 each. Quantities of 100 or more are only $4 each! (Stan- dard shipping and handling charges will be added to all orders.) So Associates can get the $5 Liberty at a 20% discount, but only while silver prices re- main at the $5/oz level. So don't wait! Prices are subject to change without notice, so please don't be disappointed. Order today! Liberty Merchants are also encouraged to order $5 Libertys at the slightly smaller Merchant discount. And again, due to the commemorative nature of this very special issue, the $5 Silver Liberty is lim- ited to 25,000 Libertys before a die change. If you like this idea, please blame it on Jason Pratt, ([email protected]) the single staunchest supporter for a $5 Liberty and an in- valuable Associate and Board member. Thank you, Jason!

  1. 66% Off The Liberty Dollar SOLUTION book

I am happy to report that by bits and pieces and much hard work by many people, the 5th Anniversary book, The Liberty Dollar - SOLUTION to the Federal

Reserve, is on target for the October 1st as planned. As we have developed the format and font size, it is over 500 pages and retails for $14.95. This is one fantastic book. It contains 18 contri- butors, of whom six are PhDs, and many others are quite notable figures (such as Congressman Ron Paul.) And it's not just about the Liberty Dollar. It covers all the bases, including history, eco- nomics, the debt, and monetary mechanics, all of which contribute to the mess we have today, and of course, the solution too! This book is intended to help you explain the money situation to friends, colleagues, merchants, and associates. It's a serious, professional outreach piece, as well as a great complement to your library! Think of it as a "Second Edition" to G. Edward Griffin's Creature

From Jekyll Island. This book is worth every penny of $14.95. But we're not going to make you pay that. As a Liberty Associate or Merchant, you can get the book for only $5.00! That's one third the price, but only if you order before it is issued. And with our usual satisfaction guaranteed, if you don't like it, you can return it for a full refund (if it's in original condition.) Plus, we take Liberty Dollars in any form: specie, paper, or digital! This is the best quantity discount we will be of- fering, so please get your order in now for one or a hundred. To make this deal even better, we will limit postage to a flat $3.00 per ORDER during this pre-issue period. So order a copy for all your friends, use it to impress them and convert more Associates, Merchants, and others to the Liberty Dollar solution!
  1. Sample Chapter: What is a Dollar?

Wondering what the 5th Anniversary book is like? Well, for your perusement, here is an excerpt: Chapter 37: Do You Know What a Dollar Is? It is the shortest chapter in the book, so you can see how much detail is packed into this little 500 page goodie. The bottom line on the book is that it not only commemorates our 5th Anniversary, and pro- vides us with an excellent tool to share the Liberty Dollar with many other people, it is also a really enjoyable read, IMHO:

Do You Know What a Dollar Is? Don't be silly! Of course you do. You have been using dollars for years. You've probably got some on you right now. Maybe you are worth a few million of them. Of course you know what a dollar is. Or do you? Have you ever thought about that piece of pa- per that you have used your whole life? Ever wonder where that "dollar" came from when you use your credit card? 'Dollar' is now the most common name for a nation's economic unit or money in the world. The name dates back to 1516 when Count Schlick discovered a rich silver deposit on his property in what is now Bavaria, Germany. Instead of mining the silver and selling it, Count Schlick secretly began minting a big silver coin called Joachimstalergulden, named after the valley, Joachimsthal, where the silver was mined and first minted in 1519. And as the name was too long even for the Germans, the coins event- ually become known as talerguldens or just talers. Production ran to hundreds of thousands. From 1529 to 1545, it is believed that over five million talers were minted. It is estimated that a total of over 12 million talers were put into circulation. Taler became a common name for many German states and German speaking countries. The taler influenced many European coins at a time when national cur- rencies were developing. In Italy it was tallero, Dutch it was daalder, Swedish it was riksdaler, in English it was dollar and in Hawaiian it was dala. The talers spread around the world and eventually became the name for any large silver coin. The Maria Theresa taler, minted by Austria, became the most famous and widely circulated of all the talers. First issued in 1773, it was so popular that even after Maria Theresa died in 1780, the Vienna Mint has continuously minted still today, all dated 1780. Many countries copied the Maria Theresa taler if they lacked a queen of their own. The Scots used the name dollar to distinguish their money from the domineering English to the south. Thus from the earliest of times the word dollar carried an anti- English attitude, which found a home in revolution- ary America. But no country ever adopted the "dollar" as their "official" currency. Not until 1787 when the Americas needed to name their currency in the U.S.

Constitution, did "dollar" become an official cur- rency. So the word was adopted by this new rebel country that believed every man was created equal. How novel. And as the Spanish mill dollar had be- came the most common coin in the British colonies, it became the U.S. dollar. It is that dollar which is mentioned twice in the Constitution, in Article 1 and in Article 10. The dollar, although mentioned in the Constitution, was not defined until the Mint Act of 1792. In ad- dition to creating the U.S. Mint, this first Mint Act defined a dollar as 371.25 grains of fine sil- ver. Why such an odd amount of pure silver? Well the new American government studied the Spanish cir- culating mill dollar, in the new country, and found that the average weight was 371.25 grains of fine silver and specified the new U.S. dollar to be ex- actly the same. But even with the founding of the U.S. Mint, the Spanish mill dollar continued to le- gally circulate in the United States of America until 1857, seventy years after the Constitution was signed. And so it came to pass that Congress set the weight of a dollar at 371.25 grains of fine silver. So what is a dollar today? Well, it is suppose to be the same! The Mint Act of 1792, just like the Constitution, has never been repealed. In fact, the ironclad Act says that if anyone reduces or changes the amount of silver in the dollar, is guilty of a capital offence and must be executed. Now if we could only enforce the Act of 1792, we would be able to remove a lot of the riff-raff in Washington. Remember what Professor Rothbard said about what government has done to our money? (Chapter 19) So again, what is a dollar? A dollar is 371.25 grains of fine silver or 24.75 grains of fine gold. If your dollar is not 100% redeemable in gold and silver, you have been defrauded by the government and may have experienced an increase in your cost of living or a decline in your standard of living. Having a dollar that loses value is as disastrous to you, your business and the country as would a foot or gallon that gets smaller. The government's manipulation of the value of the dollar down, down, down is the root cause for most of the economic, political and social problems of contemporary America. And as the U.S. dollar is the de facto global currency, the same is

true for the world. In fact, as America exports its inflation, the situation is worse in many other countries. What can be done? How can we ever get back to Kansas? Back to the good old values which enabled us to make America a great country? That is the topic of this book and the solution presented by the Liberty Dollar. It is not up to the government, as it is impossible for them to save us. We, the people, must save ourselves. We must rely on that 'damn Yankee' pioneer, self-reliant spirit. The only way back to value is to spread the Liberty Dollar Solution person-to-person, one dollar at a time, in a peaceful, voluntary manner.

  1. NORFED's Board of Directors

Like most Board of Directors, the NORFED board changes from time to time as people and their lives change. Given the recent growth and changes to the NORFED model and in celebration of the 5th Anniversary, I am happy to report our current board consists of myself as Chairman, John Rakus, an attorney in California, Jim Thomas past pub- lisher of Media Bypass, Bud Denzel one of our first Associates (RC) and Jason Pratt one of our new and most active RCOs. Every Board is looked upon for the three Ws: of Wisdom, Wealth and Work. This Board is certainly not a do-nothing group. Each one has not only contributed all the Ws, each has contributed their most valuable pos- session, their time. I wish to thank every Board member for all their many efforts, fore they are another reason why NORFED is such a great org- anization.

  1. List of Liberty Merchants in Austin

But it isn't the Board of Directors or the legions of Associates out there using The Liberty Dollar that make The Liberty Dollar a success. Actually most of the great work is done by the individuals who want to make a difference with the Liberty Dollar. Such is the case with Shawn Lauzon and his new list of Liberty Merchants in flamin' Austin. Please

visit http://www.austinlibertymerchants.org And if you want to compliment Shawn, get some info on what you can do in your own area, or lend a sug- gestion, please send an email to him at [email protected] As Shawn reported to the ALD-Forum: The Austin Liberty Merchants web site is up and ready! The site is "A directory of merchants accepting American Liberty Dollars in the Austin and central Texas area". I've separated the site into 2 main portions:

  1. "Austin Liberty Merchants" lists those merchants who will accept ALD for full or partial payment. If you know of a business, which accepts ALDs, sign them up!
  2. "Success Stories" allows people to freely post where they have successfully used ALDs. It can be an Austin Liberty Merchant or some cashier at the local McDonalds - doesn't matter! Please if you live in the area, after you buy some- thing with ALD put a quick post to the site so we can get an idea where and how often it's being used. The more ALDs are spent, the more merchants will accept them! Editor's Note: Right on, Shawn!!! I encourage everyone to contact Shawn and find out about getting a list like this started for your area. It is only through growing the Merchant side of the economic equation will the Liberty Dollar accomplish our goal to return America to value. With a few merchants here and a few merchants there, over time this humble beginning will grow to reflect the Liberty Economy and provide a chronicle of our success. Well done, Shawn! Thank you for being an active Associate!
  1. Businesses Stop Accepting Liberty Dollar

As discussed above, a large merchant base is crit- ical to our success. Thank God, NORFED is blessed with many people who realize this simple fact and have devoted serious time to defining and adding

to the solution. Such is the case with Steve Maes, an Associate in California. Some time ago he form- ulated his opinion, and although it is a bit dated and positive strides have been made, I'm reprinting it here to draw more attention on the solution: We must grow the merchant base: I think the main reason some businesses stop ac- cepting Liberty Dollars is not necessarily the fact that banks do not accept them, but more the fact that these businesses do not know what to do with them and/or they don't have a ready way to convert them back into goods and services or FRNs - which are accepted everywhere. So the real problem is not necessarily having a bank that deals in Liberty Dollars but having an outlet for the Liberty Dollars. In other words, the key is having numerous business- es willing to accept Liberty Dollars. In the beginning, the Liberty Dollar is in essence 1.) a store of value; 2.) a coupon exchangeable for Silver Libertys, and 3.) a coupon exchangeable for goods and services (at lim- ited locations). Only later will it become a widely accepted medium of exchange. Once consumers have the knowledge that they can ex- change their Liberty Dollars for an abundance of goods and services then a banking system will grow around it. A Liberty Bank does one no good unless the person re- ceiving your Liberty Check (payable in Liberty Dollars) has a ready market for Liberty Dollars. If they don't have a market (outlet) for Liberty Dollars, they won't accept your check anyway. With this said, our efforts must be focused on spon- soring businesses that promote, educate, and offer in change - Liberty Dollars. At first, it will be in the form of identifying business owners who are part of "the choir" because these are the courageous individuals who will stand for what they believe in - and are wil- ling to stick with it until Liberty Dollars are more widely recognized. This is where the initial effort comes in. It will help us to identify a core group of local businesses that can start the process. An important part of the education process, from a bus- iness owner's standpoint, is to have the Liberty Dollar brochures in a Brochure Box [like the new Merchant Display] strategically placed near the cash register. The business owner can simply offer Liberty Dollars in change and, when the customer gets that puzzled look, explain that they can exchange them for Silver Libertys

(Dropping a Silver Liberty in the customer's hand, a la "Do the Drop") or use them at participating businesses and hand the customer a brochure. On the brochure, the business owner should have their contact info, their Affiliate Link to the NORFED website, and the Liberty Exchange website. The Liberty Exchange website reference should be preceded by a statement a- long these lines, "For a complete list of merchants that proudly accept Liberty Dollars..." All this can be done with a simple "peel and stick" label printed up on your computer and put on the brochures. I don't think I would change the brochures at all (although a statement that the FRN has lost 96% of its purchasing power over the last 90 years would be nice). They are beautifully done. [Editor's note: The brochure has been changed. And thanks for the compliment.] Business owners should become Associates, because this is how way they can get paid for promoting Liberty Dollars. These profits also cover the nominal cost of the brochures, etc. Here are some closing thoughts: The www.LibertyDollar.org website and the www.LibertyExchange.info website should have a powerful search feature that enables people to search using a number of different parameters (i.e. products, services, localities). The Liberty Exchange site seems to already have this. Another important feature of these websites would be the ability for people to enter their listing online and have it automated so it that the update is instantaneous. [Editor's note: This has also been done.] They should have their own password so they can update their listing as needed. I think the Liberty Dollar site already allows this for Associates. Both websites should also sell ad space to those Liberty Dollar businesses that want to promote their businesses even more. The regular listing should be free and those who want to can buy bill- boards. How do those of us that don't have businesses promote Liberty Dollars? In addition to the ideas mentioned above and offering Liberty Dollars in commerce, we can also put a Liberty Dollar brochure in every piece of mail that we send out, especially when paying bills. At 10 cents each, they are as cheap as a business card. Ask the mer- chant to consider accepting this new currency. Make sure and have your Associate info on the brochure so you can receive the referral income from the sign ups, which helps defray the cost of promotion.

  1. Calling for Success Stories

As discussed by Steve Maes' article and exemplified by Shawn Lauzon's work, our efforts need to be turned towards the merchant side of the equation in the Liberty Economic model. And a big part of that still rests with the Success Stories. We are all busy, (boy, do I know that feeling) but it is important to take a moment and send in a success story, especially when it is special. But please don't wait for something special to send in the story. Now that NORFED is finally getting caught up on a lot of one-time projects and the book is at the printers, we should be more timely in posting your Success Stories. So, we're CALLING ALL SUCCESS STORIES! Please send them in.

  1. Update on Regional Currency Office (RCO)

It has been six weeks since the July 15th Alert that an- nounced the changes to the Liberty Dollar model. And now that we have had some conference calls and a bit of time to digest the changes, the overall response has been ext- remely strong. We have received more than a dozen applications for Regional Currency Offices (RCOs) and most have already been approved. To put this in perspective, we didn't get a dozen Redemption Center applicationss when the Liberty Dollar was launched 5 years ago until 6 months into it! With a rule of thumb of 1 million people per RCO, we'll eventually have around 300 RCOs to cover the U.S. More applicants are pending and many more Associates are calling to find out how they can claim their region. Of

course, as the new model is actually a business model, it is the Associates with a business sense who are quick to see the potential. This is exactly as it should be. We are looking for business people who want to do more than just get the Liberty Dollar at a discount and use it at a profit. The RCO is designed to be a business - a business that will just grow as the monetary situation worsens, and as the price of gold and silver react as usual. So if you have business experience and are interest in the RCO model, then I encourage you to call the National Fulfillment Office and talk to one of the ladies. Get your questions answered so you can make the right de- cision. Fill out the application and send it in, and I will give you a call as part of the review process. Act soon!

  1. Incident of the Month

No new incidents to report this month. There are several which are lingering towards resolution, but it seems with the "summer slows," everything is a bit slower.

  1. Question of the Month

QUESTION: Is it real? ANSWER: Without a doubt, the single most asked question is: Is The Liberty Dollar real? And of course, we all know it is. And with every call, more and more people are find- ing out about it. Let's just keep putting it out there - one dollar at a time.

  1. Liberty Associate of the Month

When The Liberty Dollar was introduced five years ago, we discovered a treasure trove of like-minded businesses, individuals and organizations in one well organized book. The name of the book is Knowledge Equals Freedom. It was compiled and written by Dennis Grover. Now in its eleventh year, Dennis' book remains a super source book for anyone who what to find liberty related info. Dennis' work and his many efforts have made him the Liberty Associate of the Month. Knowledge Equals Freedom is one book everybody should have. It is great to see how many people know the truth. And it is even better to have all their contact info too. In addition to the book, Dennis also produces a successful weekly television show from Reno, Nevada. And what is better is that Dennis markets

his weekly interviews to television stations all over the United States. Plus they are very reasonably priced and available by simply contacting Dennis at [email protected]. Thank you Dennis for the TV interviews all the support you have shown The Liberty Dollar over the past five years. Congratulations on be- ing the Liberty Associate of the Month!

  1. Quote of the Month

"Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an ap- pearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase ...into the dustbin, where it belongs."

  • Eric Arthur Blair (George Orwell) Thank you for your continued support. It is only by banding together and adopting a free and independent cur- rency which provides us with "just weights and measures" that will we be able to throw off the yoke of manipulated and controlled money, and return to a peaceful and prosperous time. Bernard von NotHaus Monetary Architect/Editor