Incorrect.
Any gold coin that was considered "collectible" was also legal to own.
FDR ran up against the coin collectors and backed down.
Which is a model for everyone to follow.
When FedGov yells frog, just say no.
And if you stand together, they will back down.
Sadly, especially on the conservative side, you will find any number of people willing to weasel, squirm and then give in while piously saying that they "respect the law". An illegal law should not be respected.
Locate Backbone.
Say no.
something being legal and something being right ate often two different things.
There’s stuff that’s legal, that is not right, like abortion.
Then there’s stuff that is illegal that is not wrong, like owning gold.