If the guy had printed gold coins with Snoopy or Bugs Bunny on them, he wouldn't be going to jail. Heck, he could even have called them "currency" or "legal tender". Casinos do it all the time, with no ill-effect. Instead, he printed coins with the "$" sign, and phrase that almost mirrors "In God We Trust" and several other points of similarity. That was his problem.
Stoessel should review a little US history particularly the era of “Wildcat” banking after Jackson destroyed the Second Bank of the United States.