Curious thing. When I wait thru all the various paeans of praise to Von NotHaus I find this item.
Rogue Number Three: NORFED (http://www.norfed.org).
October 29, 1998
Militia Watchdog Official Alert
Investigators, Journalists, Others Urged to Monitor NORFED
The Militia Watchdog has learned of a new organization which, as described, carries considerable potential for fraud or misuse. The Militia Watchdog urges all law enforcement officers, journalists, activists and others to scrutinize this organization and its activities carefully.
Background: One of the major “hot button” issues for adherents to the so-called “patriot” movement is the “money” issue. A summary of this issue would be that the creation of the Federal Reserve and the change from a gold standard to paper money was not only illegal and unconstitutional, but part of a large plot to impoverish the country and enrich the “international bankers” (usually alleged to be Jews). As a result, paper money (federal reserve notes or “FRNs” as the “patriot” movement abbreviates the term) is looked upon with suspicion and disgust. This has led to numerous attempts to invent alternative currencies, often by people who are themselves all too willing to accept federal reserve notes in exchange for dubious alternatives. In the early 1980s tax protester Tupper Saussy created a stir with his “Public Office Money Certificates,” which were a sort of bogus promissory note. In the late 1980s, various conmen created illegitimate “sight drafts” that were alleged to be as valid as federal reserve notes. And in the mid-1990s a host of groups including USA First, Family Farm Preservation, the Republic of Texas and, most famously, the Montana Freemen, created billions of dollars worth of bogus money orders and checks. This last resurgence resulted in scores of successful prosecutions around the country. However, these convictions only stopped certain perpetrators; they did nothing to end the sentiment. It would only be a matter of time before the next alternative currency scheme was hatched.
NORFED: NORFED is an abbreviation for a group calling itself the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act. In its own words, it is a “membership based nonprofit organization dedicated to using all its revenue to restore a honest monetary system for all Americans, as required by our Constitution. It is governed by a Board of Directors, and a Members Advisory Council.” No Board or Council members could be found listed on its website.
Contact information for its leaders is as follows:
Jim Thomas/Tri-State Redemption Center/812-473-5250
Bernard von NotHaus/NORFED/888-421-6181
FAX 812-473-5199
Postal address: 4900 Tippecanoe, Suite 6 / Evansville, IN 47715
Webpage: www.norfed.org.
NORFED has created something it calls “American Liberty Currency.” This consists of “silver certificates” in $1, $5, and $10 amounts. The $10 certificate is allegedly backed by one ounce of .999 pure Troy silver, and the other certificates backed proportionately. However, the silver itself is kept in a “warehouse” run by “Sunshine Minting.”
The current price of silver is only about $5.10 per troy ounce.
NORFED is also engaged in the creation of “a National Network of Redemption Centers.” The function of these centers is “to exchange Federal Reserve Notes for American Liberty Currency (warehouse receipts).” In other words, to take people’s dollars and give them this new “currency.” Redemption Centers can buy certificates from NORFED at a 10% discount, then provide them to others. Ostensibly, these centers will also exchange silver certificates for silver coins. The centers are also urged to recruit “members” and will get a portion of the membership fee.
What are the dangers of NORFED? The possibilities are endless. The first danger is that one will lose one’s money by basically exchanging it for half its value in silver (or, more accurately, silver certificates which are supposed to represent silver). The second danger is that there might be no actual silver at all, despite the “independent audits” that NORFED assures people will be conducted. In this case, people will be exchanging good money for worthless money. A third danger is that NORFED will be used as a warehouse bank, which is a way to hide money or financial transactions. There are many other potential problems as well, all of which cry out for careful scrutiny of NORFED and its operations.
One warning sign consists of some of the people and organizations who have so far signed up to be “Redemption Centers.” These include but are not limited to Charles Eidson, a Florida-based white supremacist who has been prominent in placing bogus liens and marketing abusive trusts; the Save-A-Patriot Fellowship, one of the largest tax protest groups in the country; and the Cascadian Resource Center, involved in various aspects of “paper terrorism,” including the marketing of abusive trusts. Even though NORFED has supposedly been in operation only since October 1, 1998, it has already amassed a large number of “Redemption Centers.” This could grow very quickly.
NORFED leader Bernard von NotHouse is “printmaster” for Royal Hawaiian Mint, a Honolulu-based numismatic dealer. Leader Jim Thomas is the founder of “Media Bypass” magazine, a magazine which caters to right-wing extremists. Coincidentally, the November issue of “Media Bypass” will feature an article on NORFED. “Sunshine Mint” is located in Hayden Lake, Idaho. The address associated with the domain name (from Internic) is a mailbox in a university bookstore in California. The mailing address for NORFED is the same as for Media Bypass.
The Militia Watchdog is not alleging that NORFED is currently engaging in any illegal activity. However, because of the clear potential for abuse now or in the future, it urges people to monitor NORFED and its activities very closely.
Didn’t the ADL also describe Free Republic as a right wing hate site?
Ohioan wrote:
The ADL is a Fabian Socialist operation that derives its justification for existence by seizing every opportunity to create ill feeling against Jews for gross overreaches such as this, and then smearing those who react. (See Creating Hate In America Today.)
That’s the most valuable post on this thread.
You may have caught this one, I won’t be surprised if this is a fake story. The question, of course, by who and why. And isn’t it amazing that whenever these Paul nutcases turn up, (apologies to Paul supporters, I know the candidate is ignorant of and not responsible for his support) there’s a neonazi/white supremecist connection.
While ANYone claiming to have a hard money backed currency deserves to be carefully monitored, I have a United States Silver Certificate I cannot redeem for silver (yep, U.S. Treasury).
If these people backed their paper with the metal and exchanged or redeemed it as such, no foul.
(The "freemen" in Montana got nailed in a deal where someone tried to redeem one of their 'gold certificates' by presenting it for payment and they did not redeem it. At that point it was fraud.)
Certificates redeemable in goods, services, or money have been used for a long time, and not just by governments.
Otherwise, transit tokens and gift certificates, not to mention fundraising scrip and "Hometown Dollar" scrip would all be illegal. Not sure about MPCs.
However, the easy way to cause such an operation to default on their transactions is to sieze their assets and records.
The only other problem I can see, is that there was a "Peace Dollar" issued by the US Mint from 1921 to 1935, a legal tender silver dollar, which while it bears little resemblance to the coin pictured, the name could be the source of the problem.
Mint designs have not been copywrited in the past, which is how people who reproduce 1933 St Gaudens $20.00 gold pieces and "layer them" in gold can advertise them on TV.
Maybe you do not remember, but it used to say on Federal Reserve Notes: "This note legal tender for all debts, public and private, and redeemable in lawful money at the U.S. Treasury or any Federal Reserve Bank."
There is a reason that was there.
The Federal Reserve is not a Government agency, but a private bank. It kept them out of hot water over the part of the Constitution which says only Congress has the power to coin money.
Otherwise, they would have been issuing something other than what it is: a promissory note.
While it used to promise redemption in gold or silver coin (lawful money), what it promises any more, I just do not know.