How many forms of "circulating" gold and silver coins are out there? I suspect the answer is directly related to the raid.
Different case, but yes that does make a twisted sort of sense. Silver "coins" as a novelty / collector item are fine, but if people use them as "money" then it is a threat to the Treasury Dept.
It also explains the timing. The Fed had to move to stop the $1 copper coins from hitting the street. Norfed rounds aren't any better than the silver coins created by a dozen other companies, and those other companies would have followed suit over time. (Companies like to copy profitable business models.)
A $1 coin might have more takers than a $20 (silver) or $1000 (gold) coin.
It was almost the beginning of an underground economy (undeclared, untaxed). It's not about Ron Paul. Same thing could have happened with coins showing Hilary or Jesus,or whoever. Didn't even have to be coins, people could have paid for haircuts and car repairs using Beanie Babies or Pokemon cards. Anything other than FRNs being circulated as money is a problem.
That does basically say the Fed figures that barter is illegal.