Yes. Think about the implications of a creditor refusing a "valid and legal offer" to settle a debt. It means the creditor is literally forgiving the debt.
There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.
Right, but those are not debts. The legal tender law only applies to debts. If I borrow a thousand dollars worth of gold from you on credit I am free to pay you back in dollars and you cannot refuse.
There is an hilarious passage in the memoirs of Rev. John Witherspoon (one of the DOL signers) about a legal tender statute that was passed in New Jersey. He writes:
For two or three years we were treated to the spectacle or creditors fleeing their debtors, with debtors pursuing them in triumph, and paying them without mercy.
I haven't researched this little tidbit in depth, but I thought it interesting:
The Resurrection of Gold Clauses
In 1977, Congress amended its 1933 Joint Resolution in which it declared gold clauses to be unenforceable as ”against public policy after then-president Roosevelt effectively confiscated Americans’ gold and outlawed its ownership. That 1977 amendment is currently codified under Volume 31 of the United States Code, Section 5118(d)(2), and it plainly states that the provisions of the 1933 joint resolution banning gold clauses does not apply “obligations issued” (i.e., contracts entered into) after its date of enactment in October 1977.
What this means is that, under current US law, individuals and businesses can legally enforce any contract requiring payment in gold, as long as that contract was entered into after 1977. Most people don’t know that little fact, but it is likely to become extremely important as the current debt-based fiat dollar system unravels in front of our eyes.
I don't know how true this is, but if it is that means any contract can now have a gold clause in it and I could force the repayment of a debt in gold or bags of wheat or whatever as long as it is in the contract, and refuse to accept FRN's.