Remember the idea of minting trillion dollar platinum coins to "cure" the budget deficit? That was from the same cause. Congress allowed the U.S. Mint to make a certain number of gold and silver coins in specified denominations and also platinum coins, but without any legal limits. It was believed that the mint would act responsibly and only make a few collectors coins. Instead the Dems wanted to use that to push through the largest counterfeit in history.
Good memory! I remember that too...REALLY STUPID. These guys play with fire, or to be more accurate, nuclear materials, and are careless as hell.