Bernard von NotHaus

Founder of the "Liberty Dollar" transaction certificate and token. He is guilty of "forgery" despite not having produced anything resembling currency produced by either the United States Federal Reserve or the United States Department of the Treasury...

  

"The Liberty Dollar Solution To The Federal Reserve" book by Bernard von NotHaus, and Clifford Thies, published 2004-03-15 by "American Financial Press" (ISBN-10: 0967102529):
SOLUTION explains the Federal Reserve problem, how the Liberty Dollar works, and why you should be using it at a profit to protect yourself from the next monetary crisis. It brings together eighteen contributors including Chairman Alan Greenspan, Congressman Ron Paul, Dr. Richard Timberlake, John Turner, and others who add to the case for what's wrong with our federal money.
From the inside flap of hardcover book dust jacket -
Get Involved! Become a Liberty Associate! Join thousands of people just like you who have begun to make money, do good, and have fun with the Liberty Dollar!
Message from G. Edward Griffin: "On page 573 of The Creature from Jekyll Island - A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, I wrote that, before we could abandon Federal Reserve Notes, we first had to be able to convert them into real money. I said: "That means we must create an entirely new money supply which is 100% backed by precious metal; and we must do so in a reasonably short period of time." Well, you have to be careful what you recommend, because Bernard von NotHaus, NORFED's founder, did exactly that. And although I initially thought there were too many obstacles, to my surprise, the more I studied the details of his plan, the more convinced I was that by Jove, it just might work! My business, The Reality Zone, is now a Liberty Associate, and I urge you to get in on the ground floor and join this growing group of concerned Americans as a Liberty Associate now!"- G. Edward Griffin, author of The Creature from Jekyll Island

About the Author -
Bernard von NotHaus recently retired after 25 years as the Mintmaster at the Royal Hawaiian Mint where he specialized in Hawaiian numismatics and created financial instruments for local, national, and international clients. His Hawaiian work is cataloged in many articles and books, including Hawaiian Money by David Medcalf, Unusual World Coins by Colin Bruce II, and the Platinum Buyers Handbook.
Dating from 1974, when von NotHaus wrote "To Know Value - Economic Research Paper", he has studied economics and monetary history. Von NotHaus is well known in the numismatic community as an original thinker who relishes the type of complex problems he encountered while designing and developing the Liberty Dollar. Since 1998, he has been the Monetary Architect at NORFED, a non-profit, free enterprise corporation that distributes the Liberty Dollar.


"Defendant Convicted of Minting His Own Currency"2011-03-18 from U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of North Carolina [https://web.archive.org/web/20140116185931/http://www.fbi.gov/charlotte/press-releases/2011/defendant-convicted-of-minting-his-own-currency]:
STATESVILLE, NC—Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted today by a federal jury of making, possessing, and selling his own coins, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following an eight-day trial and less than two hours of deliberation, von NotHaus, the founder and monetary architect of a currency known as the Liberty Dollar, was found guilty by a jury in Statesville, North Carolina, of making coins resembling and similar to United States coins; of issuing, passing, selling, and possessing Liberty Dollar coins; of issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money; and of conspiracy against the United States. The guilty verdict concluded an investigation which began in 2005 and involved the minting of Liberty Dollar coins with a current value of approximately $7 million. Joining the U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins in making today’s announcement are Edward J. Montooth, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division; Russell F. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Division; and Sheriff Van Duncan of the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the evidence introduced during the trial, von NotHaus was the founder of an organization called the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code, commonly known as NORFED and also known as Liberty Services. Von NotHaus was the president of NORFED and the executive director of Liberty Dollar Services, Inc. until on or about September 30, 2008.
Von NotHaus designed the Liberty Dollar currency in 1998 and the Liberty coins were marked with the dollar sign ($); the words dollar, USA, Liberty, Trust in God (instead of In God We Trust); and other features associated with legitimate U.S. coinage. Since 1998, NORFED has been issuing, disseminating, and placing into circulation the Liberty Dollar in all its forms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. NORFED’s purpose was to mix Liberty Dollars into the current money of the United States. NORFED intended for the Liberty Dollar to be used as current money in order to limit reliance on, and to compete with, United States currency.
In coordination with the Department of Justice, on September 14, 2006, the United States Mint issued a press release and warning to American citizens that the Liberty Dollar was “not legal tender.” The U.S. Mint press release and public service announcement stated that the Department of Justice had determined that the use of Liberty Dollars as circulating money was a federal crime.
Article I, section 8, clause 5 of the United States Constitution delegates to Congress the power to coin money and to regulate the value thereof. This power was delegated to Congress in order to establish and preserve a uniform standard of value and to insure a singular monetary system for all purchases and debts in the United States, public and private. Along with the power to coin money, Congress has the concurrent power to restrain the circulation of money which is not issued under its own authority in order to protect and preserve the constitutional currency for the benefit of all citizens of the nation. It is a violation of federal law for individuals, such as von NotHaus, or organizations, such as NORFED, to create private coin or currency systems to compete with the official coinage and currency of the United States.
Von NotHaus, who remains free on bond, faces a sentence of up to 15 years’ imprisonment on count two of the indictment and a fine of not more than $250,000. Von NotHaus faces a prison sentence of five years and fines of $250,000 on both counts one and three. In addition, the United States is seeking the forfeiture of approximately 16,000 pounds of Liberty Dollar coins and precious metals, currently valued at nearly $7 million. The forfeiture trial, which began today before United States District Court Judge Richard Voorhees, will resume on April 4, 2011 in the federal courthouse in Statesville. Judge Voorhees has not yet set a date for the sentencing of von NotHaus.
“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,” U.S. Attorney Tompkins said in announcing the verdict. “While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country,” she added. “We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption, and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Secret Service, in cooperation with and invaluable assistance of the United States Mint. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Westmoreland Rose and Craig D. Randall, and the forfeiture trial is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Tom Ascik and Ben Bain Creed.


"Man convicted of creating counterfeit U.S. currency"
2011-03-21 from "Reuter's" newswire, article has since been erased from entire world wide web, but is remarked about at [http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/blog/2011/03/22/starting-a-new-currency-is-“domestic-terrorism”], [http://www.infowars.com/local-liberty-dollar-architect-bernard-von-nothaus-convicted/], and at other places:
[begin excerpt]
WASHINGTON –
A North Carolina man was convicted for creating and distributing a counterfeit currency that was very similar to the real dollar, a U.S. Attorney said.
Bernard von NotHaus, 67, minted Liberty Dollar coins in the value of $7 million dollars. The conviction concludes an investigation that was started in 2005.
“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,” Anne Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, said in a statement on Friday.
“While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country,” she said.
[end excerpt]


"Local Liberty Dollar ‘architect’ Bernard von NotHaus convicted"
2011-03-21 by Tom Lovett for "Courier Press" [http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/local-liberty-dollar-architect-found-guilty]:
The former head of an Evansville-based company that tried to introduce a currency that competed with the U.S. dollar has been found guilty of federal charges in North Carolina.
Bernard von NotHaus, 67, was convicted Friday by a federal jury of making, possessing and selling his own coins, said Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
After an eight-day trial and less than two hours of deliberation, von NotHaus, the founder and “monetary architect” of a currency known as the Liberty Dollar, was found guilty of making coins resembling and similar to United States coins; of issuing, passing, selling and possessing Liberty Dollar coins; of issuing and passing Liberty Dollar coins intended for use as current money; and of conspiracy against the United States.
Von NotHaus, who remains free on bond, faces a sentence of up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of not more than $250,000 on the count related to distributing the coins for use as money and a sentence of five years and fines of $250,000 on counts related to making the coins and the conspiracy charge.
The guilty verdict concluded an investigation that began in 2005 and involved the minting of Liberty Dollar coins with a current value of about $7 million.
In November 2007 federal investigators raided Liberty Dollar's headquarters at 225 N. Stockwell Road, seizing documents and precious metals.
Von NotHaus developed the liberty dollar in 1998 as an "inflation-proof" alternative currency to the U.S. dollar, which he claimed has devalued since the Federal Reserve was established in 1913.
The silver medallions were produced by a private mint in Idaho on behalf of Evansville-based Liberty Services, which also issued paper notes the group said were backed by silver reserves.
During the raid, about a dozen agents seized nearly two tons of coins that featured the image of Ron Paul, a Texas congressman. They also took about 500 pounds of silver and 40 to 50 ounces of gold, as was paper currency and other metals.
The 2007 raid was a development in a dispute between von NotHaus and the U.S. government. In a federal suit filed in March 2007 in U.S. District Court in Evansville, von NotHaus sought a permanent injunction against the federal government to force it to stop referring to the Liberty Dollar as an illegal currency and to require the removal of a warning from the U.S. Mint's website stating that use of the Liberty Dollar violates federal law.
The suit was triggered by a public warning issued by the U.S. Mint in September 2006. The warning informed Liberty Dollar users that federal prosecutors had determined circulation of the medallions is a federal crime.
According to federal prosecutors, Liberty coins were marked with the dollar sign; the words "dollar," "USA," "Liberty," "Trust in God" (instead of "In God We Trust"); and other features associated with legitimate U.S. coins.
Prosecutors claimed von Not-Haus and Liberty Services had since 1998 been issuing, disseminating and placing into circulation the Liberty Dollar in all its forms throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The goal was to compete with United States currency.
The United States is seeking the forfeiture of about 16,000 pounds of Liberty Dollar coins and precious metals, valued at nearly $7 million. The forfeiture trial, which began Friday before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Voorhees, will resume April 4 in the federal court in Statesville, N.C.
Voorhees has not yet set a date for von NotHaus' sentencing.


2004 Liberty Dollar brochure (all information is out of date)