Today, in an article in The Wall Street Journal entitled “A Monetary Gadfly in an Age of Fiat Money,” Seth Lipsky discusses the amicus briefs we filed for GATA in the government’s case against Bernard vonNotHaus.
“These matters were considered by Judge Voorhees, who has been presiding in the von NotHaus case. They were raised most pointedly in an amicus brief by the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, a charity that fights for a constitutional view of money.
That brief argued that Congress lacks the power to prohibit private coinage of money. It argued that the Constitution’s grant of the coinage power to Congress isn’t exclusive. If it were, the Constitution wouldn’t have had separately to deny coinage power to the states.
The fact that the Founders specifically denied coinage power to the states but not to the people means, the line of argument suggests, that private coinage ends up as a right reserved to the people. In fact, private coinage existed long into the 19th century, particularly, but not exclusively, in the West.”
GATA Amicus initial brief
GATA Amicus reply brief
Judge Voorhees’ forfeiture order