He probably shouldn't have designed it so similar to the Peace Dollar. I don't think any of the counterfeiting charges will stick.
Technically, it isn't counterfeiting because he didn't actually replicate existing currency. I'm not sure why they didn't indicate the verdict in the story above. "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." http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/mar/19/local-liberty-dollar-architect-found-guilty/
By the way, here is an archived brochure that advertises those pieces: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/82864947/LIBERTY-DOLLAR Christian
it used to be that this kind of ambition would get you somewhere in life. now the only place it gets you is into a federal courthouse.
An "ambition" that results in creating pieces which look quite similar to government issued money can indeed be problematic. After all, other "alternative currency" models seem to be alive and well ... Christian
