Yeah, it's the same people. I think there are some newer NORFED rounds that have Liberty on them instead of Trump, too.
Not really. After they railroaded von Nothaus, they continued to operate but changed the design of their rounds. Later ones say "MSRP $x" instead of having a denomination, and some of them say "Right to Contract" in place of "Trust in God."
The government prosecuted Bernard Von Nothaus under the theory that his coins were introduced into the U.S. economy and meant to compete with U.S. currency. The government also argued that the NORFED coins were made in the resemblance and similitude of U.S. coins sufficiently to invoke the counterfeiting statutes (specifcially 18 U.S.C. 485 and 18 U.S.C. 486). The putative similarities included the denomination and the use of phrases close to "IN GOD WE TRUST." Von Nothaus was convicted of, among other things, conspiracy to violate the counterfeiting statutes and of counterfeiting itself. Many believe that the prosecution was largely political.
Allegedly some of his followers were trying to spend the coins at the stamped value of the coin as legal tender and coerce potential recipients into accepting them - which was allegedly the impetus behind the charges filed vs. Nothaus.
