From the March 2006 Idaho Observer:

It’s not "tender"—but it’s "legal"

On March 1, 2006, the story, "Liberty Dollars are not what they appear to be" by R.J. Cohn of the "Hagadone News Network" was frontpaged on at least two newspapers owned by Idaho panhandle media mogul and business shark Duane Hagadone, heir to the OreIda french fry fortune.

The article, while not being a horrible hit piece on the American Liberty Dollar (ALD), did caution area merchants to watch out for the coins and did an excellent job of highlighting the points where Americans are woefully ignorant about their favorite subject: Money.

Cohn stated that ALDs "are neither legal tender nor can they be accepted at banks or deposited in savings or checking accounts."

Liberty Associate Jack Yoos of Sagle rebutted the comment in a letter to the Bonner Daily Bee of Sandpoint. He said that no one at NORFED or any of its associates have ever claimed "...that ALDs are legal and tender. Legal, yes, but not tender."

Ponderay Police Chief Mike Hutter did not say that ALDs are a scam, but said that no law requires anyone "...to accept Liberty Dollars as payment."

He also told readers that NORFED, the private company that issues ALDs, "...is an acronym for the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code."

Because government banks won’t accept ALD, Cohn observed that people who take them in commerce, "...could be stuck with a bundle of worthless currency the way the Co-op Country Store did when it accepted eight silver Liberty Dollar coins for $160 worth of merchandise."

Rudy Lawicka, another Liberty Associate from Athol wrote a guest opinion to the Coeur d’Alene Press to rebut Cohn’s comments. In response to ALDs being "a bundle of worthless currency, Lawicka said, "I wasn’t aware that silver was worthless. If he [Cohn] ever acquires some of this worthless silver, I surely hope he sends it my way."

The article was accompanied by images of both sides of the $20 Silver Liberty coin with the caption, "Liberty Dollars are passing as legal tender in the area are worth half their face value and cannot be converted back to standard U.S. currency."

This statement is false on its face as the bearer may consult the website to find a Liberty Associate in their area who will happily redeem his ALD in Federal Reserve Accounting Unit Denominations (FRAUDs), otherwise known as "standard U.S. currency."

Yoos further corrected the record by explaining that the value of money is determined in four ways: The value/worth that is minted upon a particular coin, the artist design upon a collector’s or commemorative coin, coins that are rare or limited edition and the cost per ounce for gold and silver, which is regulated day-to-day.

An American quarter, for instance, which is not gold or silver but an alloy, is traded for the minted value of 25 cents even though the cost of the metal used to make it is less than five cents.

Both Yoos and Lawicka made excellent points about how banks coerce Americans into using U.S. "legal tender" in their system. They also noted that, while the U.S. dollar is losing its value, ALD is gaining in value.

Plus we have a choice in our medium of exchange in using ALD. "By accepting and using the Liberty Dollar, the American public can choose to either accept or reject the money. They are not forced to accept it. That is the difference. We choose, therefore we are free," Lawicka wrote.

Rather than being offended, Yoos and Lawicka used the article as a way to teach people about money. The editors were happy to accommodate them and thousands of people in north Idaho now know that people can lawfully trade value with one another and neither party has to accept a worthless piece of paper—or pay taxes—in the transaction.