Feds indict makers of libertarian currency

A federal grand jury brought indictments Friday against the maker of an obscure currency supported by some libertarians.

The U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina indicted four North Carolinians with conspiracy and counterfeit charges stemming from their manufacturing of so-called “Liberty Dollars.”

Liberty Dollars are a private currency based on a gold and silver standard, with a purported exchange rate with the U.S. dollar. Its manufacturers say that the U.S. dollar is unreliable due to the effects of national monetary policy.

The feds unsealed a four-count indictment against the currency’s lead architect, Bernard von NotHaus, and three other individuals.

Among other charges, the government alleges the organization “did knowingly and unlawfully utter and pass, and attempt to utter and pass, a coin of silver in resemblance of genuine coins of the United States.”

The government also seized the private currency as part of the indictment.

Among the seized coins are the $20 dollar mark produced by the group, which features Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a libertarian icon and monetary policy critic, on its “heads” side.