SteveSy wrote:
Please explain how "obligation or other security of the United States" remotely applies to the liberty dollar.
Uh, Steve, Liberty Dollars are not “obligations or other securities of the United States.” Go back and read the statute. Why would you think the phrase applies to the Liberty Dollar? Why would you think that I WOULD THINK that the phrase applies to the Liberty Dollar? Are you getting sleepy? Did you eat too much turkey?
SteveSy wrote:
"Current Money" is money that has the sanction of the federal government, that is its obvious meaning.
Duh, no Steve, go back and read the statute.
Whoever, except as authorized by law, makes or utters or passes, or attempts to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver or other metal, or alloys of metals, intended for use as current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
If “current money” meant “money that has the sanction of the federal government,” then section 486 would make no sense. Section 486 covers not only coins that are made to resemble official U.S. coins, but also coins of original design (e.g., coins that do NOT resemble official U.S. coins). Therefore, section 486 criminalizes specified uses of coins, even if those coins look nothing like official U.S. Mint coins. Therefore, the term “current money” as used in section 486 cannot possibly be limited to “money that has the sanction of the federal government.”
If a coin were minted by von NotHaus with nothing but the picture of Mickey Mouse on it, the making and use of that coin would still violate section 486 PROVIDED THAT (1) the Mickey Mouse “coin” is deemed to be a “coin” within the meaning of section 486 (and I don’t know whether it would be or not), and (2) von NotHaus intended that the coin be used as “current money.”
Think, Steve. Read the statute.
SteveSy wrote:
the intended purpose of the law is to keep someone from issuing currency and passing it off as government accepted money good for all debts public and private.
No, Steve, the language “good for all debts public and private” refers to the concept of “legal tender,” not to the concept of “current money.” You are still confused on the basic concepts. This is not about whether something was intended as “legal tender.”
SteveSy wrote:
The word "coin" can not mean anything identified as the dictionary term coin as this would make every coin including game tokens and casino coins illegal.
Well, no, Steve. Think about what you’re saying. Take a deep breath and read the statute. Even if the term “coin” were to include game tokens and casino coins, section 486 would not make the use of game tokens or casino coins illegal – unless you use those game tokens and casino coins as “current money.”
Game tokens are not generally made or used as “current money.” People use them to play board games. People don’t generally try to spend their game tokens at Walmart. And people generally don’t try to spend casino coins at Walt Disney World. They’re (usually) used only in the casino.
And if anyone tries to use game tokens or casino coins as “current money” – at Walmart, or at Walt Disney World, etc., then maybe that WOULD BE ILLEGAL under section 486. That’s not my problem.
Steve, you seem to be unable to grasp the legal concept of “elements of the offense.” When you read a criminal statute, you have to break it down into its component parts. In the case of section 486, the mere fact that something is a “coin” for purposes of section 486 does not make each and every use of that coin a section 486 crime. You have to read the entire statute. You have to consider the concept of “current money.” Each word in the statute has some significance.
SteveSy wrote:
Gift cards apply to every one of your arguments. They are intended to be used to purchase items at retailers around the country. They are backed up by the reserves of the company that issues them.
No Steve. The mere fact that a gift card is used to purchase items at retailers around the country does not make that gift card into a “coin.” And it doesn’t make that gift card “current money” either. You are delusional.
Gift cards are not coins. And gift cards are not used, and cannot be used in our economy, as current money. As we have explained to you before, gift cards are redeemable only at the specified issuing stores that honor them. I cannot take my Best Buy gift card and use it at Ernie’s Hardware Store, or whatever.
By contrast, my Federal Reserve notes are readily accepted anywhere. Apparently you don’t have a lot of experience with Best Buy gift cards or Federal Reserve notes, or you would know this. You don’t seem to get out much, Steve.
And I hate to be the one to break the news to you, Steve, but gift cards are not “backed up by the reserves of the company that issues them.” There are no “reserves” of money to back up the gift card you may have bought at Best Buy.
Here’s how a gift card works. I buy a gift card for $100. Let’s say that I plunk down a one hundred dollar bill. Best Buy takes that $100 Federal Reserve note, and gives me a $100 Best Buy card. The $100 Federal Reserve note
immediately becomes the unencumbered property of Best Buy, which is free to spend it anywhere, anytime, any way. And Best Buy is under no legal obligation to set aside any other money to cover my card, either. On the books of Best Buy the entry will be as follows (I’m using my own account titles, as I don’t have access to Best Buy’s books to see the actual account titles):
Debit cash $100
Credit gift card liability $100
The liability on the books is what you may be thinking of as a “reserve.” But it’s not really a reserve. It’s actually a liability. The economic substance of this transaction is that I have LOANED one hundred dollars to Best Buy.
Now, I give the Gift Card to my nephew, and he goes to Best Buy and purchases $100 of Sony electronics merchandise. Now, let’s say that the merchandise is on the books of Best Buy in an inventory account at $75 – the cost incurred by Best Buy to acquire that merchandise from the Sony distributor.
Now, Best Buy makes the following entry on its books:
Debit gift card liability $100
Debit cost of goods sold $75
Credit sales revenues $100
Credit merchandise inventory $75
Now, the gift card liability is extinguished (debits and credits are equal in that account, resulting in a zero balance), and the merchandise has been removed from the inventory account. And Best Buy has made a $25 profit (on the profit and loss statement, you have sales revenues of $100 less cost of goods sold of $75). Of course, we’re ignoring INCOME TAX (sorry, Steve) and lots of other incidental stuff.
I repeat: Gift cards are not generally backed up by anything owned by the retailer who issues them. The issuance of a gift card involves the creation of a liability (a pre-purchase).
Steve, you shoot from the hip too much. Slow down. Think.
"My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line." -- David Mamet