On Saturday, I received three pennies in change at a store. Looking at the pennies in my hand, one jumped out for its unique color. I was happy to see it — the happy penny.
Tag: silver
Bring Back Constitutional Money
The United States Constitution specifies that gold and silver are money. “No State shall … make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts,” declares the Constitution. Further, one of the enumerated powers the Constitution lists for the US Congress is the power to “coin Money” (not print money) and “regulate the Value thereof.” Indeed, coining money containing gold and silver was ordered by the new US Congress via the Coinage Act of 1792. Lower value coins such as pennies and half pennies containing copper also circulated.
There has been increasing talk about the potential restoration of a gold standard arising from people and governments across the world seeking to protect themselves from the weaponization of the United States dollar’s world reserve currency status. How long can dollar hegemony last when the government behind the dollars is sanctioning people and governments around the world with abandon? There must be a way out of this mess, and the many centuries long history of using gold as money points to one tried-and-true path.
Going for the Gold in Texas
This March, voters in the Texas Republican primary election will see on their ballots a proposition calling for the state government, utilizing its Texas Bullion Depository that began operations in 2018, to advance the use of gold and silver as legal tender.