osed private gold coinage and a 100% covered gold redemption currency, as an exclusive currency, would be a system of monetary despotism - although in many respects better than the present system. It would force all monetary trading to adapt itself to the availability of gold, instead of using gold merely as the most suitable standard for measuring values. It would not allow any possible and desirable trade for which no gold "measuring sticks" would be available. Indeed, the economy could adapt even to such a system - but at what price? Initiated coercion and monopolies of the legally established kind are harmful even when proposed and practised by people who are libertarians in other fields. 8. WHAT IS MONETARY FREEDOM? Monetary freedom exists when everyone can open a note issuing bank, issue banknotes and other clearing certificates and notes usable at least as local currency, when everybody is free to clear his debts and assets in any way agreeable or contracted for, using any agreeable or contracted standard of value and exchange medium when everyone may freely refuse to accept at all or at par any exchange medium not issued by himself or under contractual acceptance obligation. It is a system where nobody has a legal or presumed claim to demand payment in any particular exchange medium, be it gold, silver or any other substance or any particular paper medium - unless he has himself contractually undertaken such a risky dealing in futures. It is a condition where variously based private paper money types and coins can be freely issued accepted, agreed upon or refused and where none of them has the moral and economic disqualification of compulsory acceptance and compulsory value (Legal Tender or forced currency). Under these conditions not even the state could any longer issue any Legal Tender money. Its tax-based notes (or contribution-based notes under voluntary taxation or insurance) would, instead, also be subject to free market ...
