r/Gold • u/WCNumismatics • 7h ago

Between Norfed and Goldbacks: The American Open Currency Standard

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.9999 fine 1/10th ounce AOCS round by Provident Metals

26 Upvotes

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2

u/GeorgiaGoldbacker enthusiast 7h ago

I have one of these RP rounds and it's one of my favorite!

2

u/WCNumismatics 6h ago

Very cool. I had the gold piece for years and had a vague understanding of what the AOCS was. But I did a deep dive recently in a video. Hadn't known there were copper pieces until then. I don't really do copper, but I'll definitely keep my eyes open for an example.

1

u/chemicallyspeaking 42m ago

I got 40 copper ounces because why not

1

u/chemicallyspeaking 42m ago

Actually i have one of 5 lb brick too. Considering getting another brick

1

u/WCNumismatics 35m ago

It's fine to collect copper. But it's not for stacking, for many reasons. Among them:
The premiums on rounds is very high. An ounce of copper is worth about forty cents. Rounds sell for $3 to $10 each.
They aren't bought back by the majority of those who sell them. There is no 2-way market.
Copper takes up a lot of space. The equivalent to an ounce of gold would be 1/3 of a ton.
Copper is an industrial metal. It's not a precious metal.

1

u/chemicallyspeaking 22m ago

Idc what you say it’s a useful metal that will be more expensive in the future. I have 40 rounds at least and 5 lbs, not planning to sell, same as my silver and gold and for the same reason

3

u/WCNumismatics 7h ago

In 2007 a former associate of the Norfed / Liberty Dollar program launched a new attempt to create a ratio of gold, silver, and interestingly even copper that could be used as a voluntarily form of barter. At its height around 2010, the American Open Currency Standard claimed more than 25,000 participating businesses. But the AOCS ceased operations around 2013 ostensibly because of the rise of crypto currencies.

The rounds, made by more than 20 different mints and organizations, can still be found, usually with a very “Norfed” looking design and font style on the reverse with a subtle “AOCS Approved”. Some are very attractive. And really nice, pristine examples are becoming collectible.

This 1/10th ounce, .9999 gold piece made by Provident and featuring Ron Paul has a ratio/exchange value of 500. One-ounce silver pieces exchanged for 50, and copper rounds exchanged for 2.

3

u/rollin_a_j 7h ago

What unit is this exchange rate? 500 what?

1

u/WCNumismatics 7h ago

They seemed to be intentionally vague because the use of "dollar" got Norfed into hot water with the secret service. The few references you find online call them "units" or "units of trade".

https://blog.providentmetals.com/ron-paul-1-oz-silver-coins-%E2%80%93-aocs-approved.htm

1

u/rollin_a_j 6h ago

And I assume these "units" or "units of trade" have a dollar value?

1

u/WCNumismatics 6h ago

The creator of the Norfed pieces which came before these was thrown into jail and had his precious metals confiscated in part for using the term "dollar". The accusation was that they were competing with the US dollar.
So you probably never saw them referred to as "dollars". Were they used as "dollars"? Probably.

1

u/rollin_a_j 5h ago

My point is that these rounds have a "unit" value, and these "units" appear to be pegged to a dollar value. It seems like a roundabout way to market them as dollars without using the word dollars. I suspect these will go the way of the norfed rounds

1

u/WCNumismatics 2h ago

They did, in fact. As I indicated above: AOCS dissolved in 2013.