Financial Services Committee
Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology
The State of US Coins and Currency
July 20, 2010
2010 Ron Paul 43:1
I oppose the Mintís current efforts to gain greater power in determining the composition of
circulating coinage. It is unconstitutional to delegate the determination of the metal content of our coinage to the
Secretary of the Treasury. Under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution, the Congress is given the power to coin money and
regulate the value thereof. It is a shame that Congress has already unconstitutionally delegated its coinage authority to
the Treasury Department, but that is no reason to further delegate our power and essentially abdicate Congressional
oversight.
2010 Ron Paul 43:2
Oversight by members of Congress, who have an incentive to listen to their constituents, ensures
openness and transparency. Legislation to delegate added authority to the Mint would eliminate that process and delegate it
to unelected bureaucrats. The Secretary of the Treasury would be given sole discretion to alter the metal content of coins,
or even to create non-metal coins. Given the history of Congressional delegation and subsequent lax oversight on issues as
important as the conflict in Iraq, it would be naÔve to believe that Congress would exercise any more oversight over an
issue as unimportant to most members as the composition of coins.
2010 Ron Paul 43:3
While I sympathize with the aim of saving taxpayer dollars by reducing the cost of coinage, it is
disappointing that our currency has been so greatly devalued as to make this step necessary. At the time of the pennyís
introduction, it actually had some purchasing power. Based on the price of gold, what one penny would have purchased in
1910 requires 57 cents today. It is no wonder then that few people nowadays would stoop to pick up any coin smaller than a quarter.
2010 Ron Paul 43:4
Congressí unconstitutional delegation of monetary policy to the Federal Reserve and its reluctance to
exercise oversight in that arena have led to a massive devaluation of the dollar. If we fail to end this devaluation, we
will undoubtedly hold future hearings as the metal value of our coins continues to outstrip the face value.
2010 Ron Paul 43:5
One of the witnesses on our second panel mentions the importance of the Mintís production of bullion
coinage, and the danger of counterfeited collector coins that may or may not be minted from silver or gold. It is a shame
that instead of protecting the value of the dollar to ensure that precious metal coins could still circulate as money, or
enforcing counterfeiting laws to stop the flow of clearly fraudulent coins, the federal government insists on printing
trillions of dollars out of thin air, and prosecuting individuals who attempt to create precious metal currencies to
compete with the devalued US dollar.
2010 Ron Paul 43:6
The topics discussed in todayís hearing exemplify how far we have fallen, not just since the days of
the Founders, but only in the last 75 to 100 years. We could not maintain the gold standard nor the silver standard. We
could not maintain the copper standard, and now we cannot even maintain the zinc standard. Paper money inevitably breeds
inflation and destroys the value of the currency.
