What we can learn from the Romans and Aphrodisias

I watched a program last night on History 2 called: Lost Worlds: Lost City of Aphrodite.
It was about Aphrodisias, a city dedicated to the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

It stated that each individual marble buildings in the Roman Empire would have the measurement unit that was to be used on that building, cut into the stone foundation or wall of the building. It was called the modulus. This was because there was not a standard unit of measure so to ensure the use of a standard measurement for THAT individual building it was cut into the stone. The main measurement unit was the Roman foot but it was not standardized.

For example:

The Foot on the statue of Cossutius = 0.967 of the U.S. standard foot
The Foot on the monument of Statilius = 0.972 of the U.S. standard foot

Think of what the buildings of Rome would have looked like if the architect and builders used these different foot measurements? Think about what modern buildings would look like if there was not a standard of weights and measures?

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America knew about the problems of non-standard measurements. They even believed it was so important to have a standard of weights and measures that they put it in the Constitution in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5.

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Did you ever wonder why the power to coin money is in the same clause with the power to fix the Standard or weights and Measures?

Did you ever wonder why the Constitution did not include the power to print money?

The Roman system that failed to have a standard of measurements for their buildings, hence the need for a modulus, reminded me of our U.S. monetary system where each coin or piece of paper has a different established value, intrinsic value and/or market value. The U.S. monetary system is based upon the “dollar” but the “dollar.” is currently undefined. It is like the Roman foot. It has many possible meanings and is NOT a reliable measurement for value. In the year of our Lord 1792 the United States Congress passed the Coinage Act establishing the value of the U.S. dollar at 371 4/16 grain (24.1 g) pure or 416 grain (27.0 g) standard silver. That is no longer the case. Today there is no Congressionally established standard for the U.S. dollar.

There are, however, some different U.S. coins that have been declared by Congress to have the value of One Dollar. Several of those are found in 31 U.S.C. Section 4112.

These dollars have different values. For example: At 31 USC sec. 5112(a)(7) we find that a $50 coin which can in reality buy or be exchanged for about 1,800 “ONE DOLLAR” Federal Reserve Notes or Presidential dollars.

A 31 USC sec. 5112(e) Silver dollar can buy about 38 “One Dollar” Federal Reserve Notes which would be about 1900 FRNs for 50 silver dollars.

So we Americans, like the Romans of old, must decide which measurement WE will use. The Romans had to choose which foot they would use to calculate the size of the buildings. We Americans must decide which dollar we will use to calculate Fair Market Value.

For example the current fair market value of one ounce of gold is about 46.5, 31 USC sec. 5112(e) Silver Dollars.

The current fair market value of Regular Gasoline is about 10 gallons for one 31 USC sec. 5112(e) Silver Dollars.

The current fair market value of Federal Reserve Notes is 38 FRNs for one 31 USC sec. 5112(e) Silver Dollar.

The current fair market value of a Ford F-150 4WD SuperCrew 6-1/2 Ft Box Lariat is about $1,000 if you calculate the value using 31 USC sec. 5112(e) dollars but about 38,000 in either Sacagawea or Presidential dollars.

If you bought that Ford truck in Nevada with 1,000, 31 USC sec. 5112(e) silver dollars the Nevada tax would be about 80 dollars and you could pay the tax in either Sacagawea or Presidential dollars or silver 31 USC Sec. 5112(e) dollars. The State of Nevada will even accept Federal Reserve Notes in lieu of legal tender dollars.

If you bought that truck in Nevada with 38,000 Sacagawea or Presidential dollars the Nevada tax would be about 3,040 dollars and you could pay the tax in either Sacagawea or Presidential dollars or silver 31 USC Sec. 5112(e) dollars. The State of Nevada will even accept Federal Reserve Notes in lieu of legal tender dollars.

So what U.S. legal tender dollar do you use when determining “Fair market value“?

Fair Market Value. Fair market value (FMV) is the price that property would sell for on the open market. It is the price that would be agreed on between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither being required to act, and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts. If you put a restriction on the use of property you donate, the FMV must reflect that restriction.

It is the price as determined by WHICH U.S. legal tender? That is an important question since there are many dollar values and note exchange values.

31 USC § 5103 – Legal tender
United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.

So all United States coin and currency including FRNs are legal tender. Okay. Pretty clear. So what are the United States coins that are “legal tender”? For that I guess we look at: 31 USC § 5112 – Denominations, specifications, and design of coins

(5) Legal tender.— The coins minted under this title shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103.

Here are SOME of the coins that are legal tender:

(b) The half dollar, quarter dollar, and dime coins are clad coins with 3 layers of metal. The 2 identical outer layers are an alloy of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel. The inner layer is copper. The outer layers are metallurgically bonded to the inner layer and weigh at least 30 percent of the weight of the coin. The dollar coin shall be golden in color, have a distinctive edge, have tactile and visual features that make the denomination of the coin readily discernible, be minted and fabricated in the United States, and have similar metallic, anti-counterfeiting properties as United States coinage in circulation on the date of enactment of the United States $1 Coin Act of 1997. The 5-cent coin is an alloy of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel. In minting 5-cent coins, the Secretary shall use bars that vary not more than 2.5 percent from the percent of nickel required. Except as provided under subsection (c) of this section, the one-cent coin is an alloy of 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc. In minting gold coins, the Secretary shall use alloys that vary not more than 0.1 percent from the percent of gold required. The specifications for alloys are by weight.

So a penny is legal tender but it is not a dollar. How can that be? Are not all forms of legal tender dollars? I know the IRS and Courts seem to push that lie on Americans. They even require “taxpayers” to calculate income in dollars. So should you use the U.S. legal tender penny as your measurement? A federal reserve note is a little like a penny or nickel except that Congress put into law what the legal value of a nickels and pennies whereas Congress did not do so for FRNs. But pennies and nickels are not dollars and neither are FRNs so they have that in common. FRNs are just a notes. They have no value in and of themselves. FRNs are only a promises to pay dollars, not actually dollars.

So how about using this coin listed in 31 USC section 5112 at (e) instead of the penny to calculate the measurement of value?

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall mint and issue, in qualities and quantities that the Secretary determines are sufficient to meet public demand, coins which—
(1) are 40.6 millimeters in diameter and weigh 31.103 grams;
(2) contain .999 fine silver;
(3) have a design—
(A) symbolic of Liberty on the obverse side; and
(B) of an eagle on the reverse side;
(4) have inscriptions of the year of minting or issuance, and the words “Liberty”, “In God We Trust”, “United States of America”, “1 Oz. Fine Silver”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and “One Dollar”; and
(5) have reeded edges.

This ONE DOLLAR coin, Minted by the United States Mint, has the Congressionally established value of: ONE DOLLAR!

It is legal tender in the USA.

There is no law that says you cannot use it to calculate the “value” of your income or your property or what fair market value of any other property is.

It is a Biblically acceptable coin.

These silver dollars are not Federal Reserve Notes that need to be redeemed in lawful money. These silver dollars ARE lawful money with a Congressionally established value of One Dollar. They are not a promise to pay money. They are not obligations of the United States.

12 U.S.C. § 411 : US Code – Section 411: Issuance to reserve banks; nature of obligation; redemption:

Federal reserve notes, to be issued at the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the purpose of making advances to Federal reserve banks through the Federal reserve agents as hereinafter set forth and for no other purpose, are authorized. The said notes shall be obligations of the United States and shall be receivable by all national and member banks and Federal reserve banks and for all taxes, customs, and other public dues. They shall be redeemed in lawful money on demand at the Treasury Department of the United States, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, or at any Federal Reserve bank.

So why do Americans use Federal Reserve Notes to calculate the value of anything?

The term “Voluntary Slave” comes to mind.