[8plot]

One guy named Bernard von NotHaus created the "Liberty Dollar" and is now facing a 45 year prison sentence. After a little googling, it's unclear why exactly he is being punished, but this how one article summed it up:

"Congress has exclusive power to coin money in the U.S. and to regulate its value, according to the Treasury Department."

[euroclydon]

He's being punished primarily because his coins look too similar to U.S. coins.

[lutorm]

This makes me wonder: is it illegal to use non-US coins for transactions in the US? Like if I use Euro-coins? (I say coins because there seems to be a specific prohibition on issuing "coin" and not other forms of currency unless they resemble US dollar bills.)

[rprasad]

Counterfeiting, mostly. The coins he made looked like normal US coins, except that the presidents were swapped out for Ron Paul or other anti-establishment figures.