CHARLESTON, W.Va. (Mar. 10, 2025) – A bill filed in the West Virginia House would officially recognize gold and silver as legal tender and authorize a state-issued 100 percent gold and silver-backed currency supported by a state bullion depository.
Del. Chris Anders and seven cosponsors filed House Bill 2463 (HB2463). Under the proposed law, “gold or silver coin issued by the government of the United States and any bullion unit or specie accepted for deposit by the West Virginia Bullion Depository” would be recognized as legal tender “for the payment of all debts heretofore or hereafter contracted by the citizens of this state.”
The legislation would authorize the establishment of the West Virginia Bullion Depository to “serve as the custodian, guardian, and administrator of all bullion and specie deposited with the state pursuant to this article.”
The passage of HB2463 would make West Virginia the sixth state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender, as they always should have been doing. Utah led the way, reestablishing constitutional money in 2011. Wyoming, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana have since joined.
IN PRACTICE
Practically speaking, this would allow West Virginia residents to use gold or silver as money rather than as mere investment vehicles.
Passage of HB2463 would represent a big first step against the fiat-based Federal Reserve system by creating a foundation to pull the rug out from under it on the state and local levels. In essence, it would set the stage for the people themselves to undermine the Federal Reserve monopoly by introducing competition into the monetary system.
The next step would be for people to start taking advantage of the status of gold and silver as money by using both as such instead of Federal Reserve notes.
The effect has been most dramatic in Utah where the Specie Legal Tender Act opened the door for the development of a robust gold and silver economy in the state. With some legal hurdles cleared away by the state’s legal tender law, the United Precious Metal Association (UPMA) in partnership with Alpine Gold Exchange set up the state’s first “gold bank.”
The Act has also led to the creation of the Goldback, a local, voluntary medium of exchange. Goldbacks are notes made from fractions of an ounce of physical gold. The company created a process that turns pure gold into a spendable physical form for small transactions.
New Hampshire also boasts a thriving gold and silver economy. While the state does not officially recognize bullion as legal tender, this has not deterred thousands of residents from using it in private transactions. Because there are no state tax barriers on precious metals, a favorable tax climate – combined with a population willing to embrace sound money – has positioned New Hampshire as another model for others to follow.
GOLD AND SILVER TRANSACTIONAL CURRENCY
Provisions in HB2463 would authorize the West Virginia Bullion Depository to establish a transactional currency backed 100 percent by gold and silver and create a sound money alternative to U.S. dollars in electronic form.
“Each unit of the transactional currency issued to an account holder shall represent a particular fraction of a troy ounce of gold or silver held in the account holder’s depository account.”
In effect, individuals and businesses would be able to transact business electronically using currency backed by gold and/or silver held in the depository.
Using gold and silver-backed transactional currency, any person or entity would be able to do business using a debit card that seamlessly converts gold and silver to fiat currency in the background. Private individuals and businesses would be able to purchase goods and services using assets held in the West Virginia Gold Depository in the same way they use dollars held in a bank today.
Gold and silver-backed transactional currency would give people a way to shield themselves from the rapid loss of purchasing power inherent in the fiat dollar.
REMOVING TAXES
Under HB2463, bullion and specie held in the West Virginia Bullion Depository would not be considered personal property and would not be subject to ad valorem personal property taxation. The legislation also specifies that “the exchange of one type of legal tender for another type of legal tender recognized in this state shall not give rise to tax liability; and the purchase, sale, or exchange of any type of legal tender recognized by this state may not give rise to tax liability.”
This would effectively repeal all state taxes on gold and silver specie that is considered legal tender.
Taxes on precious metal bullion erect barriers to using gold and silver as money by raising transaction costs.
West Virginia is already one of 45 states that do not levy sales tax on gold and silver bullion. Exempting the sale of bullion from capital gains taxes takes another step toward treating gold and silver as money instead of commodities. Taxes on precious metal bullion erect barriers to using gold and silver as money by raising transaction costs.
Imagine if the IRS sent you a bill every time the dollar strengthened against the euro. That’s effectively what capital gains taxes on gold and silver do. As the precious metals prices go up due to the devaluation of the dollar, the government levies a tax on you. It is essentially a tax on the superior performance of gold and silver as money.
“We ought not to tax money – and that’s a good idea. It makes no sense to tax money,” former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul said during testimony in support of an Arizona bill that repealed capital gains taxes on gold and silver in that state. “Paper is not money, it’s fraud,” he continued.
BACKGROUND
The United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Currently, all debts and taxes in most states are either paid with Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) which were authorized as legal tender by Congress, or with coins issued by the U.S. Treasury – very few of which have gold or silver in them.
The Federal Reserve destroys this constitutional monetary system by creating a monopoly based on its fiat paper currency. Without the backing of gold or silver, the central bank can easily create money out of thin air.
This not only devalues your purchasing power over time; it also allows the federal government to borrow and spend far beyond what would be possible in a sound money system. Without the Fed, the U.S. government wouldn’t be able to maintain all of its unconstitutional wars and programs. The Federal Reserve is the engine that drives the most powerful government in the history of the world.
State laws that facilitate and encourage the use of sound money create a playing field where people can push back against the Fed’s monetary malfeasance. Ultimately, it could create a scenario where people can drive out the “bad” fiat money with “good” sound money.
WHAT’S NEXT
HB2463 was referred to the House Finance Committee where it must get a hearing and pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
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