Activist charged in flap over currency

Former Constitution Party candidate is charged with theft by deception for use of privately made “Liberty Dollar.” Lancaster New Era
Published: Mar 03, 2008
11:25 EST

By TOM MURSE, Staff
Fritz Schrom figures he's shelled out about $80,000 worth of gold, silver and copper as payment for goods and services in the last year — for gas, groceries and even to pay a utility bill at the local supermarket.
Fritz Schrom 1 of 1
"I say, 'Would you like real money or government money?' The clerk says, 'Real money,' I plunk it down, and most of them say, 'Cool,' and put it in the cash drawer. I've got a couple envelopes full of receipts," says the Clay Township resident.

But Schrom's preferred method of payment has now gotten him into a bit of trouble. The 47-year-old Constitution Party activist who ran unsuccessfully for countywide office in November is facing a charge of theft by deception.

Penn Township police say Schrom broke the law when he used $111 worth of silver and copper to pay an electric bill at a Weis Markets near Manheim on Oct. 20.

"It's nice stuff, good stuff. It's just not legal tender," says Sgt. Matt Weidman, who filed the charge against Schrom.
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The dispute centers on whether a so-called gold, silver or copper "Liberty Dollar" — private currency made with precious metals — is, in fact, legal tender. An estimated 100,000 people are using them, its maker contends.

Schrom acknowledges that banks do not recognize the metal dollars as legal tender, but says they are designed to be a private currency for people to use as a form of barter, and that some $20 million is in circulation nationwide.

Schrom argues they are certainly legal to use, citing Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution as proof. It reads, in part, "no state shall ... make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts."

"That's the bottom line. Nobody wants to read the Constitution. They just shoot from the hip," says Schrom. "The Federal Reserve is printing this Monopoly money backed up by nothing. There's a concerned group of people in America who are trying to do something about this because our dollar is sliding further and further, being devalued."
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Randall Wenger, the chief counsel for the Harrisburg-based Independence Law Center, says Schrom appears to have a case.

"I don't think this is theft by deception. I think that's a long shot," Wenger says. "Our money is basically fake at this point. I can sympathize with what he's saying. We value it only because we value it. We don't value it because it's tied to anything of value."

Liberty Dollar's Web site lists dozens of Pennsylvania companies that accept its metal as currency. It also offers tips for getting merchants to accept it.

Schrom, who ran for register of wills but lost in November, is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Manheim later this month. He faces a $5,000 fine and the potential of jail time if found guilty.

Schrom handed the Weis clerk five 1-ounce pieces of silver and a 1-ounce piece of copper made by Illinois-based Liberty Dollar, which has been minting the stuff since 1998. It makes the pieces in denominations of $1, $5, $10 and $20, and prints paper notes its says are backed by gold and silver at Sunshine Minting in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

The clerk accepted them, and gave Schrom a receipt for paying the $110 PPL bill and a $1 fee. "She thought it was the coolest thing since sliced cheese, and showed them to co-workers of hers," Schrom said.

The problem came when Weis took the metal to the bank. It wouldn't accept the Liberty Dollars. And that's when the police got involved.

CONTACT US: tmurse@LNPnews.com or 481-6021
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