Bringing Gold Back Into Circulation
Gold and silver could soon spend like dollars, as new state bills and global moves hint at a future where precious metals meet digital finance.
Specie once again appears ready to trump fiat money. Ohio House Bill 206, titled “Establish a transactional currency based on gold and silver,” is planned to allow these two precious metals to be deposited in accounts that will officially be held by the state treasurer. Individuals could use a debit card or a phone app to spend their gold and silver from accounts where the metals would be stored. The value would be automatically converted to dollars when a transaction is to take place, allowing it to change alongside real-time exchange rate changes.
According to Section 113.82 (c): “In establishing the transactional currency, the treasurer of state shall establish a means to ensure that a person or state that holds the transactional currency may use the currency as legal tender in payment of debt and readily transfer or assign the transactional currency to any other person or state by electronic means.”
Section (d) continues, “the holder of the specie may use the specie as legal tender in payment of debt and ensure that the specie is readily transferable to any other person or state.” Florida appears ready to recognize specific gold and silver coins as legal tender as of July 1, 2026.
Overseas, the Reserve Bank of India will allow silver to be pledged against credit beginning April 1, 2026. The U.S. has had a fiat money system for about half a century. It has problems, many of which are obvious to collectors knowledgeable about financial history. The fact that several states and a foreign country are sufficiently nervous to reintroduce specie tells us a lot. These hybrid currency systems are an interesting alternative to the current system.
Perhaps they will become the way of the future?
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