I propose that Congress passes a bill making fungible gold (anything from gold shot and 1g chips all the way up to large nuggets and solid ingots) legal tender for all debts, public and private.
I think we all understand the reasons why gold is a sound store of value. But as of today, only 12 states have authorized the use of solid gold as legal tender. Which is why we need a bill passed at the federal level mandating it for all states - all American citizens should be able to use gold as a form of payment, as it is a stable and reliable store of value and is easily fungible for efficient use in typical payment settings, and as Americans we ought to be able to use a form of currency that will never lose its value.
As of today, 3.4.25, the current price of gold per ounce is $2,931.60. There’s an old colloquialism about how an ounce of gold could have bought you and your great-great-grandfather a fine tailored suit, a very fine revolver, or a young horse. In 2025, roughly $2900 will definitely get you a fine tailored suit, pretty much any handgun available on the civilian market, and it could still buy you a horse, or at least a decent used car or a nice motorcycle. Why shouldn’t I be able to walk into a dealership and trade a 1oz gold bar for a new motorcycle? Or pay for a bag of groceries with a single gold coin? Or pay for a meal at a nice restaurant with a few 1g chips?
The way I envision it, you would pay for something with a piece of raw or cast gold or a gold coin and then the register would use a scale and the current spot price of gold to calculate how much change (in cash) you’re owed back based on the exact price of the item. Let’s say you buy a patio set for $2450 with a 1oz gold bar - you would give them the bar, and they’d give you back roughly $450 in cash.
In a world where everyone is trying to push us towards more volatile and less secure forms of currency like crypto, specifically, I say we reject modernity and embrace tradition when it comes to currency.