Gold, silver coins to be legal currency in Utah

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY

Utah legislators want to see the dollar regain its former glory, back to the days when one literally could bank on it being “as good as gold.”

To make that point, they’ve turned it around and made gold as good as cash. Utah became the first state in the country this month to legalize gold and silver coins as currency. The law also will exempt the sale of the coins from state capital-gains taxes.

Craig Franco hopes to cash in on it with his Utah Gold and Silver Depository, and he thinks others soon will follow.

The idea is simple: Store your gold and silver coins in a vault, and Franco issues a debitlike card to make purchases backed by your holdings.

He plans to open for business June 1, likely the first of its kind in the country.

“Because we’re dealing with something so forward thinking, I expect a wait-and-see attitude,” Franco said. “Once the depository is executed and transactions can occur, then I think people will move into the marketplace.”

The idea was spawned by Republican state Rep. Brad Galvez, who sponsored the bill largely to serve as a protest against Federal Reserve monetary policy. Galvez says Americans are losing faith in the dollar. If you’re mad about government debt, ditch the cash. Spend your gold and silver, he says.