The AOCS exists to expedite the implementation of Silver as money http://www.opencurrency.com/mission.php.  The AOCS is a temporary bridge between the world of government-imposed fiat currencies and a free market system where commodities and other stores of value are actively traded in the MarketPlace.  An ultimate goal is to see goods and services once again priced in ounces, grams or grains alongside variable “paper” prices.

Its role as an independent barter association serves to bring together Merchants who wish to participate in a private, voluntary exchange with one another.  The AOCS manages the Merchants of the marketplace, the Currency Officers who are the direct contact with the local community and the AOCS-approved Currencies that are used as a medium for tracking the bartering of goods and services.

A traditional barter group is a collection of Merchants who actively trade goods and services directly with one another.  A trade exchange comes into play as a way to monitor the barter network and help to facilitate easier trade and access to more Merchants by using some sort of script (currency) to track what is owed between Merchants.  A trade exchange generally charges monthly or yearly maintenance fees and exchange fees.  The AOCS bridges both the ideals of a traditional barter group and the roles of a trade exchange.  The AOCS provides Silver Currency as a medium of exchange but does not charge fees or commissions for spending or accepting the Currency.

A typical MLM scheme aims to gain money simply through sign up fees from people who sign up and “join” the association.  People who wish to join the AOCS team are required to purchase 100oz of Silver before they are officially called Currency Officers.  While this sounds like a MLM scheme, one of the roles of the Currency Officer is to distribute and sell Silver to the general public.  By purchasing their first 100oz at the Currency Officer rate, they are provided with a means of making profit through reselling their Silver and are also given full access to the Merchant database for means of promoting Silver sales.

Precious metals are often referred to as REAL money.  Historically, every paper currency backed by nothing has failed.  By exchanging Silver in the marketplace, people are dealing with Currency of REAL value and worth.  Precious metals are inflation proof and can be spent virtually anywhere.  As opposed to Gold, Silver is easier to implement as Currency because its value is much smaller and more practical to use in the marketplace.

There are 4 main points that differentiate the AOCS from other barter groups:

Zero Costs:  The AOCS operates as an asset to the Merchant at absolutely no cost.  This means no membership fees, no commissions for accepting or spending Silver, and the freedom to make your own terms for accepting.  Typical barter networks charge a 5-10% fee for accepting and spending their exchange on top of charging monthly or yearly membership fees.

Real Value:  AOCS Silver has value in, out and without the network.  When other barter networks cease operations or the merchants decide to stop accepting their exchange, that trade money becomes worthless.  If you can’t spend it, it isn’t worth anything.  Silver will always have value, whether anyone chooses to accept it or not.

Preferred Business:  Silver is preferred.  Customer transaction are no longer treated as “second-rate” and prices are not over-inflated because of the “worth-less” trade drafts.

Unlimited Network:  Silver is valid anywhere a merchant understands the value of REAL money.  It's far easier to explain the value of pure Silver than an accrued credit on some barter ledger.

The AOCS makes a small one-time profit from the introduction of each 1-oz AOCS-Approved Coin.  Once Silver Currency is introduced to the marketplace, the AOCS does not benefit from its circulation in any way.  Rather, the AOCS continues to provide services to Merchants in the network to promote AOCS-Approved businesses in hopes to sell AOCS Currency to new customers thus creating more profit.

With the price of Silver constantly fluctuating, the AOCS avoids selling out of inventory by providing Silver to its COs at the spot price plus licensing fees at the time of their order.  It is up to the CO whether or not they wish to sell out of their personal inventory.  By selling out of inventory, it is certainly easier to provide customers with Silver on spot, however, if Silver were to drop in value, a CO may risk losing on the exchange. The typical lead-time for the AOCS has been approximately 2-3 weeks from lock-in to physical delivery.  As the AOCS grows and builds relationships with multiple mints, that lead-time is expected to decrease to 1-2 weeks.

a.       Legal vs. Lawful

b.      Constitution of the US:  Only Gold and Silver are to be used as Legal Tender

c.       No law that explicitly prohibits the minting of Silver or Gold rounds

d.      There is NO confusing how AOCS rounds look compared to USD

The AOCS is not a tax expert and so dealing with taxes is the responsibility of the customers and Merchants.  The AOCS has discussed, but in no way suggests, the following options:

1.      Don’t pay taxes:  In a free market economy, merchants and consumers should be able to barter items of value at their own discretion.

2.      Report a loss:  If you are accepting Silver at the face value of “50” when it is valued on the open market at only $20, then technically you are at a loss of $30.

3.      Pay taxes:  Treat the Silver face value of “50” as if receiving $50 USD.

The CTC has 2 goals with the AOCS:  to expand the Merchant network and to sell AOCS-approved Silver.  Neither one is more important than the other.  Both are dependent on one another; without Silver to circulate, the Merchant network becomes stagnant and without a Merchant network, the CO is merely selling an expensive piece of Silver.

Expand and manage the Merchant Network

It is the CTC’s responsibility to clean up and manage the records that are already in the database.  All information should be accurate, up-to-date and complete.  Once the database is updated, it will then become much easier to prospect new Merchants and expand the network.

Sell Silver

It is also the CTC’s responsibility to sell Silver.  The goal of the AOCS is to implement Silver as money, so selling Silver to spend with the Merchants is crucial!  Merchants will quickly abandon the network or question our success if they don’t see an increase in Silver business.  Selling Silver is also the way a CTC makes profit.

The source of the data featured in our database is derived from merchants who added themselves, merchants that the AOCS added, or merchants that we acquired from other barter groups that we are able to exchange with

The AOCS is able to expand and grow their Merchant network very quickly because of their ability to trade with other exchanges.  When a Merchant from another group joins the AOCS, many of them are willing to trade out their trade dollars for Silver.  With this 3rd party exchange, the AOCS is now able to trade with every Merchant in that network.  This is how the AOCS has developed “relationships” with IMS, ITEX, DoBarter, Green Apple, and other barter network Merchants.

Who can get involved?  How?

Anyone can become an AOCS-Approved Merchant.  You can either contact your local Community Trade Coordinator or create your own record on the Maine Open Currency website

Consumers are always welcome to initiate their own barter transaction with a Merchant of their choice.  We enlist Merchants to accept AOCS-Approved Currencies because Silver Currency bearing the AOCS-Approved mark adheres to the AOCS standards of excellence, which guarantee both purity and weight.

Silver is both profitable and valuable as a means of accepting payment so long as the Merchant is able to turn around and spend an ounce of Silver at face-value for goods or services that they want or need.  The Spot value is only of concern if trying to convert your Silver back into USD, which the AOCS does not recommend. 

As the AOCS system is not imposed on any participant, as such, the exchanged value of each Currency is negotiable between the exchanging parties.  As with any free market system, the market will decide the appropriate rate of exchange, just as a Merchant who provides a higher quality product or service is able to charge more for their offering.

Who can create?

Anyone who sees a market for a particular Currency piece and wishes to provide the start-up costs to produce it.  Further details can be found at http://www.opencurrency.com/currency.php. 

How much does it cost to create?

Dies and artwork cost approximately $2000.

What is the quality?

All AOCS-approved Currencies are investment-grade and have a proof-like finish.  The standard for AOCS Currency is .999 fine Silver or .9999 fine Gold and each piece weighs 1-Troy ounce.

What does it mean to be AOCS-Approved?

Silver produced in an AOCS-Approved mint

Silver is 1-Troy ounce and is .999 fine.

Silver has a face-value based on the AOCS Valuation Formula and can be spent in the Merchant network at that value

AOCS Silver is intended to be used as a Currency.  Higher premiums are justified by the service the AOCS provides as a barter group.  With a face value of “50,” AOCS Currency can be spent essentially at a discount in the Merchant network.

The standard for the precious metals industry is to measure Silver and Gold pieces in troy ounces.

The difference between troy ounces and standard ounces is that there are 12 troy ounces in a troy pound 16 standard ounces in a standard pound.

Currently, the value of AOCS Currency is “50”.  The AOCS Valuation Formula was derived from the Liberty Dollar formula that moves the face-value of Silver up as the price of Silver drives up (http://www.opencurrency.com/valuation.php).  Currently, we are at the Series “C” level of the formula.  When the market price of silver reaches $41.50 per ounce, the AOCS will "Move-Up" to a value of $100 for a 1oz piece of .999 fine Silver.  The data used to generate the formula can be found at http://www.scotiamocatta.com/prec/pdfs/pm_daily.pdf.

After the move-up to the $100 face-value, the AOCS will probably not continue increasing the face-value and thus the system will be abandoned.  This is because it would not be practical to use Silver as an every day medium of exchange when its value is that high.

This move-up system is only practical so long as the price of silver is quoted in USD. When the US Dollar finally fails completely, either a new system will be established to allow AOCS Currencies to trade one-to-one with the new, primary currency or the AOCS system WILL BE the primary Currency.