A growing number of states are seeking shiny new currencies made of silver and gold.

Worried that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. dollar are on the brink of collapse, lawmakers from 13 states, including Minnesota, Tennessee, Iowa, South Carolina and Georgia, are seeking approval from their state governments to either issue their own alternative currency or explore it as an option. Just three years ago, only three states had similar proposals in place.

"In the event of hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System ... the State's governmental finances and private economy will be thrown into chaos," said North Carolina Republican Representative Glen Bradley in a currency bill he introduced last year.

Unlike individual communities, which are allowed to create their own currency -- as long as it is easily distinguishable from U.S. dollars -- the Constitution bans states from printing their own paper money or issuing their own currency. But it allows the states to make "gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts."

To read the complete article, see:States seek currencies made of silver and gold(money.cnn.com/2012/02/03/pf/states_currencies/)

John and Nancy Wilson forwarded this article on the Virginia proposal:Virginia advances bill pushing for state to establish its own currency(www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/06/virginia-is-one-step-closer-to
-returning-to-gold-standard/)

Virginia Del. Robert G. Marshall fears that a financial apocalypse is coming and only one thing can save the Commonwealth: its own currency.

The idea that Virginia should consider issuing its own money was dismissed as just another quixotic quest by one of the most conservative members of the state legislature when Marshall introduced it three years ago. But it has since gained traction not only in Virginia, but also in states across the country as Americans have grown increasingly suspicious of the institutions entrusted with safeguarding the economy.

This week, the proposal by the Prince William Republican sailed through the House of Delegates with a two-to-one majority.

"This is a serious study about a serious topic," Marshall said Tuesday. "We're not completely powerless."

So far, only Utah has approved a law recognizing nontraditional currency. Four other states have bills pending this year. Marshall said he is unsure of his proposal's prospects in the Virginia Senate. One Democrat derided it as a descent into "la-la land."

To read the complete article, see:Virginia coin moves closer to reality(www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/virginia-coin-moves-closer
-to-reality/2013/02/05/9bcdd532-6fa4-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html)

A Tennessee maintenance worker says he quit his job because his W-2 tax form was stamped with the number 666.

Walter Slonopas told The Tennessean that accepting the number would have condemned his soul to hell. That number is considered the "mark of the beast" in the Bible's Book of Revelation describing the apocalypse.

The company that handles payroll for Contech Casting LLC says the number meant Slonopas' form was the 666th one mailed out

To read the complete article, see:Tenn. man quits job after finding '666' stamped on W-2 form, says God is worth more than money(www.washingtonpost.com/business/tenn-man-quits-job-after-finding
-666-stamped-on-w-2-form-says-god-is-worth-more-than-money
/2013/02/07/807077b8-715c-11e2-b3f3-b263d708ca37_story.html)