House panel OKs gold, silver as legal tender

COLUMBIA -- South Carolina residents would be able to use gold and silver coins as currency under a bill advanced Tuesday by a House panel.

The measure approved by the House Judiciary Committee would let people use the precious metals as money as long as businesses agree to take them. Legislators had made the argument that they didn't want to force businesses to take the metals and have to figure out the worth of the coins from one day to the next and amended the bill to remove such a requirement.

Advocates of the measure said the metal coins are more stable than the dollar, although Rep. Greg Delleney, who chaired the subcommittee that studied the bill, has previously warned that, if the dollar collapses, people will be in trouble no matter what the metals are worth.