The state of Virginia has introduced legislation to consider currency alternatives, including gold and silver, in the event of a “major breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.”

House Resolution No. 557 seeks to form a joint subcommittee to study the “timely adoption of an alternative sound currency that the Commonwealth’s government and citizens may employ without delay in the event of the destruction of the Federal Reserve System’s currency,” aimed to “at least mitigate many of the economic, social, and political shocks to be expected to arise from hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System.”

While the likelihood of an alternative currency involving gold and/or silver is unlikely in the short term, such a measure aligns with the views of Ron Paul and a growing minority of additional politicians who would like to return to a form of legal tender that was authorized by the U.S. Constitution.

Furthermore, alongside yesterday’s news of India and Iran considering transactions in gold, Virginia’s move could be the start of a growing trend around the world of various levels of government seeking to transact in a currency that is no individual’s debt and cannot be printed at the whim of central bankers.