Goldbacks

Goldbacks are a form of voluntary local currency whose intricate designs are crafted from 24-karat gold. In a variety of stunning designs from Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Florida, each Goldback has a specific, labeled gold weight and is considered to be the first voluntary, local currency that can double down as a collector’s item, making them a unique fractional gold addition to any collection.

A Goldback is a type of voluntary, non-dollar, complementary currency and may be the world’s only circulating interchangeable gold money. Containing fractional amounts of 24-karat gold, the value of Goldbacks is based on the current exchange rate of gold. 

The Utah Goldback, Nevada Goldback, New Hampshire Goldback, and the Florida Goldback are attempts to legally allow the circulation of gold-backed currencies in states where this has been made allowable through legislation. With beautiful, intricate designs and art, Goldbacks act as an answer to some concerns of fiat currencies, which increases their appeal to collectors.

Not in the same way as U.S. paper and coin currency.  Utah was the first state that Goldbacks were created for, which was made possible by the Utah Legal Tender Act of 2011 and became the first state to permit Goldbacks to be accepted by merchants as legal tender, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Dakota, and now Florida. While these are not widely accepted as currency everywhere and are not recognized by the United States government, Goldback Notes were originally created with the intent of someday being circulated and commonly used as currency! Today, they offer collectors an innovative way to add fractional 24-karat gold to their collection – a novelty in itself!

Goldbacks are crafted with .999 fine gold paint on Aurum and have a plastic film designed to hold in the gold paint, ensuring its durability. Printed on clear polyester in a four-color process, the Aurum covering adds an extra level of protection so that the gold foil notes can be easily held, admired, and utilized as currency.

As of right now, Goldbacks are being made for circulation in only six states: Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and South Dakota, with Florida as the most recent state to have its own Goldback series. Each series (with the exception of new Florida Goldbacks) has five different notes: 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50, each embodying an American value represented by a woman throughout various time periods in each of the state’s history. The Florida Goldbacks recently introduced new denominations: ½, 2, and 100, creating more practical options with unique flexibility. The gold content for each Goldback also varies depending on the note.

• 1 - Prudentiae (Prudence): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold and features a Native American representation of Prudence having items and attributes traditionally associated with each of the five most prominent Native American tribes in Utah: the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, and the Navajo.
• 5 - Veritas (Truth): Contains 1/200th oz. of gold and features a female Utah pioneer representing Truth, nodding to the great migration that the first settlers of Utah took part in to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. 
• 10 - Justitia (Justice): Contains 1/100th oz. of gold and features Justice casting in the southern region of Utah, with Balancing Rock and the iconic red cliffs in the background. 
• 25 - Victoria (Victory): Contains 1/40th oz. of gold and features a symbolic Victory allegory represented by a suffragette, celebrating the victory for women’s voting rights.
• 50 - Libertas (Liberty): Contains 1/20th oz. of gold and brings the Utah series to a grand culmination with Lady Liberty, depicted as a perfected, angelic woman, having reached a fullness of blessings through the proper employment of Liberty in life.

• 1 - Caritas (Charity): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold and has a notable depiction of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Austin, Nevada. Catholicism is Nevada’s most dominant religion, and St. Augustine’s is the oldest Catholic Church building in the state.
• 5 - Sophia (Wisdom): Contains 1/200th oz. of gold and features Athena as Wisdom. Sophia represents divine inspiration and progress and is found surrounded by numerous Nevada-specific symbols, inventions, technologies, and bastions of wisdom.
• 10 - Justitia (Justice): Contains 1/100th oz. of gold and features Justice in her second appearance on Nevada’s 10 Goldback Design. Notably, she is not blindfolded but instead wears a veil that is pulled back from her face watching over the Wild West, letting all those who break the law know that Justice sees all!
• 25 - Fortitudine (Fortitude): Contains 1/40th oz. of gold and is the third, and final new virtue that debuts in the Nevada Goldback Series. Patterned after the Greek winged goddess of Victory, a driving theme for this piece is “Fortitude brings Victory over Vice,” and here, Fortitudine is understood to be sounding the first trumpet of Triumph.
• 50 - Libertas (Liberty): Contains 1/20th oz. of gold as Libertas in her second appearance under a starry Nevada night sky in the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas. Depicted as Eve, mother of the human race, she is championed here by the artist as a biblical symbol of a free woman exercising her power of choice to bring about the human race.

• 1 - Gratia (Grace): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold, and in her first appearance on a Goldback series, Gratia is depicted as an Abenaki Native American woman from the Algonquin tribes that have history in the area. She can be seen gathering chestnuts, pondering, with the caption below reading “Give Thanks,” acknowledging the bounties we are provided with must be worked for to be gathered in, but that we should also always be thankful.
• 5 - Veritas (Truth): Contains 1/200th oz. of gold. Veritas makes her second appearance and is depicted wearing a colonial dress, offering the light of a candle, and walking along a path leading to a bridge over a foggy river, symbolizing the light of truth, beckoning all away from the fogs of obscurity and confusion and toward the well-lit path of safety truth provides.
• 10 - Prospicientia (Foresight): Contains 1/100th oz. of gold. Prospicientia makes her debut and is found sitting atop a cannon on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean with Fort Constitution across the bay. This setting is historically important as it depicts the moments after New Hampshire’s Sons of Liberty took control of the area.
• 25 - Fortitudine (Fortitude): Contains 1/40th oz. of gold and is the second appearance of Fortitudine. Clothed in a military coat of a minute-man, she wears a dress of vertical red and white stripes used by the early rebel colonists. Next to her stands a miniature depiction of New Hampshire’s famous granite monument featuring the state’s motto: “Live Free or Die”, and the caption beneath reading “Take Courage.” 
• 50 - Libertas (Liberty): Contains 1/20th oz. of gold. Libertas makes her capstone appearance again standing in White Mountain National Forest and is shown with the three elements of New Hampshire’s original seal, namely the bundle of five arrows she is holding, the fish that are embroidered on her dress, and the eastern white pine tree both behind her and at her feet.

• 1 - Reverentia (Reverence): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold. Reverentia makes her first appearance in a Goldback series, here as a Shoshone Native American woman in a traditional buckskin dress. The caption “Revere what is Sacred” is displayed near the bottom among large sunflowers, symbolizing Wyoming’s beauty, particularly when one is fixated and open to the sun and its warmth. The rock formation in the background, Mato Tipila, is a sacred site to Native Americans from that region, with the state symbol, the bison, featured just below.

• 5 - Audentia (Boldness): Contains 1/200th oz of gold. Audentia joins Reverentia in another first appearance as a rodeo queen dressed in her performance attire, embracing her loyal horse. The design draws inspiration from the biblical story of Esther and her boldness in seeking salvation for her people. The roses and thorns found in this design represent both the beauty and danger that often accompany such boldness. Other nods to Esther’s story are the king’s scepter and scroll. The likewise fitting caption below these elements reads “Doubt Not, Fear Not.”

• 10 - Fiducia (Trust): Contains 1/100th oz. of gold. Fiducia also makes her first appearance with this Wyoming Goldback. Depicted as a pioneer woman on her journey to settle in Star Valley, Fiducia presses forward with faith in God, which is conveyed with the phrase “Trust in the LORD” below her name. With Wyoming’s famous Split Rock looming in the background, Fiducia carries a basket of birch wood over her shoulder. Birch trees represent hope and new beginnings thanks to their year-round beauty. The oxen represent hard work, determination, and carrying each others’ burdens, which is also a nod to Wyoming’s history around women’s voting rights.

• 25 - Fideletas (Loyalty): Contains 1/40th oz. of gold. Fideletas joins the others in her first appearance as a traditional Wyoming ranch girl on her wedding day. The Grand Tetons tower in the background behind the modest Episcopal Chapel of Transfiguration. The parable of the ten virgins serves as the inspiration for this depiction, highlighting the notion of loyalty to someone and being prepared for the right moment. The oil lamp exemplifies this and draws the parable connection, with the loyalty theme summed up with the phrase, “Faithful to the End.” The wine, bread, and salt on the ground also have deep Christian symbology.

• 50 - Libertas (Liberty): Contains 1/20th oz. of gold. Libertas joins the other 50 Goldback denominations with this Wyoming Goldback. Here, she is represented as a mid-20th-century hiker exploring iconic Yellowstone National Park. Taking inspiration from the biblical story of Deborah, Libertas is equipped with a flashlight and a walking staff, representing guidance from on high. The sword on her back and the shield at her feet represent the need to defend liberty at any moment. This imagery is summed up with the phrase “Stand Fast in Liberty.”

• 1 - Pax (Peace): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold. Pax makes her debut in a Goldback series with this South Dakota Goldback. Represented as a Lakota Native Amerian woman in traditional clothing, Pax is shown hoop dancing. The design was inspired by an actual Lakota performer who the artist saw during their time researching within South Dakota. This performer indicated that Lakota (along with Nakota & Dakota) are words that roughly mean “The Friendly Ones,” which inspired the artist to include the more accepted translation of “Alliance of Friends” on a banner toward the bottom of this Goldback. 
• 5 - Industria (Industry): Contains 1/200th oz of gold. Industria also makes her Goldback debut, appearing as a woman on a farm with corn, honey, and a cornucopia filled with produce from a bountiful harvest. The woman’s smile elegantly alludes to the inscription at the bottom, “Abound in Good Works.” The woman and the harvest represent the joy that comes from working hard in the industry of the area and the rewards that come from doing so. 
• 10 - Harmonia (Harmony): Contains 1/100th oz. of gold. Harmonia joins Pax and Industria with her own first appearance in a Goldback series. For this South Dakota Goldback, Harmonia is shown as a hunter inspired by Artemis, the Greco-Roman goddess of the hunt. Harmonia has a bow with an arrow drawn on the string, and she is surrounded by many animals representative of the world-renowned hunting found in South Dakota. This design and its inscription to “Live in Harmony” speak to the ecological balance (or harmony) necessary for an ecosystem to thrive, including wildlife conservation and harvesting. 
• 25 - Laurea (Honor): Contains 1/40th oz. of gold. Laurea is the final new Virtue depicted with these South Dakota Goldbacks and is inspired by a legend about a young woman named Minnecotah. As legend tells it, Minnecotah was in love with a hunter from another area and faithfully awaited his return. Local men wished to win her favor and attempted so by seeing who could throw rocks the farthest into the lake (Lake Kampeska). As the stones piled up, they formed an island, and learning this contest was a ruse created by Minnecotah, the men banished her to this island unless she chose one of them. She remained true to her hunter, and legend says she survived thanks to a white pelican who brought her fish and berries. The pelican and the stone island can be found on this design, with Minnecotah’s devotion speaking to the honor in her heart in staying true to her love and her Maker, as represented with the inscription, “Honor to the Giver.”
• 50 - Libertas (Liberty): Contains 1/20th oz. of gold. Libertas once again represents the 50 Goldback Denomination, but for the South Dakota design, Libertas is inspired by the Lady Freedom statue in Washington, D.C. The phrase “Stand Fast in Liberty” is exemplified by Libertas’ sword and shield, which bears the inscription “Under God the People Rule,” which is the state motto of South Dakota. The state’s Mount Rushmore can be seen above Libertas and the South Dakota State Capitol. The bison skull features the Lakota Sioux Medicine Wheel as a tribute to all indigenous people of South Dakota, while South Dakota’s state fish, the walleye, can be seen just below Libertas.

• 1/2 - Spes (Hope): Contains 1/2000th oz. of gold. This new denomination honors the virtue of Hope as represented by a Spanish conquistador kneeling next to the mythological Fountain of Youth. Her armor features the fleur-de-lis as a symbol of France’s exploration of Florida, including the Huguenots’ settlement of Fort Caroline (near Jacksonville), which the Spanish later controlled in the 16th century. The scene, marked by the year 1513 for Ponce de León’s voyage, features symbols like the Zebra Longwing butterfly for transformation and the Florida Cracker horse for endurance. A conch shell honors the Timucua, acknowledging Florida’s indigenous heritage, while the overall artwork celebrates St. Augustine’s establishment as the oldest European settlement and the enduring human quest for possibility.

• 1 - Harmonia (Harmony): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold. Harmony is depicted with this standard Florida 1 Goldback as a Spanish settler who represents the state’s nature, culture, and history, particularly during Florida’s early colonization. Her cross-shaped earrings indicate the Catholic faith of those early Spanish settlers. St. Augustine and Castillo de San Marcos are also featured as a testament to the foundations of the New World from European settlers and voyagers. Native flora like the sabal palm and orange tree reflect endurance and growth, while the words “Terra Incognita” signify courage in exploring the unknown. 

• 1 - Tranquilitas (Tranquility): Contains 1/1000th oz. of gold. This limited release of the Florida 1 Goldback embodies the virtue of Tranquility through a serene figure wading in Florida’s vibrant coastal waters, highlighting the world’s third-largest reef and rich marine biodiversity. Florida’s maritime history is also featured with a drifting ship under calm skies, while swaying palm trees and radiant sun evoke its “Sunshine State” nickname. Tranquilitias is seen holding plumeria flowers, representing harmony and beauty, reinforcing the goldback’s design to honor Florida’s calming seascape and exciting wildlife.

• 2 - Fortitudo (Fortitude): Contains 1/500th oz. of gold. The Florida 2 Goldback features the virtue “Fortitudo” or Fortitude with a tribute to the courage and strength of the Seminole people. Their resistance to being forcibly removed during the Seminole Wars and their determination to thrive in a new community embody the strength to preserve culture, leadership, and stewardship over this precious environment. This Seminole woman is seen standing in a canoe, proudly and with purpose in navigating the sloughs of the Everglades. A chickee hut is seen raised behind her, symbolizing the Seminoles’ strong connection with nature. Below the surface, a manatee glides effortlessly as a tribut to Florida’s success in wildlife conservation.

• 5 - Audax (Bold, Daring, Valiant): Contains 1/200th oz. of gold. “Audux,” or Daring, is shown here as a fierce privateer, acknowledging Florida’s extensive history of privacy and adventure. Her portrayal is inspired by the legends of Anne Bonny and Charlotte de Berry, both pirates who symbolize courage and determination to break the societal norms of their time. The rough seas depicted in the background symbolize the hurricanes and unique weather conditions that Florida has long been known for. 

• 10 - Innovation (Innovatio): Contains 1/100th oz of gold. “Innovatio” is seen here as a 1920s flapper, celebrating Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) and its transformative impact on Florida’s economy and landscape. The flapper, symbolizing freedom and excitement, rides a train inspired by FEC locomotive No. 153, with a ticket hinting at new adventures. Arches in the background echo the Overseas Railroad’s engineering feat, while dolphins and seabirds highlight Florida’s natural beauty. The design honors the railway’s role in building Florida’s future, reflecting the principle, “Innovative ideas build futures.”

• 25 - Conservare (Protector): Contains 1/40th oz. of gold. For the Florida 25 Goldback, “Conservare” (Protector or Preserver) is depicted as a steadfast conservationist in the Everglades, highlighting Florida’s dedication to ecological preservation. Established in 1947, Everglades National Park’s biodiversity is showcased through the alligator’s recovery and the continued protection of the Florida panther and snail kite. The explorer’s determined gaze reflects the mission to “conserve the beauty” of the land. A Burmese python, representing invasive species in the state, adds tension, underscoring the ongoing challenges of preservation. Lastly, the soaring great blue heron embodies hope, celebrating the resilience of nature and those committed to its protection. 

• 50 - Amor Patriae (Love of Country): Contains 1/20th oz. of gold. The virtue “Amor Patriae” (Love of Country) is personified as a Women’s Airforce Service Pilot flying a P-51 Mustang, honoring women’s service in World War II. Soaring above Hendricks Army Airfield, she gracefully embodies patriotism and bravery. Sunlight reflects off the plane’s canopy, highlighting her skill in the cockpit as well as her uniform insignias, which commemorate her vital role in transporting aircraft. This Florida Goldback design pays tribute to the state’s 1.5 million veterans, reflecting the principle, “Be watchful, stand firm.” Amor Patriae’s dedication stands as a lasting tribute to their sacrifices, inspiring gratitude and honoring their legacy. 

• 100 - Libertas (Liberty): Contains 1/10th oz. of gold. Libertas, the capstone virtue for all Goldbacks, is seen here as a powerful figure guiding a weathered ship through turbulent waters, symbolizing the arduous journey to freedom. Inspired by Cuban immigration, she embodies resilience, with broken chains representing past struggles in the fight for freedom. Her star-adorned attire and key-shaped necklace signify hope and new possibilities, while her seven-pointed crown reflects universal liberty across the globe. The shoreline features sea turtle hatchlings and shells, symbolizing resilience and protection, with the Cape Florida Lighthouse standing as a beacon of hope. A launching rocket and moon footprint honor Florida’s space legacy, representing enlightenment and human achievement. Lastly, the etched name “Libertas” signifies the enduring nature of freedom, celebrating Florida as a haven for those seeking new horizons. 

For 2023 Goldbacks from Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Dakota, a new phrase can be found near the top of the respective Goldbacks, which reads, “Specie Legal Tender Instrument.” Originally, these Goldbacks (with the exception of South Dakota, which did not produce Goldbacks until this year) had “Voluntary Negotiable Instrument” printed on the Goldback. With the “Specie Legal Tender Instrument” designation, this means these particular Goldbacks are authorized as legal tender in their respective states.

The Goldback is designed to be a local currency within certain regions where a series exists, that being Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Dakota, and now Florida. They are considered voluntary local currency. Please note that Goldbacks are privately issued and not U.S. dollar legal tender.

A voluntary local currency is a form of money created for local use and has an agreed value by the people and businesses involved in a particular transaction for goods and services, and it is believed that Goldbacks are accepted by as high as 50% of small business owners in some states.

Featured businesses in Utah accepting Goldbacks can be found here.

Featured businesses in New Hampshire accepting Goldbacks can be found here.

Featured businesses in Wyoming accepting Goldbacks can be found here.

Featured businesses in Nevada accepting Goldbacks can be found here.

Featured businesses in South Dakota accepting Goldbacks can be found here. 

Featured businesses in Florida accepting Goldbacks can be found here.

Long before the Goldback came into production, in 2011, the most senior partner of the Goldback company, Lawrence D. Hilton, authored what became the draft for the Legal Tender Act in Utah, allowing Goldbacks to be used as voluntary local currency in Utah.

Developed first in Utah and quickly expanded to Nevada and New Hampshire, the idea of the legal tender of Goldbacks came about in April 2019 as a voluntary local currency based on the published exchange rate of gold. 

Goldback production, which has not been counterfeited, relies on 5th-generation vacuum deposition technology from Valaurum. Designs are printed on a sheet of polymer that is then bombarded with atomized gold particles before it is then sealed inside by a second protective barrier of polymer, resulting in a beautiful negative image.