Goldbacks for Sale | What Are Goldbacks? | GovMint (2024)

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, and New Hampshire 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.

• 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.

The Goldback is designed to be a local currency within certain regions where a series exists, that being Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and now South Dakota. 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.

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.

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