1 New Hampshire Goldback - Gratia, 1/1000th Troy Oz .9999 Gold-Backed Bill

1 New Hampshire Goldback - Beautifully Made Currency Containing 1/1000th Oz .9999 Fine Gold

The Goldback is the world’s first voluntary currency to be made of a spendable, beautiful, small denomination, physical gold.

When the Utah Legal Tender Act passed in 2011, the state became the first in recent times to recognize certain forms of gold as legal tender. Gold once again established a level of official recognition as money.

Since then the technology for minting physical gold into a spendable form for small transactions has developed. The makers use cutting edge vacuum deposition technology to layer each bill with .9999 fine gold in exacting quantities. Goldback bills carry a precise amount of pure gold between layers of polyester which makes them resilient and durable.

This series is the first to pilot the border design change where the written denomination at the top of the bill has been moved into the border at the bottom and a smaller denomination number is written in the bottom right corner in addition to being found in the top left. These designs have been approved for all following designs, and currently in print designs will adopt these changes in their 2022 editions.

About the Design - Gratia

In her firrst appearance on a Goldback series, Gratia, or Grace, is featured on the New Hampshire 1 Goldback Denomination.

She is depicted as an Abanaki Native American woman from the Algonquin tribes, who have history in the area. She is wearing a traditional dress and beads in front of an Abenaki wigwam. She is accompanied by a river otter, representing resourcefulness and finding joy in the moment with both attributes being key parts of grace and leading a balanced life.

Also present in the symbolism of this design are many elements of Jewish and Christian cultures. This design particularly indicates the Jewish Festival/Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah , being celebrated alongside the Thanksgiving Holiday. Elements of these celebrations include: the Shofar trumpet next to the wigwam door, the pumpkin, corn, beans, chestnuts, and honeycomb represented by the beehive in the tree.

Gratia can be seen gathering chestnuts and pondering, with the caption below reading “Give Thanks”. This is to acknowledge that the bounties that we are provided with must be worked for to be gathered in, but that we should also be thankful for them. Additionally, the chestnuts remain uncracked, more deeply symbolizing the work needing to be done by the founding fathers of the United States of America in order to bring about the nation where we could enjoy the freedoms that we do.

One of the reasons that Thanksgiving Day is represented in the New Hampshire series here is because of Sarah Joseph, a native resident of New Hampshire, who was key in bringing Thanksgiving Day about as a national holiday.

In the background are elements nodding to, and representing, the many ancient artifacts and “American Stonehenge” that can both be found in New Hampshire and indicate the rich cultural heritage of the area that predates more modern colonization.