50 Utah Goldback - Libertas, 1/20th Troy Oz .9999 Gold-Backed Bill

50 Utah Goldback - Beautifully Made Currency Containing 1/20th 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.

The Utah Goldback Series is the first Goldback Series to ever be produced. It was drawn by Cheri Jensen, a local Utah artist, who does beautiful, intricate work, despite being blind in one eye.

It tells a somewhat chronological story of Utah over the course of the series progression, highlighting specific pivotal moments in its history before the settlement of the Mormon Pioneers, through the settlement of the area and some historic moments pertaining thereto. The progression culminates in an idyllic future representation of reaching a type of transcendence toward which we are encouraged to aspire through the application of the virtues featured in the series.

These are each shown on one of the Goldback denominations as a backdrop for the Lady Virtue being portrayed and symbolized thereon. Please enjoy the Utah Goldback Series.

The bill features a beautiful image of Libertas, the Virtue Liberty. It is the culmination of the Utah series timeline. Liberty, depicted as a perfected, angelic woman, having reached a fullness of blessings through the proper employment of Liberty in life.

This design is rich with symbols, including the torch in her right hand symbolizing enlightenment, an overflowing cup in her left to represent the blood of Christ and its connection to the divinely given liberty. Liberty is also depicted with a sheathed sword and a shield resting next to her. Both symbolize that the free must always be ready to fight to defend and preserve the liberty they enjoy, but also that one must be willing to fight to gain a fullness of freedom in the first place. The shield bears the year 1847 (the year the Utah territory was settled) and the name “Deseret”, the original name of the Utah territory, appears there. Deseret is understood to mean a honey bee, a nest of which appears on the shield in like manner to the Utah flag, and nods to the hard work needed to protect Liberty.

Libertas is flanked by a mountain lion on one side and a lamb on the other, symbolizing peace realized through liberty using the biblical depiction from Isaiah 11:6 of the lion laying down with the lamb.

Liberty is featured in the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by the Utah state tree, the blue spruce; the state flower, the sego lily; and Bear Lake, the “Caribbean of the Rockies”, in the background. Behind her the sun is rising, representing enlightenment and divine blessings, and acknowledging those things are a gateway to perfection. At her feet we are admonished to “Stand Fast in Liberty”.

Goldbacks can be, and are, used for barter transactions with anyone who recognizes the value of gold.