Gold Certificates

Large Size Gold Certificates are one of the most vivid and colorful of all our U.S. Currency issues. The reverses of these notes feature a brilliant golden orange color that unfortunately fades quite easily. Their colors are symbolic of the gold coins they represent. Of the nine issues, only the fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth issues were circulated to any extent.

• The First Three Issues were printed between 1865 and 1875. Some of these notes were printed uniface (one side only) for foreign banks to identify our currency. Most of this currency was used between bank to bank transactions only.

• The Fourth Issues were the 1882 Series and these were the earliest issues intended for general circulation. They were issued in denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500, $5000 & $10,000. The 1882 series of Gold Certificates are pretty much the earliest Gold Certificates that are available for collectors today.

• The Fifth & Sixth Issue was the Series of 1888 and 1900 and consisted of $5,000 and $10,000 notes only. These were transfer documents that functioned between the Treasury and various commercial or Federal Reserve banks. They were never in normal circulation, and they were never counted as currency in circulation.

• The Seventh Issue consisted of the 1905, 1906 and 1907 Series. They were issued in denominations of $10 and $20 only. The 1905 $20 Gold Certificate is known as the "Technicolor Note", and is very popular with collectors.

• The Eighth Issue was the 1907 $1,000 only. These notes are extremely rare.

• The Ninth Issue is of the 1913 and 1922 Series. The 1913 issue was issued in the $50 denomination only. The 1922 issue was in denominations of $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 & $1,000. The 1922 issue is the more common of the Large Size Gold Certificates that we see in todays marketplace.