Gold Certificates

What is a Gold Certificate?

Gold Certificates are United States Currency authorized by the Currency Act of March 3, 1863 and issued through 1934. Series 1934 was printed but never released to the public. They were released solely to banks. Only a few museum specimens of the 1934 series still exist. Gold Certificates were issued as small size bills starting with the series of 1928 and have distinguishing gold seals. They could be exchanged for gold coins but this changed on Dec. 28, 1933 when President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102  forbidding the holding of Gold Certificates (and gold coins) and in turn, ordered the banks to turn in all stocks of Gold Certificates. On April 24, 1964, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillion removed the restrictions on acquiring or holding Gold Certificates. Gold Certificates have been issued in $10, $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 denominations. There was also a $100,000 Gold Certificate printed for the series of 1934 featuring a portrait of Woodrow Wilson.

Nine separate issues of  Gold Certificates were created in the large size series: 1) 1863 2) 1870-71 3) 1875 4) 1882 5) 1888 6) 1900 7) 1905-1907 8) 1907 ($1,000 only) 9) 1913 and 1922.