U.S. GOLD CERTIFICATES 1865-1933

The U.S. Gold Certificate was used as paper currency beginning in 1865 and ending in 1933. It has been reported that these gold certificates date all the way back to November of 1865. Each certificate noted was equal face value in gold. For example, if you have a $100 Gold Certificate, then you could trade it in for $100 in gold. The U.S. Government ended the gold certificate in 1933 and in 1964, it actually became illegal to own these certificates. Just a few years later, the band was lifted and it became legal U.S. tender notes. Even though it was now legal tender, it no longer carried any gold value or trade. The 1933 Gold Standard Act ended the production of the gold certificate.

In 1865, the first series began being produced and released. If you owned such a note, you could trade it for an equal amount of gold. From 1865-1922, all gold certificates released were slightly larger then regular sized tender notes. Most of the gold certificates produced had two sides to it just like the legal tender of today, but back in the early years of production, only one side was used. The other side of the gold certificate would be used by the bank or market as a receipt of the trade.

Over all the years of the gold certificates production, there were many different types of certificates produced. In total, there were 9 different series of gold certificates in all. The very first series of the gold certificate was produced in 1865. Two more series were produced in the years after. In all, three series of certificates were produced between 1865-1875. The 4th series was produced in 1882. It includedthe $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and the $10,000. The fifth and sixth series of production was from 1888-1900. All certificate types were made through these years. In 1900, only $10,000 Gold Certificates were made. The seventh series was produced from 1905-1907. Only $10 and $20 Gold Certificates were made for those years. Series eight was produced in 1907 only. During this series, only $1,000 Gold Certificates were produced. The 9th and final series was produced in two separate years, 1913 and 1922. Every certificate was produced in 1922, but only $50 Gold Certificates were made in 1913. The series was never changed again, although they were produced until 1933. In 2000, a 1882 $1,000 Gold Certificate sold for $945,000.

There were two different series produced in 1928. The 1928 Gold Certificate and the 1928A Gold Certificate. The 1928A Gold Certificate was destroyed and they were never released. The 1928 Gold Certificates are the most common gold certificate found today and the value chart below is based on their values. These values are for the 1928 Gold Certificates in average condition. If your gold certificate is in great shape or has an older date, it will be worth more then the values below. I choose these values because the common certificate will be worn on average. The value of your certificate depends on the date and condition. The older it is, the more valuable it will be. If your certificate is crisp and clean, then it will be much higher then the values below.