The Last $20 Gold Certificate - 1928 Small

The year is 1896 and on the morning of August 16th a few lucky miners in the Klondike region of the Yukon Mountains stumbled onto something that would capture the attention of the nation... GOLD! The Gold Rush truly was on; the local population went from around just 500 in 1896, to well over 30,000 by 1899! Since gold has always been coveted by the American people, what better way to celebrate the start of the gold rush than with the last piece of American currency backed by the gold standard? So today, on the very same date those lucky miners found the first nugget of gold in Klondike, you can claim your stake to the Last of the United States $20 Gold Certificates!

Printed in 1928, these gold certificates were the first and ONLY small sized gold certificate ever produced by the United States Mint! These $20 certificates bear the portrait of Andrew Jackson, our 7th president, and have a beautiful golden seal and serial numbers. Aesthetics aside, it's the rarity and the story behind these $20 Gold Certificates that make them truly special!

1934 in the United States was an interesting time; the country was still regaining its footing after the Great Depression and just the year before executive order 6102 made it illegal for any United States citizen to own more than $100 worth of gold. In order to stabilize the economy, the United State government passed the Gold Reserve Act of 1934. This new legislation required all United States citizens to turn in their gold bullion and gold certificates to the United States Treasury Department, and outlawed the possession of Gold in any form or amount.

As a result, the vast majority of Gold Certificates were confiscated and then destroyed by the United States Treasury department, and the few still in the hands of collectors were essentially worthless. Due to the fact that they could not be used as currency in any way, many of the $20 Gold Certificates were actually thrown away!

Little did they know, they would only be 'worthless' for a short time! On April 24th, 1964 the Secretary of the Treasury Department Clarence Dillon removed all restrictions on the ownership of Gold bullion and Gold Certificates. Those few collectors who still had $20 Gold Certificates were lucky indeed! They now had in their possession a piece of currency that was both the First and last of their kind, and had become one of the rarer collector pieces there are!