1 Oklahoma Goldback | Aurum Gold Foil Note (24k)

More than 50,000 people took part in the Land Run of 1889, each riding for a 160-acre claim. The 1 Oklahoma puts one of them at full gallop and names the virtue Perseverance.

The artwork

The virtue is Perseverantia. A young pioneer woman rides forward across the open plains, holding a land stake embroidered with the word Perseverantia — her claim on a new beginning. Her saddle is etched “The Sooner State”.

Behind her the run keeps coming, riders and wagons at speed over the grassland. The setting is filled in with Oklahoma's own detail:

• The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, the state bird, in the air above the riders.
• Purple Coneflowers blooming beneath the galloping hooves.
• Blue Wild Indigos through the same stretch of prairie.

The pairing is deliberate: the land and the people who settled it were both tested, and both came through. Along the bottom sits 2 Timothy 4:7, inscribed as “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Who this note suits

The 1 is the base unit of the whole Goldback system and the usual place to start. It holds 1/1000 of a troy ounce of 24-carat gold, and it is the denomination most people buy first, give as a small gift, or use to anchor a state set before filling in the rest.

The trade-off is the one every small denomination carries. At 1/1000 oz the metal value is tiny, so the premium over the gold price is high in percentage terms. You are paying for the artwork, the format and the making of it. If your aim is the most gold for your money, a Britannia, a Sovereign or a cast bar will beat this comfortably.

UK buyer notes

Yard Mint supplies Goldbacks from UK stock. They are treated as VAT-exempt investment-gold wafers, so there is no VAT to add at checkout.

Goldbacks are not UK legal tender. They can be bought, owned, sold, collected and voluntarily exchanged where both parties agree, but no UK business is required to accept one. They also do not share the Capital Gains Tax exemption that applies to Britannias and post-1837 Sovereigns, which are sterling currency. VAT and CGT are separate questions with different answers.

Resale depends on the gold price, the condition of the note and buyer demand at the time. A collector premium is not guaranteed.

This is general information, not personal tax or investment advice. Tax treatment depends on current rules and individual circumstances.

• Contains 1/1000 troy oz (0.001 oz) of 24-carat gold.
• Grade: (U) Crisp Uncirculated
• Metal content: 0.001 troy oz
• Purity: .999
• Thickness: 0.10 mm
• Size: 6.5 cm x 11.7 cm (2.56 in x 4.62 in)
• Manufactured in the USA.

The Oklahoma Series

Each denomination carries its own original artwork and a proportional quantity of 24-carat gold. View all Oklahoma Goldbacks, read the Oklahoma collector guide, or browse every Goldback series.