50 New Hampshire Goldback | Aurum Gold Foil Note (24k)

Libertas stands on a felled pine with King George's mark cut into it, a broken axe at her feet and a pine switch in her hand. Every one of those objects refers to a riot that happened four decades before the Boston Tea Party.

The artwork

The virtue is Libertas, Liberty, making her capstone appearance for the series in the White Mountain National Forest. She carries the three elements of New Hampshire's original seal:

• A bundle of five arrows, for the five original counties of New Hampshire.
• Fish embroidered on her dress, for the colony's main source of commerce at the time.
• The eastern white pine, behind her and at her feet, which the colony exported for use as ships' masts.

The hem of her dress carries the motto from that same original seal, “Vis Unita Fortior” — a united force is stronger, or we are stronger together. She wears a medallion on a ribbon bearing Liberty's traditional torch, and a necklace of laurel wreath and stars, both drawn from the state seal. The caption below her reads “Stand Fast in Liberty”.

Behind her is a family of whitetail deer, the state animal, standing for unity and in particular unity within the family, where the principles of Liberty are taught and handed on. The design's argument is that once that transmission stops, the price of winning Liberty is forgotten and has to be paid again.

The Pine Tree Riots

The pine switch, the marked log and the broken axe point to the “Pine Tree” or “Mast Tree” Riots of 1732 to 1734, which have a fair claim to being the first acts of the Colonial Rebellion. The British both appropriated the region's eastern white pines for ship masts and forbade the felling of any tree more than 12 inches in diameter.

The response was rougher than anything at the Boston Tea Party. Residents formed a rebellion, attacked the sheriff and deputies who were making arrests to enforce the King's edict, gave the sheriff a lashing with a pine switch for each contested tree, cut the manes and tails off their horses and ran them out of town.

That is why so many of the Rebellion's first flags carried a white pine on a white field. One of the earliest, used by George Washington on his naval ships, is raised here on Libertas's pine switch and reads “An Appeal to God”.

Who this note suits

The 50 holds 1/20 of a troy ounce of 24-carat gold and closes the New Hampshire series. It is the piece to buy if you want one note rather than a set, and the one most likely to end up framed, because the 16.4 cm format carries the most crowded composition in the range.

It is also the largest single outlay in the series, so be straight with yourself about why you are buying. The premium over the gold price remains well above bullion, and a 1/2 oz Britannia or a 1 oz bar beats it comfortably on gold per pound spent. What you are paying for here is the artwork, the history it carries and the final piece of the set.

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 1/20 troy oz (0.05 oz) of 24-carat gold.
• Grade: (U) Crisp Uncirculated
• Metal content: 0.05 troy oz
• Purity: .999
• Thickness: 0.10 mm
• Size: 7.6 cm x 16.4 cm (3.0 in x 6.46 in)
• Manufactured in the USA.

The New Hampshire Series

Each denomination carries its own original artwork and a proportional quantity of 24-carat gold. View all New Hampshire Goldbacks or browse every Goldback series.