½ Idaho Goldback - Alpha Edition (α) | Aurum Gold Foil Note (24k)

The ½ sits between the ¼ and the 1 — a step up in gold content without a step up in commitment. It holds 1/2000 of a troy ounce of 24-carat gold, twice the ¼, and it is the denomination most people settle on once they have handled a Goldback and decided they want more than the smallest one.

The artwork

The subject is Sacagawea, an Agaidika Shoshone woman born near Lemhi Pass in what is now Idaho, depicted as the virtue Pietas, Devotion.

In 1805 she travelled with the Lewis and Clark expedition as interpreter and guide, carrying her infant son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau the entire way. That detail is the design's argument: devotion here is not sentiment but endurance, sustained over months and across country that killed people.

She wears a traditional Shoshone dress, beaded belt and tool bag. An Appaloosa mare and her foal stand behind, mirroring the relationship at the centre of the scene. The Bitterroot Mountains rise over Lolo Creek, and Idaho's white pine, huckleberries and mountain bluebirds fill the surroundings.

The inscription is her own: “Everything I do is for my people.”

Who this note suits

A good gift note — substantial enough to feel considered, small enough to give without ceremony. It also completes the lower end of an Idaho denomination set alongside the ¼ and the 1.

As with all small denominations, the percentage premium over melt value is high, because fixed production and distribution costs are spread across very little gold. That is the cost of divisibility, and it is worth understanding before you buy.

UK buyer notes

Goldbacks supplied by Yard Mint are treated as VAT-exempt investment-gold wafers, priced in pounds and delivered within the UK. VAT exemption is not CGT exemption — Goldbacks are not UK legal tender and do not share the CGT treatment of Britannias and post-1837 Sovereigns. This is general information, not personal tax advice.

• Contains 1/2000 oz (0.0005 oz) of .999 fine gold
• Grade: (U) Crisp Unc
• Edition: Alpha (α)
• Purity: .999
• Manufactured in the USA

The Idaho Series

Idaho introduced the ¼ denomination and was the last full series to include a 100. Each denomination carries its own original artwork and a proportional quantity of 24-carat gold. View all Idaho Goldbacks, read the Idaho collector guide, or browse every Goldback series.