5 South Dakota Goldbacks

This Goldback Voluntary Currency Bill contains 1/200th TROY OUNCE 24K GOLD.

Industria (Industry)

The next Virtue in the series is Industria, meaning Industry. She makes her first appearance on a Goldback Design as a woman walking through the fields of a farm, surrounded by items such as corn, honey, hay, wheat, sunflowers, pumpkins, and many others. Behind her are silos full of grain, one of which is being filled by an auger and has old glory painted on it. With one hand on her hat and her arm looped through a basket full of corn, her sundress billows in the warm late summer breeze. The careful observer will also note the smile on Industria’s face as she caresses the leaves of the corn stalks next to her. As she walks toward a cornucopia full of harvest, she clearly is finding joy in the labor of her hands, just as this denomination exhorts us to do through its inscription, “Abound in Good Works”.

This denomination was inspired by the artist’s travels through the plains of South Dakota along Interstate 90, from Rapid City, heading west. This area has a rich history of early settlers and homesteaders who struggled to grow crops and, despite many of their neighbors giving up in those days, those who worked hard and exemplified the qualities of industry in the area were eventually able to reap abundant harvests. As a result, South Dakota is now one of the top producers in the United States for corn, soybeans, and wheat, annually selling over $10 billion worth of agricultural products in recent years.

There is deep symbolism and history behind both the sunflower and the honey depicted in this Goldback denomination. Sunflowers are currently used for oil, birdseed, and human consumption, and have a history of being used medicinally as well. In this rendition, they indicate that hard work brings credibility. They encourage us to stand tall, to look toward and pay obeisance to the source of our blessings, just as the sunflowers look toward the sun each day. They are a representation of an increase in abundance and seed with which to plant in subsequent harvests. Their presence in this denomination encourages the viewer to look towards light and truth and teach posterity to do the same.

Along a similar vein, honey is the result of many generations of industry. It is a long standing symbol for both working together and hard work paying off. In many ways, honey represents the results of living the American dream. In addition to the honey bee being South Dakota’s state insect, honey bees are long-time symbols of the work that brings us to each next harvest. Their work and pollination allows for plants to produce fruit, and without them, the world would starve. This denomination invites everyone to follow the example of the honey bees and to use the spirit of industry to bring about the next harvest, but to also enjoy the benefit of the current one as well.