50 Utah Goldbacks

This Goldback Voluntary Currency Bill contains 1/20th TROY OUNCE 24K GOLD.

Libertas (Liberty)

The Utah series culminates its timeline in the Lady Virtue Libertas, or Liberty, depicted as a perfected, angelic woman, having reached a fullness of blessings through the proper employment of Liberty in life. This design is rich with symbols, including the torch in her right hand symbolizing enlightenment, an overflowing cup in her left to represent the blood of Christ and its connection to the divinely given liberty. Liberty is also depicted with a sheathed sword and a shield resting next to her. Both symbolize that the free must always be ready to fight to defend and preserve the liberty they enjoy, but also that one must be willing to fight to gain a fullness of freedom in the first place. The shield bears the year 1847 (the year the Utah territory was settled) and the name “Deseret”, the original name of the Utah territory, appears there. Deseret is understood to mean a honey bee, a nest of which appears on the shield in like manner to the Utah flag, and nods to the hard work needed to protect Liberty.

Libertas is flanked by a mountain lion on one side and a lamb on the other, symbolizing peace realized through liberty using the biblical depiction from Isaiah 11:6 of the lion laying down with the lamb. Liberty is featured in the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by the Utah state tree, the blue spruce; the state flower, the sego lily; and Bear Lake, the “Caribbean of the Rockies”, in the background. Behind her the sun is rising, representing enlightenment and divine blessings, and is representing that those things are a gateway to perfection. At her feet we are admonished to “Stand Fast in Liberty”.