Around the World: Gold Foil Notes for Texas
Texas’ new Redback gold notes blend precious metals, modern technology, and a revival of Republic-era currency into a collectible unlike any other.
Texas has entered the gold game, but not in the way you might expect. The state has announced it will honor what it calls the Redback as legal tender.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 1056 in mid-2025, making gold and silver legal tender in the state beginning May 1, 2027. The objective of the law is to allow gold and silver stored by the state to be used in financial transactions, not through changing hands, but through bank cards. The beauty of this is that the value of the gold or silver being transacted can be determined to the minute at the time of the transaction.
Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock has gone one step further, partnering the state with Texas Bullion Depository (TBD). By so, TBD is the only state-administered and audited bullion depository in the country.
TBD has gone yet another step further. The organization is producing Texas Lone Star Coins and Modern Texas Redback Gold Notes. According to Hancock, “They are meticulously crafted under the direction of the Texas Bullion Depository and the state of Texas.”
The notes Hancock speaks of are inspired by Republic of Texas bank notes; however, they will be made with a thin layer of gold.
According to Hancock, “Unlike their historical predecessors, the modern Redbacks are crafted with intrinsic value. Each note contains a precise, verifiable layer of 24-karat gold deposited onto a durable polymer substrate. Each Modern Texas Redback Gold Note is individually numbered and bears the seal of the state of Texas, along with the signatures of the governor and acting comptroller.”
This makes the Texas Redbacks only the second government-issued gold foil bank note. The government-owned Perth Mint in Western Australia has previously issued a gold-foiled $100 note that mimics the 2020 $100 Australia bank note, which features a vignette of John Monash. Unlike the Texas notes, the Australian issue is not meant for circulation.
Private companies such as Valaurum embed small amounts of pure gold between two layers of protective polyester using a vacuum method to produce gold foil notes. The gold is typically rolled to a thickness of 0.01 to 0.008 millimeters, then applied to a base material. These “notes” are marketed as collectibles that can be accepted by merchants or individuals at their discretion.
A product known as Goldbacks is sold, on which the states of Arizona, New Hampshire, Idaho, New York, Oklahoma, Utah, South Dakota, and Nevada are named. These carry a numeral that could be construed as their dollar value; however, no denomination is named on them.
These so-called denominations are typically 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50. According to APMEX, the 1 Goldback has 1/1,000th of a troy ounce of gold. The 5 contains 1,200th of an ounce, the 10 contains 100th, the 25 contains 1/40th, and the 50 contains 1/20th of an ounce of gold.
Gold foil notes produced in the United States are typically made in small denominations. Some of these use 0.999 fine gold, others use gold with a purity of 0.9167.
The popularity of modern gold foil notes is difficult to determine. One individual posted on Reddit: “It’s the official currency of conspiracy theorist folks who think they will be using them after Mad Max becomes a documentary…They are pretty. But it’s about as much of a rip off as one can get in buying precious metals.”
Others were more positive. A Facebook posting reads: “I like the idea presented by them, Valaurum and Goldback are basically trying to do what the treasury can’t, but it’s not really possible on a national scale…I can’t justify buying in myself for several reasons, number one being I don’t live in a participating state.”
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