How to Redeem Old US Treasury Gold Certificates

Old Gold Certificates

Gold certificates were used in the United States from 1882 to 1933 as legal currency backed by gold. The certificates gave the owner the right to exchange it for the face value in gold coins equivalent. Starting in 1933 the US government recalled the gold certificates and it was illegal to keep them.

During 1964 the laws were changed and the old gold certificates were made legal US tender again, but not backed by gold. US historic Gold certificates can be redeemed for face value in today's dollars or for their numismatic value. Use these steps to redeem old US Treasury gold certificates.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Identify the old US gold certificate. Look for the dates on the certificate between 1865 and 1933. The front of the majority of US gold certificates is black or green and their back is in gold color. Most certificates have a gold seal in the front with the words "gold certificate" and on the back payable in "gold coins". Two standard sizes were used; a large sized paper for the earlier certificates and a small one for the latest ones.

2. Redeem the old gold certificates for face value. Gold certificate may be legally exchanged for current US dollars not for gold coins. The exchange can be done through the US Treasury department or at a US bank. Note: using this redemption method the certificate owner only gets the standard face value for the certificate, not a numismatic value that may produce a larger price.

3. Find the gold certificate's numismatic value. Old US gold certificates have become very valuable to collectors and old currency dealers. Since the majority of these certificates were redeemed when the US stopped the "gold standard" their rarity has increased their collector's value. The numismatic value will be affected by condition, grade and rarity. This value can be obtained from coin and currency dealers, online collector's services and from old currency catalogs.

4. Exchange the old gold certificate for numismatic value. Private collectors and dealers will generally pay well above the face value of these certificates. The historic nature of the gold certificates has increased their appeal to collectors of old US money. This has also created a numismatic market where the gold certificates are traded or exchanged by dealers and at auctions.