When was the last time you had an unexpected surprise to brighten your day? They don't happen very often, but one such thing transpired for me this past week!

I walked down the driveway to my mailbox and found a curious envelope inside. Glancing at the return address to see if it was a cleverly-disguised advertisement (which is quite common in my area) or something more, I saw the name "S. Tooth" there. 😂 I immediately knew that was short for @summertooth on Hive, but what could he be sending me? I had recently won a contest of his, but he already sent that prize. hmmm... 🤔

The front of the envelope had a yummy cupcake printed on it, and keeping careful watch that it got to me safely was Mr. Cat, dressed in dapper and distinguished attire. When I flipped the envelope to the back side, I saw a sexy-hot young lady in a flared skirt, dancing for me. Such festivity, even before seeing what was inside the mysterious envelope! 😊

A couple of weeks prior, my birthday had rolled around again. (I try to have one each year, when possible.) And, apparently, this event had not escaped the notice of 'someone' in the Silver-Gold Stackers (SGS) Community on Hive. There was a "Happy Birthday to you" message on the card's front with delicious, no-calorie cupcakes above.

Inside the card was a hand-written note from @summertooth stating that he was recruited to be the delivery person for a surprise from an `anonymous friend'. And, tucked inside that card was a Goldback note! 😮

For those readers who don't know what a Goldback is, it's a pretty cool thing! It is a special type of 'local' currency that is legal tender in the jurisdiction in which it is issued. The currency features a layer of actual 24K gold foil on the back! The "One Dollar" notes have one one-thousandth (1/1000) of an ounce of gold on them, while the other denominations ($5, $10, etc.) have one two-hundredth (1/200), one one-hundredth (1/100), and larger amounts of gold on them, in a proportional manner.^[1][3] The state of Utah was the first to launch Goldback currency in 2019, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and South Dakota in subsequent years.^[3]

The only question I have is whether a note from one jurisdiction would be accepted reciprocally in another jurisdiction; i.e., would a $1 Nevada Goldback note be accepted by a merchant in Utah, or not...? Perhaps someone who lives in the area will have an answer. My guess is that "No" they would not be "officially" accepted, BUT, the fact that they have actual gold on them could make them a good 'barter' item, anywhere in the world, especially for collectors or those who know the value of gold.

𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚖 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎, 𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.

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Each of the Goldbacks features the personification of some virtue, such Liberty, Justice, Charity, and so forth. Mine has a banner with the Latin word "Caritas" which means "Charity." All of the personifications of the virtues are female figures, which fit perfectly with my "stack" of mostly feminine figures.

so... **"Thank you!" to my `anonymous friend' —** for brightening my week with this lovely and thoughtful gift! Your generosity is amazing and the message so heart-warming! 😊

and... "Thank you!" to @summertooth for being the courier! 💙 You delivered the goods safely despite all the deserts, mountains, lakes, and barking dogs between us! 😁

The photo above shows a closeup of the Goldback, zooming-in a bit on the delightful representation of the virtue of Charity. She's so pretty! On the Goldback.com web site, there is a gallery of all notes issued thus far, along with a detailed description of the imagery on each one. It is fascinating reading and a good way to understand the symbolism depicted. For this particular note, this is what is said about the figure of Caritas:

"Caritas... is notably patterned after a depiction of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in Austin, Nevada. Catholicism is Nevada’s most dominant religion and St. Augustine’s is the oldest Catholic Church building in the state." [source]

I am thrilled to have this piece in my stack now, so again, "Thank you!" to my `anonymous friend' and @summertooth 🤗

Not long ago, Summertooth made a very kind offer for people in other parts of the world — he offered to do a "group buy" of Goldbacks to benefit those living in Europe, Africa, Asia, or anywhere outside the US. Doing this would keep shipping costs down for those individuals. I decided not to participate in his offer since I am not in the "target group" and didn't want to complicate things further for him. But, his post made me curious to look at the site where he was buying the Goldbacks. And, I decided to go ahead and order one for my collection. It arrived a couple weeks ago, but I haven't managed to post about it yet, so I will include it here.

The one I chose is a $5 face-value note from South Dakota. I liked this one because of the lovely sunflower and the autumn theme. The personification of Industry is harvesting a basket of goodies. Despite her hard work, she manages a cute smile because of her contentment and the bounty of Mother Earth. Her skirt is fluttering in the breeze and she has a hand on her hat to keep it from blowing away.

I am very happy to have her in my stash now, too! 😊

And lastly, because sparkly gold is so much fun, I leave you with a pair of high-heeled shoes from my closet, with gold sparkles on them! They're so pretty and fun to wear! 😁

oh... and @enginewitty will be amused that this past birthday was number 69 for me. I will leave it to the reader to figure that out why that is amusing, if it isn't already known. 😂

😊 **SOURCES** ¹ Goldback.com: Home page ² Goldback.com: Frequently Asked Questions ³ Wikipedia: Goldback

^_15-Oct-2024

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