Last week, my girlfriend was pleasantly surprised when she opened her mail to find gold inside.
It was free: she hadn’t paid for it, and nor had I. Even more surprising, she hadn’t even paid for the postage – and it’d been sent from Salt Lake City in Utah of all places.
All she’d done was sign up for an account with a certain association in the States, and enter some basic details. No bank account information, just name, address, etc.
(I told her not to read much of the website or read her confirmation email, so the gold would be a surprise – it’s a good thing she trusts me.)
You may be waiting for a catch here, but there isn’t one.
It isn’t much gold to be sure, but it’s pure: 24 carat, measured in troy ounces, and as beautiful as only gold can be. And even better, if you’re a believer in sound money as I am, this gold is intended to be spent as currency – a “Goldback” no less.
One Goldback. They’re highly reflective, so getting a proper photo is tricky. Details on getting one for free below.
What exactly is going on here?
I thought this was too good to be true as well. But it turns out that the good people of Utah are very keen on sound money, to the degree that they’ll send you a thousandth of a troy ounce of it over the Atlantic at no cost to yourself.
The United Precious Metals Association, or UPMA, are the folks behind the Goldback project, which aims to make spendable gold. This is possible in Utah as the Utah Legal Tender Act of 2011 recognised certain types of gold as a currency within the state.
They’ve minted over a million dollars’ worth of Goldbacks, which are like a blend between bullion and a banknote: a very thin layer of pure gold sandwiched between two layers of polyester, with antiforgery devices printed on top.
Dozens of businesses in Utah will accept Goldbacks, with the exchange rate for dollars moving in line with the price of gold in dollars. For example, at the time of writing, one Goldback by merit of containing 1/1000th of a troy ounce of gold, is worth $2.61. The small quantities of gold within are intended to facilitate everyday purchases.
As they say on their website:
We are working to make it possible for an American citizen to have a choice on whether or not they want their regular spending money to be subject to inflation. The Goldback is meant to be to be the best physical currency for retaining value. Our goal is for people to be able to pay for anything with the Goldback whether it is a new home or a lemonade.
There are higher denominations too: 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 Goldback notes, with each containing the equivalent in thousandths of a troy ounce of gold.
(NOTE: Southbank Investment Research has no commercial arrangements with UPMA or the Goldback project.)
How do I get this free gold?
Easy: just sign up for an account at UPMA’s website: upma.org. Doesn’t cost anything, and you don’t need to give them your bank details, unless of course you’d like to buy more Goldbacks. If you want more info on the project, just visit goldback.com.
Worst case scenario, you get a phone call from someone in Utah asking if you liked the Goldback and whether you’d like to get more of them.
I know I will be – on top of it being a great idea, I find the designs beautiful, and will at the very least be acquiring the full set. Hell, I’m half tempted to head to Utah to find out what it’s like spending them, and to meet with some of the business owners who’re adopting the system…
Have a great weekend,
Boaz Shoshan
Editor, Capital & Conflict
Category: Market updates