For thousands of years, humans have beenentranced by gold. From the Spanish Conquistadors looking for El Dorado to the tombs of Egypt's ancient pharaohs, gold has been a symbol ofpower, status and wealth.
It has also maintained its value.
When the U.S. Mint and a federal monetary system was established, our money was backed by gold. It stayed this way until 1971 when Nixon officially moved away from the "gold standard" in what was expected to be a temporary change. In the years since, while the value of the U.S. dollar has fluctuated significantly, gold has stayed consistent. It's currently valued at more than $5,000 an ounce.
Georgiais now the latest state to try and get back to gold, a move legally designated to the states by the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 10.
SB 424, introduced bySenator Marty Harbin(R-Tyrone) on Jan. 27, would make gold and silver — in the form of bars, ingots or coins — into legal tender in the state of Georgia.
The "Transactional Gold and Silver Act" has been sponsored by 17 Georgia senators, and is being considered during the 2026 legislative session.
What is legal tender?
Gold has monetary value, whether as coins or jewelry or solid bars. But under the current financial system in many states, gold itself cannot be used as a form of currency. Someone wishing to buy something would have to sell gold for U.S. dollars, then use the dollars to purchase an item or service.
Legal tender is "a recognized medium of exchange for the payment of debts, taxes, fees and other obligations," according to the bill.
At its core, the act would take out the middle step and allow Georgians to pay for things directly with gold.
It's about affordability and a "level playing field" that lets everyone "play" in the gold market, Harbin told USA Today in an interview. "For instance, gold today for one ounce is $5,200, but with transactional gold, you could take $50 or $25 and buy it fractionally. Basically, we've broken it down to where the average person, or below, if he just wants to put something in a stable source like gold, he can do that."
This doesn't mean that you would have to carry around a pouch of gold doubloons. Instead, those choosing to buy into the gold market could have something akin to a bank card that would act like a debit card directly backed by gold in a depository. They could also use an app to buy, sell or transfer gold directly.
What's in the gold and silver tender bill?
SB 424 has a few intertwined goals.
Establish gold and silver as legal tender
Create a bullion (investment grade gold bars, ingots or coins) depository, either by constructing something new or partnering with existing depository sites
Provide an electronic payment system that could be used for gold in the depository
Establish the Bullion Depository Commission, composed of officials appointed by the governor, Senate and House, as well as the state treasurer
Prohibit taxation on gold and silver transactions
Have the system and Commission functional and ready to begin by Jan. 1, 2028
Gold would need to be 99.5% pure to qualify, just slightly below the 100% gold requirement found in 24 karat jewelry. Silver would also need to meet a 99.5% pure standard, according to the bill.
Harbin said the state could build their own depositories, but he would rather not use that capital, and instead work with existing depositories, like The Brink's Company that has locations around the U.S. These depositories are independently insured, so gold or silver held in the bank would not be backed by the FDIC like a bank.
The physical depositories and overall implementation would also be overseen by the Commission, which Harbin says provides "safety and oversight at the state level."
The bill also allows private e-commerce companies to act as a state-approved platform for the gold and silver transactions.
For example,Glint, a company currently based in the United Kingdom but with plans for a U.S. headquarters, is an app and platform that allows the user to buy gold for as low as $0.10 or up to thousands of dollars. Users can buy, sell and transfer gold and silver directly, backed by a depository in Switzerland.
Harbin showed his Glint account to USA Today, as well as a Mastercard that was connected to his account and could be used as a normal debit card.
Why would you want to buy gold?
"Inflation is the carbon monoxide you don't see, taste or smell. Your dollar is going down, and I can tax you or tax me, the government can, or they can print money they don't have, and when they do that it makes your money and my money worthless," Harbin said. "And we're seeing that gold over a period of time, and silver, have been a storehouse for wealth."
The senator called gold a "stable commodity," arguing that while it might not have the same rate of return as an investment in the stock market or bonds, it "has a stability ... that's been unmatched throughout history."
That's the same argument thatRepresentative Ken Ivorybrought to the Utah legislature more than a decade ago. Utah was one of the first states to adopt gold as tender in the nation, and has since invested 10% of the state's rainy day fund in gold.
"We've invested a total of about $109 million and that's now worth, goodness, nearly $200 million, so we're up $85, $90 million in less than a year on that rainy day fund investment," Ivory said in an interview with USA Today. "If you look at the major money players in the world, (they) are buying buying gold at record rates, we ought to take note of that."
Ivory said when Nixon left the gold standard in 1971, a home in Salt Lake City cost about $24,000. That was equivalent to 680 ounces of gold at the time. Today, however, $24,000 wouldn't be enough for a down payment, but the same 680 ounces of gold could buy you 5 houses.
"The debt and the devaluation of the dollar is what it is. We're not changing that, and this is the money that the Constitution says (the states can have)," Ivory said. "So to be clear, we're just providing options, and then people can do what they choose, and so they have the choice to preserve the value of their earnings and their savings. If they don't think that's a good diea, they keep trading and transacting in dollars."
How do you actually buy gold?
It's unlikely that the Georgia public will head to their localCostco to buy a bar of goldand carry it to a nearby depository.
Instead, companies like Glint make the gold market accessible to anyone with a cellphone.
"This is an economic justice issue for me, I believe everybody should have an equal opportunity to prosper, and unfortunately, we don't," Glint CEO Jason Cozens told USA Today in an interview.
Glint has been operating in the United Kingdom for years, and has since broken into the U.S. market, with plans to bring silver purchasing to the U.S. and eventually the company's headquarters.
While walking through the mechanics of the app, Cozens also said the company hopes to bring the gold currently in the Switzerland depository to the United States, partnering with The Brink's Company here or with states directly. Once in the U.S., users of Glint could visit a physical depository and see exactly where their gold sits.
"This is your gold that's in the vault. I think that's really important. It's physical. There's no problem about whether you're going to get the gold, it's your gold and if you want to spend the gold," Cozens said.
The app can then be attached to a Glint card, through Mastercard, and used to make everyday purchases. Cozens said he recently used his Glint card to buy dinner in London, and when the card is swiped at a restaurant it then goes back to the app, asks whether you have enough gold to back up the purchase, and then makes the purchase. But instead of a credit card or a debit card backed by a bank, whether you can afford the purchase is decided entirely whether you have the gold sitting in the depository.
Cozens says about 80% of his clients are operating in the app with small dollar amounts, while the rest are buying and selling in transactions reaching the millions. The larger transactions help to provide the platform for the smaller users.
"We think it's incredible that a U.S. state is getting behind this. We never thought for one second that governments would actually be doing this," Cozens said. "But obviously, what you've got in America is this wonderful system where the U.S. states can keep the federal government in check... Its something that transcends political divides."
SB 424 faces votes in the Senate and House before arriving on Governor Brian Kemp's desk to become law.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today's Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Georgia bill proposes gold as legal currency. Here's what that means
