A growing number of state lawmakers are drafting legislation to let residents use gold and silver as legal tender, positioning precious metals as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty.
The push reflects frustration with dollar weakness. Supporters argue that as inflation pressures persist, gold and silver offer citizens a tangible way to preserve wealth outside the traditional banking system. A draft bill in Georgia frames it as an issue of economic access, stating that "recognizing gold and silver as legal tender promotes economic justice" by giving people "of every economic status" the ability to hedge against inflation.
Utah became the first state to advance this agenda, passing legislation earlier in 2024 that allows the state to invest up to 10 percent of its rainy day fund directly in gold. Similar "transactional gold laws" have been proposed in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Iowa with varying degrees of success. Georgia's bill, which would authorize mechanisms allowing gold and silver payments through prepaid debit cards, failed to advance but sponsors plan to reintroduce it.
State officials emphasize the modest scope of their proposals. Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks told reporters that lawmakers simply want to "give people another way of being paid." No one is forced to use gold or gold-backed products instead of dollars, and most backers don't seriously expect a return to the gold standard.
The timing reflects gold's remarkable market performance. The metal currently trades around $4,800 per troy ounce, down from earlier peaks but still roughly $1,000 higher than it was a year ago. The price surge has been fueled by several factors: the rise of gold ETFs made purchasing easier for ordinary investors, central banks have increased their own gold purchases, and retail demand has climbed.
Yet economists widely dismiss gold as practical currency. Price volatility that attracts speculators makes gold unsuitable for everyday transactions. Jacob Goldstein, author of "Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing," notes that gold "didn't work very well as money when it was money" and stopped functioning as currency decades ago.
The real appeal, experts suggest, lies elsewhere. Gold carries symbolic weight as an asset perceived to sit outside government control. In an era of monetary policy debate and inflation concerns, that psychological distance from federal authority resonates with lawmakers and voters who distrust centralized financial management.
Author James Rodriguez: "Gold as currency is economic theater, not sound policy, but it taps into something real: the desire for money that doesn't answer to Washington."
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