Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JUNE 30, 2025 5 Politics & Policy IMAGE CREATED BY CHATGPT Here's why one prominent state lawmaker wants to make gold and silver legal tender in CT people to use gold as currency again." Cordon said his idea for Goldbacks was based on "local currencies," which are popular in Oregon, his home state. Often sold by chambers of commerce, local currencies sell at a reduced price and then are used to buy products or services at full price from local businesses. There are about 2,000 local curren- cies nationwide, he estimates. Goldbacks also are consid- ered a "negotiable instrument," which Cordon said falls under the Uniform Commercial Code, a law adopted by all 50 states to support interstate commerce. "It's the same law that makes a Walmart gift card legal to use anywhere," he said. Goldbacks are made with patented technology that atomizes 24-karat gold down to 1/2000th of an ounce. The gold is then layered between two polymer sheets. The currency, designed by Cordon's wife Emily, is available in eight denominations, from 1/2 — which contains 1/2000th of a Troy ounce of 24-karat gold — to 100, which contains 1/10th of a Troy ounce. Their values are updated daily at 10 a.m. on the company's website. On June 19, 1 Goldback was valued at $6.74. Cordon admits that, much like the federal government does with the penny, Goldback Inc. loses money producing its smaller denomination certificates. "I lose money on the halves and the ones, but I don't lose money on the hundred," he said. "And there are enough people buying hundreds and fifties to keep me in business." In its first year in Utah, more than $500,000 worth of Utah-branded Goldbacks were produced. Since then, the company has developed branded certificates for five other states: Florida, Nevada, New Hamp- shire, South Dakota and Wyoming. It will soon add one for Oklahoma as well. State-branded Goldbacks are devel- oped when enough merchants in a state participate, Cordon said. His company actively recruits businesses and has more than 2,000 nationwide. Just two Connecticut companies accept Goldbacks: Boss of Freedom Designs in Cromwell and HTE Indus- tries in Enfield, which operates an online thrift shop. Neither business responded to a request for comment. Goldbacks can be bought through online distributors, or from local metals and coin dealers. Nationwide, there is $250 million worth of Goldbacks in circulation, Cordon said, adding that he's not getting rich from his own gold mine. "I make less money than your dentist," he quipped. By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com S tate Sen. John Fonfara (D-Hartford) wants to make gold and silver legal tender in Connecticut. At least 11 other states have done that, and during the recently ended legislative session, Fonfara — co-chair of the powerful Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee — raised a bill to make it a reality in this state. The legislation — Senate Bill 1552 — was approved in the finance committee, but wasn't raised for a vote in either the House or Senate before the session ended on June 4. Much to his surprise, though, two portions of Fonfara's proposal were included in the bill to implement the state budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. A small section of that massive 693-page budget bill creates a new working group to monitor the precious metals markets and any legislation proposed in other states related to those metals. It also requires the Connecticut Precious Metals Working Group to annually report its findings and recommenda- tions to the General Assembly. The budget bill, as of July 1, 2027, also expands a state sales tax exemption to all purchases of gold and silver bullion with a 90% purity level. Under current state law, only such purchases valued at $1,000 or more are exempt from the tax. Fonfara, who said he was initially not aware parts of his bill were folded into the budget implementer, adamantly believes Connecticut needs to allow precious metals to be used as legal tender, and will fight to make it happen in future sessions. He's also a fan of so-called "Goldbacks," state-branded certificates that have 24-karat gold layered into them in different values and can be used as currency with merchants willing to accept them. "I want to give the citizens of Connecticut the ability to own gold, to consider gold as an asset that is stable, unlike the dollar, and invest- able," he said. Gold beans The original version of Fonfara's bill intended to do a number of things toward that goal. In addition to recognizing gold and silver as legal tender, it sought to create: • Initiatives to promote ownership of gold and silver and their use in transactions. • A Connecticut Bullion Depository, and • A Gold Start Savings Program for children living in "a concentrated poverty census tract." Fonfara said other states have proposed and/or approved similar legislation. Some — including Florida, North Carolina and Oklahoma — have also proposed developing their own depositories to provide residents a secure place to store their gold bullion. Other countries have also moved ahead of the U.S. when it comes to promoting the ownership and secu- rity of gold, Fonfara said. "In China, the government is encouraging citizens to buy gold 'beans,'" he said. According to various news reports, gold beans have proven popular with Gen Z. The senator, though, is more inter- ested in Goldbacks. "You'd be surprised how many states have created Goldback bond certificates," he said. "They're really beautiful." Local currencies A privately held company in Utah, Goldback Inc., has developed and produced the certificates. The company, which has about 20 employees, was founded in 2019 by Jeremy Cordon, who initially saw it as a cryptocurrency firm, but was "really interested in getting Continued on next page John Fonfara Jeremy Cordon

• Cover