The Utah Goldback Series begins with the 1 Goldback Design, and it is loaded with different symbols and cultural nods. The virtue Prudentiae, or Prudence, is featured here as a Native American woman, having many items and attributes traditionally attributed to coming from each of the five most prominent Native American tribes in Utah, namely: the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, and the Navajo. Prudence is seated on a sandstone rock next to an ancient bristlecone pine tree (one of the longest lived trees in the world), nodding to the throne that Prudence is traditionally seated upon, an elevated status as a virtue from which many virtues claim their origin, and the wisdom learned through the ages.

She is gazing into a mirror held in one hand, symbolizing perspective, learning from experience and using hindsight. On her other wrist is a copper bracelet in the form of a snake, representing the struggle of trials as well as using wisdom to make choices. At her feet is a chipmunk, suggesting the preparations that they make each year ahead of winter as a symbol of prudence through preparedness. The wolf is next to her, calling out to all who listen to use prudence, and how the use of gold is a keystone to an economy, just how the wolves of yellowstone are keystone predators, and the removal of either has shown a deterioration of their surroundings. The footing: “Deal Prudently” can also be found in the bottom right corner of the artwork. Finally, in the background Bryce Canyon National Park’s Natural Bridge formation is shown with Canada geese flying in formation.

Veritas, or Truth, is shown on the 5 Utah Goldback Design. She is depicted as a Utah pioneer, nodding to the great migration that the first settlers of Utah took part in to arrive in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. With windblown hair, she holds a lantern high with her right hand, casting light out at the viewer to represent the light of truth that she bears, and that truth sheds light on the uncertainty that a person may have as they journey through life. She is accompanied by the footing: “Walk in Truth”. In the pocket of her apron is a compass, representing making truth our moral compass, and you can see that it is actually pointing West, again, nodding to the western migration of the Utah settlers. In her left hand she holds two books representing written truth. In this version, the books bear the titles “Judah” (for the Bible) and “Joseph” (for the Book of Mormon), referring to the role the two books of scripture had in providing direction as accepted truths for the Utah Pioneers. The faith that they had in God and his word in these books eventually drove them to seek religious freedom in Utah.

Veritas is standing near a pool and a waterfall feeds into it in the background. These represent how we need truth just as much as we need fresh water. A deer, representing a messenger of truth, stands at the base of a massive cottonwood tree and is drinking from the pool of truth. The Roman symbol of the fish as associated with truth is also depicted in the stream that is flowing from the pool. An eagle flies in the dusky sky above her, watching over truth and nods to how the freedoms promised in the United States allow for truth to flourish. The North Star can be seen shining proudly in the cloudy sky, symbol of how truth is always shining, even if obscured by proverbial clouds. Finally, Veritas is depicted barefoot in this design, referencing how sometimes following truth leads us to walk hard roads, but the level of difficulty doesn’t change the reality of the truth that we follow, and often makes our arrival at the destination that truth leads us to all the more sweet.

Justitia, or Justice, is the virtue that appears on Utah’s 10 Goldback Design. She is cast in the southern region of Utah, with Balancing Rock and the iconic red cliffs in the background. She is depicted wearing the period settler’s sunday best attire, supposedly a few years after Utah was settled. She is equipped traditionally with a blindfold over her eyes and a two edged sword and scales in her hands, representing the responsibilities of impartiality, fairness, and decisiveness that Justice must use to be right and effective. Below her is the footing: “Judge Righteously”. You will further note a cross, heart, and anchor on the balances that she carries, nodding to the role of faith, hope, and charity in justice as well in order to allow for mercy.

A seagull, the state bird of Utah, flies through the air with a cricket in its mouth ahead of a huge desert storm in the background. These each nod to two of the miraculous happenings that the Utah settlers experienced in the early years of settling the area. First, when the gulls came and ate crickets that were swarming and eating the crops that the settlers desperately needed, and another instance in the southern Utah desert where a huge desert rainstorm brought the end to a long drought that had been raging across the state after the settlers joined in a united effort of fasting and prayer to be preserved by God. Both of these symbols nod to the positive side of justice, one of the two sword edges, blessings are as large a part of divine justice as punishment is on the sword’s other edge, though we tend to focus on the latter. In the brush at her feet is a sage hen with twelve chicks, also representing the protection and mercy that justice can bring, referencing the biblical gospels in the imagery.

The 25 Goldback Design depicts the Lady Virtue Victoria, or Victory, primarily in celebration of Women’s rights to vote. This is actually the first Goldback design to ever have been done. It was the artist’s audition piece for the series. Victory bears a banner that states “Votes Counting Since 1870”, nodding to the fact that when Utah became a state, women were already voting by that time. The first state to have a woman actually cast a vote in it was Utah (Seraph Young was the voter), though as a state, Wyoming granted women’s suffrage a few months prior to that. This Goldback design was created by keeping many of the firsts in mind that women in Utah have done, such as women teaching over the pulpit and Martha Hughes Cannon becoming the first woman State Senator in 1911.

Victoria is accompanied by a child in the artwork, representative of how many of the women marched for suffrage with their children, and how teaching children truth has been a major driving force for the women of Utah. The child carries a branch representing how our children are the future, and ultimately are responsible tomorrow for the stewardship of any victories that we win today. This design urges the viewer to “Go on to Victory”. The backdrop of this design is actually the mountainscape in Alpine, Utah, viewable through the window of the building where these designs were done. The flag that Victory carries in her left hand is topped by the Chi-Rao Greek symbol for Christ, nodding to the help that the women of Utah credited to him at that time for their attaining the many freedoms that they earned. In her right hand she holds bundled wheat, representative of small victories gathered together in a powerful, significant whole. Behind her a falcon is soaring, representing faithful actions, and the hope to return to the things that we love. We should return and review the actions through history that brought us the victories that we now enjoy. Victory stands along a straight path bordered by a stone wall on one side, representing building good things one small victory at a time; and aspen trees on the other side, representing the interconnectedness of humankind and common heritage, especially through the women who bore each child of the human family.

The Utah series culminates its timeline in the Lady Virtue Libertas, or Liberty, depicted as a perfected, angelic woman, having reached a fullness of blessings through the proper employment of Liberty in life. This design is rich with symbols, including the torch in her right hand symbolizing enlightenment, an overflowing cup in her left to represent the blood of Christ and its connection to the divinely given liberty. Liberty is also depicted with a sheathed sword and a shield resting next to her. Both symbolize that the free must always be ready to fight to defend and preserve the liberty they enjoy, but also that one must be willing to fight to gain a fullness of freedom in the first place. The shield bears the year 1847 (the year the Utah territory was settled) and the name “Deseret”, the original name of the Utah territory, appears there. Deseret is understood to mean a honey bee, a nest of which appears on the shield in like manner to the Utah flag, and nods to the hard work needed to protect Liberty.

Libertas is flanked by a mountain lion on one side and a lamb on the other, symbolizing peace realized through liberty using the biblical depiction from Isaiah 11:6 of the lion laying down with the lamb. Liberty is featured in the mountain ranges of the Rocky Mountains, surrounded by the Utah state tree, the blue spruce; the state flower, the sego lily; and Bear Lake, the “Caribbean of the Rockies”, in the background. Behind her the sun is rising, representing enlightenment and divine blessings, and is representing that those things are a gateway to perfection. At her feet we are admonished to “Stand Fast in Liberty”.