Gold certificates were issued from 1865 until 1922. They were issued to give people more confidence in U.S. currency. You could exchange gold certificates for gold coins. For example, a 1,000 dollar gold certificate like the one pictured above could be traded for 1,000 gold dollar coins. Can you guess which would be easier to carry around? Gold certificates were printed in an orange orange color that reminded people of gold. They are one of the most colorful paper bills ever made in the U.S.