10 Dollars Gold Certificate, Gold Seal left

Gold Certificates of this series were payable to the bearer in gold coin on demand — a promise the federal government kept for less than five years. When Roosevelt's Executive Order 6102 was signed in April 1933, holders were required to surrender gold certificates along with coin and bullion. Continued private possession became illegal, which drove most of the series into destruction through official channels rather than natural attrition.

Andrew Mellon's signature here is worth noting. He served as Secretary of the Treasury under three presidents and was still in office when this series was issued, though he departed in February 1932 — making his tenure one of the longest in that office's history.