Claim for Payment of Gold Certificate

The Treasury Department refused to honor a gold certificate, and GAO was asked to settle the claim. Treasury advised the claimant that the certificate in question was of no value. The record showed that the gold certificate was determined to be one of a group of gold certificates that had been lost from record storage during a fire, and it had already been paid and canceled. Authority over the issuance and redemption of gold certificates is vested in the Treasury Department. GAO is not in a position to question Treasury determinations as to the negotiability of gold certificates presented for payment. Return of the certificate to the claimant cannot be allowed as the canceled document is properly the property of the United States. The claim was denied.