10 Utah Goldback

Description

Ten Utah Goldback – Justitia (Justice)

On Utah’s 10 Goldback Design, the embodiment of Justice, known as Justitia, graces the scene. She stands against the breathtaking backdrop of southern Utah, featuring the striking Balancing Rock and the renowned red cliffs.

Clothed in the era-appropriate Sunday attire of early settlers, she represents a time shortly after Utah’s initial settlement. Tradition is honored with her blindfold, symbolizing impartiality, while she wields a double-edged sword and balances, indicating the balance of fairness and the decisiveness that true Justice must embrace.

Beneath her feet, an inscription reads: “Judge Righteously.” On the balances she holds, symbols of a cross, heart, and anchor can be discerned, highlighting the intertwined roles of faith, hope, and love in administering justice and ensuring mercy’s place.

A seagull, Utah’s emblematic state bird, soars with a cricket clasped in its beak, set against an impending desert storm. These serve as powerful reminders of two miraculous events experienced by early Utah settlers.

Firstly, the providential arrival of seagulls that devoured crop-destroying crickets, and secondly, a much-prayed-for rainstorm that concluded a devastating drought, believed to be a divine response to the settlers’ collective fasting and prayers.

These symbols emphasize the benevolent aspect of justice – while one edge of the sword can mete out punishment, the other confers blessings. However, the former often overshadows the latter in our perceptions. Nestled in the brush below Justitia, a sage hen shelters her brood of twelve, symbolizing the protective and merciful attributes of justice and evoking biblical gospel imagery.