10 Nevada Goldback

Judge Righteously

Justitia · Justice

Justitia, or Justice, makes her second appearance as a Virtue on Nevada’s 10 Goldback design. Notably, she is not blindfolded, but rather wears a veil that is pulled back from her face. Here, she is patterned after the statue of Justice as she appears on the Storey County Courthouse in Virginia City, Nevada. At the time of her construction there, the Justices of the Peace in Nevada, watching over the Wild West, wanted those who broke the law to know that Justice sees all and depicted her with eyes wide open. The pillar to Justitia’s right is also the artist’s rendition of the pillars on this same structure.

Wild horses can be seen running in the distance. In the background below the mountain range is Nevada’s unique Pyramid Lake, located in southeastern Washoe County. It sits in an elongated inter-mountain basin nestled between the Lake Range on the east, the Virginia Mountains on the west, the Pah Rah Range on the southwest, and the Fox Range and Smoke Creek Desert to its north. The word “Battleborn” is engraved on the pillar upon which Justice stands, invoking the State Flag and Nevada’s status as a Civil War-born state. Below that is the symbol of a badger next to native mesquite trees. The viewer will also note a six-shooter and 30-30 rifle beside a wine barrel stamped with the symbolic brand “Cup Bearer Wine, Cana Dry Red” in the foreground, and Sandhill Cranes in the background.