I will admit to being stupid on some stuff??

What the heck is a "Gold" 1937 "D" JD tractor???????

That is a good question. Supposedly, at least 1 was painted gold for display during Deere's 100th birthday in 1937. There may have been one gold one for each branch house... the mind can only hold so much useless information. Now if I could just remember the important stuff!

Look up gold leaf john deere. There is a nice video with Charles English the owner and you will find out the answers to your ?.

Just one 'Golden D' as far as I know....Has an interesting history as it was first sold to a customer by the Gooden Hardware store(JD dealership back then too) of Kingfisher Oklahoma. My hometown. It was supposedly a one-of a kind for the world's fair then ended up in the JD showroom in Kansas City...bid on and delivered to Gooden's...sold to some Hancock(still Hancocks around here).

Can do a google or bing search on 'Golden D tractor' or similar wording and find out more.

I do know that somewhere down the line that particular D was painted green...then bought and restored back to gold...was on display in Waterloo Iowa like a year or two back as my brother texted me pics of it..and pics of the article to go with it(article and Gooden/Hancock/Golden D pic is available online)

A deceased friend of mine that has over a dozen D's said this was a hoax

I found a good article here.

http://www.farmcollector.com/steam-engines/persistence-pays-in-gold

As to the claim of a hoax:

"A Sept. 3, 1938, story in Implement & Tractor magazine confirmed the rumor of such a tractor was true and sparked an Indiana collector's search for the long-forgotten showpiece that finally ended successfully eight years ago in Kingfisher County, Okla.

The magazine article was found in 1989 by custom toy builders Dennis Parker and the late Lyle Dingman of Iowa in the files at Deere & Company, Moline, 111. It told the tale of why the tractor was created and of how, after the festivities concluded, the glittery machine was put on display at the Kansas City branch - and up for sale."

Maybe it refers to the cost of restoring it - LOL.

I know Charles English the owner and see him each year at a tractor show. He hauls it to shows and its kept inside its own special trailer with drop down doors with all the info etc. its a nice exhibit.

John T

I have the original Gold-Leaf-Deere, according to all of the factual information that can verify, it is in fact the only Gold painted tractor built by Deere Co.
I have displayed it at 108 tractor shows. I built a 1/2 running model to display with it.
Now is the rest of the story, In about 2003, a Lady from Flagstaff Arizona called me and ask me if she could paint her Father*s (D) Gold like my original Gold (D), My answer she could paint in color she wanted too. She did in fact paint in Gold, it is a much brighter Gold that the true GOLD LEAF (D).
About 5 months ago, this Arizona Gold tractor was advertised on this Web sight, After 2 months of me talking to the Heirs of the Lady who painted it gold in 2003, I bought the tractor, So now I have the Completely restored original, the Clone of my original and the 1/2 size model, so there Two and one half Gold (D) in my barn.
If you want to see a photo of the (D) look on the back of the latest GREEN MAG with my Grandson on it in the wheat field
If those few who think it is a Hoax, Have you ever seen the tractor with all of the documentation that I display with it?

Sorry I missed you at Elnora this year, but my buddies gave me your card. Take care

John T

The gold D is well documented and the man who said it was a hoax (RIP) was wrong.
When Charles sent us the photo with his grandson, I didn't add a lot of info to the caption because I thought most people already knew the story/history of it, having read previous articles in GM, Farm Collector, Antique Power etc. I guess I was wrong.