Thread: Should the U.S. Sell Its Gold? POLL

Should the U.S. Sell Its Gold?

The U.S. has the world’s largest gold reserve—more than 8000 metric tons. That’s far more than Germany’s, which comes in second with 3400. At current prices, our reserve is worth an estimated $288 billion. Since the U.S. government could certainly use the funds, why not sell this valuable commodity? Does our country need to keep all of that gold?

“The gold reserve is a remnant of the monetary system we abandoned in 1971,â€

Should the U.S. sell its gold?

Yes 13%

No 87%

Why don/t we sell half of it while the price is up and replace it when the price drops again? Pocketing the profit.

But there is no more gold. The Federal Reserve and the vultures who own it swindled our gold from us a long time ago. That is why FDR declared the US bankrupt in 1933, and cofiscated all the gold excet for collector coins.

"The U.S. has the world’s largest gold reserve—more than 8000 metric tons."

World official gold holding (December 2009) Rank

Country/Organization - Gold(tonnes) - Gold's share of national forex reserves (%)

(Top 10)
1 United States - 8,133.5 - 68.7%
2 Germany - 3,407.6 - 64.6%
3 International Monetary Fund - 3,005.3 -
4 Italy - 2,451.8 - 63.4%
5 France - 2,435.4 - 64.2%
6 China - 1,054.0 - 1.5%
7 Switzerland - 1,040.1 - 28.8%
8 Japan - 765.2 - 2.4%
9 Netherlands - 612.5 - 51.7%
10 Russia - 607.7- 4.7%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve

If that is the case, then why hasn't there been an audit of Fort Knox since the days of Ike?

I think personally, there is no gold there, and that it is sitting in the vaults of the big Wall Street Banks.

To take it even further, look at Senate Report 93-549 from November 1973.

A majority of the people of the United States have lived all their lives under emergency rule. For 40 years, freedoms and governmental procedures guaranteed by the Constitution have, in varying degrees, been abridged by laws brought into force by states of national emergency..........

So this report is saying from 1933 to 1973 alone we have been under a state of emergency. 1933 is when FDR declared us bankrupt, and sold the people down the river into tennent servitude to the international financiers.

So until there is an accurate audit of Fort Knox, I will look on these statistical papers with skepticism. Sorry JD2, but I don't trust them. Not as far as I can spit.

The United States Bullion Depository.

The United States Bullion Depository, commonly called Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located adjacent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, which is used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves and, occasionally, other precious items belonging or entrusted to the federal government.

The United States Bullion Depository holds about 4,603 tons (4,176 metric tonnes) of gold bullion (147.4 million troy ounces[1]). It is second in the United States only to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's underground vault in Manhattan, which holds about 5,000 metric tonnes of gold in trust for many foreign nations, central banks and official international organizations.

History
Before the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1932, gold coins had circulated freely in the United States as legal money, and gold bullion was owned by banks and other private entities. In early 1933, as part of the New Deal, the U.S. Congress enacted a package of laws which removed gold from circulation as money, and which made private ownership of gold in the U.S. (except for coins in collections or jewelry such as wedding rings) illegal. All gold in circulation was seized by the government in exchange for dollars at the fixed rate of $20.67 per ounce. Owners of gold bullion in the U.S. were also required to trade it for other forms of money. All of this left the government of the United States with a large amount of gold metal, and no place to store it.


Seal of the U.S. MintIn 1936, the U.S. Treasury Department began construction of the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, on land transferred from the military. The Gold Vault was completed in December 1936 at a cost of $560,000, or about $7.5 million in 2007 dollars. The site is located on what is now Bullion Boulevard at the intersection of Gold Vault Road.

The first gold shipments were made from January to July 1937. The majority of the United States' gold reserves were gradually shipped to the site, including old bullion and more newly made bars made from melted gold coins. Some intact coins were stored, as well. The transfer needed 500 rail cars and was sent by registered mail, protected by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

During World War II, the repository held the original U.S. Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. It also held the reserves of several European countries and several key documents from Western history; for example, it held the Crown of St. Stephen, part of the Hungarian crown jewels, given to American soldiers to prevent them from falling into Soviet hands. The repository also held one of four known copies (exemplifications) of Magna Carta, which had been sent for display at the 1939 New York World Fair, and which, when war broke out, was kept in America for the duration.

During World War II and on into the Cold War, untill the invention of synthetic painkillers, a substantial supply of processed morphine and opium was kept in the Depository as a hedge against the United States being cut off from the sources of supply of raw opium.

Construction and security
Below the fortress-like structure lies the gold vault, which is lined with granite walls and which is protected by a blast-proof door that weighs 22 tons. No single person is entrusted with the entire combination to the vault. Ten members of the Depository staff must dial separate combinations known only to them. Beyond the main vault door, smaller internal cells provide further protection.[2]

The facility is ringed with several fences and is under armed guard by officers of the United States Mint Police. The Depository premises are within the site of Fort Knox, a United States Army post, allowing the Army to provide additional protection. The Depository is protected by numerous layers of physical security, alarms, video cameras, armed guards, and the Army units based at Fort Knox, including Apache helicopter gunships of 8/229 Aviation based at Godman Army Airfield, the 16th Cavalry Regiment, training battalions of the United States Army Armor School, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division, totaling over 30,000 soldiers, with associated tanks, armored personnel carriers, attack helicopters, and artillery.

Gold and coin holdings
Gold holdings peaked during World War II at 649.6 million troy ounces (20,205 metric tons). Current holdings are around 147.3 million troy ounces [1] (5,050 tons) in around 368,000 standard 400 troy ounce (12.4 kg or 27.4 lb avoirdupois) gold bars. At November 2009 rates of $1180 an ounce it is worth roughly $173 billion, while the World War II total of 649.6 million troy ounces would be worth approximately $765 billion.[3]

The depository also holds monetary gold coins. It also holds several specimens of Sacagawea Dollar coins made out of 22kt (91.6% pure) gold from blanks that are used to strike the $25 half-ounce American Gold Eagle bullion pieces made for an unknown project. The 1933 Double Eagle was also a temporary resident after transfer from 7 World Trade Center in July 2001, until its sale in July 2002 for $7.59 million. Sometime in 2004, 10 additional allegedly stolen 1933 Double Eagles were transported to Fort Knox for safekeeping.

Not all the gold bars held in the depository are of exactly the same composition. The mint gold bars are nearly pure gold. Bars made from melted gold coins, however, called "coin bars," are the same composition as the original coins. Unlike many .999 fine gold bullion coins minted in modern times for holding-purposes today, the coin alloy for pre-1932 U.S. coins, which were intended for circulation, was a much tougher and wear-resistant .900 fine alloy (balance copper) derived historically from 22-carat crown gold (a similar alloy consisting of .917 gold and the balance copper, used to mint gold sovereigns).

All of the gold in the depository, if pure, could form a cube 19.7 feet (6 m) on a side—a volume of 216 m³. In comparison, all the gold ever mined in the world would form a cube 64.3 feet (19.6 m) on a side, with a volume of approximately 7500 m³.[4]

The United States holds more gold bullion than any other country, with about 2.39 times that of the next leading country, Germany.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... Depository

But why hasn't there been a physical audit since the 1950's? What is there to hide?

The stats posted are all fine and dandy, but i would prefer a physical counting in the repository.

It's even been pointed out here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 936&hl=en# that there has't been a physical audit in over 50 years.

Originally Posted by Hylander_1314

But why hasn't there been a physical audit since the 1950's? What is there to hide?

The stats posted are all fine and dandy, but i would prefer a physical counting in the repository.

It's even been pointed out here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 936&hl=en# that there has't been a physical audit in over 50 years.

"You can't always get what you want".