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The United States Bullion Depository is a fortified vault building located near Fort Knox, Kentucky which is used to store the majority of United States gold metal holdings, as well as from time to time, other precious items belonging to the United States government.
 The U.S. Bullion Depository at Ft. Knox. Image File history File linksMetadata FortKnoxGoldVault2. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata FortKnoxGoldVault2. ...
Context The context of the United States Bullion Depository is the 1932 Roosevelt election. Prior to this, 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) illegal. All gold coin in circulation was collected by the government and traded for other forms of money. 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 lot of gold metal, and no place to store it. This article is becoming very long. ...
A precious metal is a rare metallic element of high, durable economic value. ...
Seal of the United States Mint. ...
History In 1936 the U.S. Treasury Department began construction of the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky on land deeded from the military. The site is located on what is now Bullion Blvd. at the intersection of Gold Vault Rd. The 'Gold Vault' was completed in December 1936 at a cost of $560,000. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...
The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department and the treasury of the United States government. ...
The U.S. Bullion Depository at Ft. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area Ranked 37th - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²) - Width 140 miles (225 km) - Length 379 miles (610 km) - % water 1. ...
This article is about general United States currency. ...
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 Postal Inspection Service. General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ...
1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Gold reserves (or gold holdings) are held by central banks as a store of value. ...
Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods along railways or railroads. ...
The United States Postal Inspection Service or USPIS is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. ...
During World War II the depository also held the reserves of a number of European countries as well as the Magna Carta and key documents from western history. Combatants Allies: Poland, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, Norway, Honduras, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military...
The aim of this page is to act as a comparison between European countries in many different aspects, such as population, GDP, life expectancy, etc. ...
Magna Carta Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter, literally Great Paper), also called Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English charter originally issued in 1215. ...
It has been suggested that the British Crown Jewels were also located there during the Second World War for safe-keeping; however, similar stories suggest they were in fact held at the Sun Life Insurance Company in Montreal, Quebec or even the Round Tower of Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. The exact location remains a secret to this day. Coronation Chair and Regalia of England The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the coronation ceremony and at various other state functions. ...
Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...
Sun Life Financial Inc. ...
City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area - % water 366. ...
Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Flower White garden lily Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total - Land - Water (% of total) Ranked 2nd 1,542,056 km² 1,183...
Windsor Castle: The Round Tower or keep dominating the castle, as seen from the River Thames. ...
Windsor (IPA: usually , but also ) is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, South East England. ...
Contruction and security The gold vault is lined with granite walls and is protected by a door that weighs 24.6 tons (22.3 tonnes). No one person is entrusted with the combination to the vault. Various members of the Depository staff must dial separate combinations known only by them. A nearby U.S. Army post provides additional protection. Because of these measures of security, it is nearly impossible for the Depository's defenses to be breached and the vault's contents stolen. A bank vault or strongroom is usually a (very) large safe built into (or under) the fabric of a bank building and in which valuables are stored. ...
The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ...
A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ...
Gold and coin holdings Gold holdings peaked in the war at 649.6 million ounces (18,415 tonnes or enough to make 90 pure gold Statues of Liberty). Current holdings are around 147 million ounces (4,167 t) in around 368,000 standard 400 troy ounce (12.4 kg or 27.4 lbs.) bars. The depository also holds monetary gold (coins). Although "Fort Knox" represents the definitive gold stockpile in the American lexicon, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's underground gold vault in New York City, with some $90 billion in gold bullion, is actually the world's largest. A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ...
Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island Liberty Enlightening the World, known more commonly as the Statue of Liberty, is a statue given to the United States by France in 1886, standing at Liberty Island in the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor as a welcome to all...
A tonne (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of weight. ...
Troy weight is a system of units of mass customarily used for precious metals and gemstones. ...
The pound is the name of a number of units of mass, all in the range of 300 to 600 grams. ...
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, located at 33 Liberty Street in Manhattan. ...
Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area City 1,214. ...
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 WTC before its sale in July 2002 for $7.59 Million. Sometime in 2004, 10 stolen 1933 Double Eagle examples recovered from the heirs of Israel Switt were transported to Fort Knox for safekeeping. The Sacagawea Dollar is the current United States dollar coin. ...
Carat is a measure of the purity of gold and platinum alloys. ...
The American Gold Eagle is the official bullion gold coin of the United States. ...
A precious metal is a rare metallic element of high, durable economic value. ...
The 1933 Double Eagle The 1933 double eagle (United States 20-dollar gold coin) currently holds the record for highest price brought at auction for a single U.S. coin. ...
The new 7 World Trade Center (view from southeast) There have been two buildings in New York City named 7 World Trade Center. ...
In popular culture As a symbol of an impregnable vault, the bullion depository has become a semi-common phrase (at least in North America) used when one describes how well protected an object or location is. The item is said to be "locked up tighter than Fort Knox."
The popular 1959 Ian Fleming-written James Bond novel Goldfinger, and the 1964 movie of the same name, are about a criminal plot to break in to the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. In the book, Auric Goldfinger's plan is to steal five billion dollars' worth of gold; in the movie, his plan is to render the gold contained in the Depository radioactive and useless, driving up the price of the gold he already has. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was an English author and journalist, best remembered for writing the James Bond series of novels as well as the childrens story, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ...
The James Bond 007 gun logo James Bond, also known as 007 (pronounced double-oh seven), is a fictional British spy created by writer Ian Fleming in 1953. ...
2002 Penguin Books paperback edition Goldfinger, published in 1959, is the seventh James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. ...
2002 Penguin Books paperback edition Goldfinger, published in 1959, is the seventh James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. ...
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. ...
The security around the Depository has in part led to a popular and recurring conspiracy theory, as alleged by Edward Durrell, Tom Valentine and others, that claims that the Vault is mostly empty, with most of the gold in Fort Knox removed to London in the late 1960s by Lyndon Johnson. [1] [2] [3] In response, on September 23, 1974, Senator Walter Huddleston of Kentucky, eight congressmen, and about one hundred members of the news media toured the Vault and opened various cells and doors, each filled with gold. Radio reporter Bill Evans, when asked if it seemed like the gold might have been moved in just for the visit, replied that "all I can say is that I saw gold there" and that it seemed like it was always there.[4] Additionally, audits of the gold by the General Accounting Office (in cooperation with the United States Mint and the United States Customs Service in 1974 and the Treasury Department from 1975-81 found no discrepancies between the reported and actual amounts of gold at the Depository. [5]. Approximately ten percent of the bullion is audited annually to ensure the amount and purity matches official records. The theory continues to persist, however. A conspiracy theory attempts to explain the ultimate cause of an event (usually a political, social, or historical event) as a secret, and often deceptive, plot by a covert alliance of powerful people or organizations rather than as an overt activity or as natural occurrence. ...
Tom Valentine is a writer, commentator and radio host with an anti-authoritarian perspective, sometimes aligning with issues from left and right ends of the political spectrum, as well as libertarianism. ...
Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908–January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was an American politician. ...
Walter Darlington Huddleston (born April 15, 1926) is a retired American politician. ...
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the audit, evaluation, and investigative agency of the United States Congress. ...
The United States Mint is responsible for producing and circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. ...
The United States Customs Service (now part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection or CBP) was the portion of the US Federal Government dedicated to keeping illegal products outside of US borders. ...
The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department, a treasury, of the United States government established by an Act of U.S. Congress in 1789 to manage the revenue of the United States government. ...
References/see also The Federal Reserve System is headquartered in the Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC. The Federal Reserve System (also the Federal Reserve; informally The Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. ...
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, located at 33 Liberty Street in Manhattan. ...
Statues of fancifully painted horses can currently be seen around Louisville. ...
Gold reserves (or gold holdings) are held by central banks as a store of value. ...
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