# Is there any gold in Fort Knox? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403 "2013-08-16T09:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/61 "2013-08-20T12:25:54Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Can you start a tank without keys? Yes, but if the battery is dead you have to get a buddy to push you while you pop the clutch. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/62 "2013-08-20T12:32:19Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > ā€œMoneyā€ is a concept. An Idea. It is a medium of exchange that allows us to exchange hours of labor for widgets, wheat for oil, tomatoes for cars. If it didnā€™t exist, it would be necessary to invent itā€¦ Or drugs for Bitcoins. maybe they could exchange all that gold for Bitcoins and only have to only guard one small memory stick. Just hope they have a backup in case they lose it. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/63 "2013-08-21T02:51:09Z")
> [@ruh-roh](#): > > Or drugs for Bitcoins. > > maybe they could exchange all that gold for Bitcoins and only have to only guard one small memory stick. Just hope they have a backup in case they lose it. šŸ˜ƒ Maybe Paul & Son should have their committees investigate. Are the bits _really_ there? The way the Illimunati cleverly keeps even their very existence so secret is quite scary. Not only have they airlifted away all the gold in Fort Knox and, quite likely, debited the bits of Bitcoin, I think I could find a YouTube showing theyā€™ve stockpiled many trillions of peppercorns, another ancient and reverable money. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/64 "2013-08-21T06:47:48Z")
And watch out for Bitfinger and his plans to destroy Americaā€™s bitcoin supply with an EMP bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/65 "2013-08-21T09:48:01Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > The silly people are the ones who believe a stable currency can be maintained with fiat money. ALL POLITICIANS LIE! Does that include the politicians who say a gold standard is a good idea? ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/66 "2013-08-21T11:42:08Z")
Gold? I always thought that Goldfinger stole it all and they just replaced the shiny stuff with movie props for tourists. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/67 "2013-08-21T12:02:34Z")
No, he just made it radioactive and unusable until the year 2038. It was a patriotic gesture, trying to keeping the gold secure until control of the asylum could be wrested back from the inmates. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/68 "2013-08-21T14:30:51Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > The _secret_ that there\*\* is \*\*no goldā€¦ > [@Ludovic](#): > > Thatā€™s the beauty of it! Maybe the Feds are actually hiding a gold airplane. On aā€¦ well, you know. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think all the tank brigades have been transferred to Fort Benning. Fort Knox is now mostly a training center. According to Wikipedia, the only active combat unit still stationed there is an infantry brigade: 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. As it happens, my dad trained in tanks at Ft. Knox back in the Fifties. > [@Chimera](#): > > Iā€™m sure they do. But Dr. No isnā€™t going to be able to overcome all the troops there and roll in 230 semis to haul it outā€¦ Wrong Bond villain: [Auric Goldfinger - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auric_Goldfinger) > [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Can you start a tank without keys? Yup: [Do big vehicles have ignition keys? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=477930) ---
**Author:** ![Doughbag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/69 "2013-08-21T15:10:41Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > No, he just made it radioactive and unusable until the year 2038. It was a patriotic gesture, trying to keeping the gold secure until control of the asylum could be wrested back from the inmates. Damn! ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/70 "2013-08-21T15:25:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And watch out for Bitfinger and his plans to destroy Americaā€™s bitcoin supply with an EMP bomb. Been there, [done that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoldenEye), got the [video game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoldenEye_007_(1997_video_game)). ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/71 "2013-08-21T16:07:47Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > No, he just made it radioactive and unusable until the year 2038. It was a patriotic gesture, trying to keeping the gold secure until control of the asylum could be wrested back from the inmates. Which is one of the cases where the movieā€™s actually an improvement over the book. In the book the plot _WAS_ to steal it all. Itā€™s only in the movie that he has the more rational plan of making his own gold more valuable by rendering inaccessible a relatively large % of the worldā€™s overall gold holdingā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/72 "2013-08-21T16:43:01Z")
Except itā€™s not that much gold. All the gold in Ft Knox is much less than is produced worldwide in a single year. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/73 "2013-08-21T16:54:02Z")
So, more interesting question: Why is there any gold there at all? I mean, weā€™re expending some non-trivial resources storing and guarding the stuff, and apparently we donā€™t actually do anything with it. If itā€™s not backing the economy (which it very obviously isnā€™t), what is it for? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/74 "2013-08-21T17:12:57Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Except itā€™s not that much gold. All the gold in Ft Knox is much less than is produced worldwide in a single year. Cite? On second thought let me save you the trouble: > [@](#): > > The United States Bullion Depository holds 4,578 metric tons (5,046.3 short tons) of gold bullion (147.2 million oz. troy). This is roughly 3 percent of all the gold ever refined throughout human history. Even so, the depository is second in the United States to the Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorkā€™s underground vault in Manhattan, which holds 7,000 metric tons (7,716 tons) of gold bullion (225.1 million oz. troy), some of it in trust for foreign nations, central banks and official international organizations. [Gold production is currently about 2500 metric tons per year](http://www.numbersleuth.org/worlds-gold/). (No idea how this affects your point, since Iā€™ve no idea what your point is. šŸ˜ƒ ) ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/75 "2013-08-21T17:23:12Z")
Well, I dropped a decimal somewhere. So thanks for the cite. šŸ™‚ Still isnā€™t all that much gold though. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403/76 "2013-08-21T19:08:03Z")
Iā€™ll hang on to it if itā€™s a problem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-gold-in-fort-knox/666403.md?page=3)