# The gold in Fort Knox--what is it for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534 "2008-10-18T16:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/41 "2008-10-21T00:03:04Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Here’a cite, from the [Eagle Traders](http://www.eagletraders.com/advice/securities/federal_reserve_ratio.htm) website. Believe me, I had to hunt for quite some time to find anything about this other than on the websites oriented to gold bugs who think modern central banks are a criminal enterprise. Yeah. It’s a confusing issue to me also. I’m of the opinion that by the 1960s, the Federal Reserve Banks had no “gold certificates” in their possession/files, etc. It was merely language left over from the 1914-1934 days. I have a buddy in the banknote business and I’ll ask him sometime this week. He probably knows a bit more than I. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/42 "2008-10-21T00:30:58Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Silver certificates were redeemed for silver until 1968. If you did this, didn’t the bank just give you the money in quarters (which had a roughly appropriate amount of silver in them at the time)? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/43 "2008-10-21T01:49:30Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Silver certificates were redeemed for silver until 1968. After that, you could still spend them, but not redeem them for metal. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > If you did this, didn’t the bank just give you the money in quarters (which had a roughly appropriate amount of silver in them at the time)? The bank, after 1964, didn’t have silver quarters anymore. People began to pull them out of circulation starting in 1965, when coins were no longer made of silver. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/44 "2008-10-21T04:38:49Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Yeah. It’s a confusing issue to me also. > > I’m of the opinion that by the 1960s, the Federal Reserve Banks had no “gold certificates” in their possession/files, etc. It was merely language left over from the 1914-1934 days. > > I have a buddy in the banknote business and I’ll ask him sometime this week. He probably knows a bit more than I. I think what it all boils down to is that the Fort Knox gold belongs, in effect to the Federal Reserve system, their ownership being evidenced by the actual Gold Certificates, or by mere book entries representing the same. Since Gold Certificates have had very little reason to circulate for the past 75 years, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suspect that some of the FRBs might still have '34 issue certificates in their vaults, duly noted on the asset side of their balance sheets. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/45 "2008-10-21T06:12:10Z")
so what _would_ happen if the gold was vaporized? And, If someone was able to take out hundreds of the gold bars and replace with identical lead counterfeit bars of equal weight, might nobody ever know? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/46 "2008-10-21T06:20:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I drove by it a few weeks ago for the first time. I was surprised to see it’s just a couple hundred yards from a public highway outside the military base. Army “forts” are pretty open as US military facilities go, but I expected the Gold Repository to be situated a little more in the defensible interior, not out on the edge. Well, maybe they don’t exactly trust all those army guys, with their tanks and RPGs and whatnot. [Too many Republicans, you might say…](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065938/) > [@Tom Tildrum](#): > > Or, Fort Knox is a decoy. And the gold reserves are actually buried far beneath Mount Rushmore. Nah, the gold got moved to Area 51 years ago. It’s part of a healthy breakfast for your average space alien. Seriously, I expect gold would make an excellent radioactivity shield, better than lead, since it’s much denser. But even if gold were not considered valuable in itself, it probably wouldn’t be used as shielding much, since it’s no where near as common as lead. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/47 "2008-10-21T07:41:33Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > And, If someone was able to take out hundreds of the gold bars and replace with identical lead counterfeit bars of equal weight, might nobody ever know? Lead weighs considerably less than Gold, so it’s impossible to have counterfeit bars of equal weight. From [here](http://www.themeter.net/pesi-spec_e.htm); Gold = 19.25 kg/dm3 Lead = 11.34 kg/dm3 The closest you could come while using something cheaper would be Tungsten = 19.1 kg/dm3 The only thing else even in the same ballpark is Platinum = 21.4 kg/dm3 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/48 "2008-10-21T09:24:49Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Or, Fort Knox is a decoy. And the gold reserves are actually buried far beneath Mount Rushmore. No, that’s what they _want_ you to think. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/49 "2008-10-21T13:22:20Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m of the opinion that by the 1960s, the Federal Reserve Banks had no “gold certificates” in their possession/files, etc. It was merely language left over from the 1914-1934 days. Under the Bretton Woods system, until 1971, foreign central banks could still exchange dollars for gold. The government had to maintain a gold reserve, and the reserve had to be of reasonable size in relation to the money supply or there would be a “run”. After they repealed the 25% requirement, that’s pretty much what happened. ---
**Author:** ![unspun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b9bd4f/32.png) [@unspun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unspun)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/50 "2008-10-21T21:08:39Z")
“It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.” - [Warren Buffet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_buffet) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/51 "2008-10-21T21:23:13Z")
Aboslutely nothin’. Say it again! ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/52 "2008-10-21T21:47:39Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, as was discussed in Goldfinger, the logistics of moving large amounts of material is a pretty considerable defense. By the time you’ve move in the heavy trucks and spent a few hours schlepping forklift loads of gold, probably the authorities would show up and have words with you. Damn tax man… ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534/53 "2008-10-22T01:21:38Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Damn tax man… Well, they don’t care where the income is from, now, do they? "So, you stole all the gold from Fort Knox? Let’s see, that puts you in the 75% bracket. Will that be cash or check? “Yes, you’re allowed to deduct expenses, but I think you’re overstating the actual cost of the tanks.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gold-in-fort-knox-what-is-it-for/468534.md?page=2)