The United States Bullion Depository, commonly known as Fort Knox, is considered to be one of the most secure places on earth. Fort Knox is one of the largest gold repositories in the world, housing an estimated 147.3 million ounces of the United States’ gold reserves. According to the U.S. Mint, that’s about half of the U.S. Treasury’s stored gold.
No wonder so many Americans are fascinated by Fort Knox. Keep reading for more on the history behind this intriguing landmark!
When was Fort Knox Built?
The U.S. Mint established the Fort Knox Bullion Depository in 1936 to keep up with the country’s growing gold reserves. By December of that year, the building was complete with 16,000 cubic feet of concrete and 750 tons of reinforced steel. The cost of construction totaled $560,000.
Fort Knox received its first shipment of gold in 1937 from the Philadelphia Mint and New York Assay Office. The shipment came in by train, surrounded by military troops for protection. The highest historic gold holdings at Fort Knox were nearly 650 million troy ounces on December 31st, 1941.
How Secure is Fort Knox?
Fort Knox is famous for its tight security. Few people – even U.S. presidents – have actually seen the gold reserves. The actual structure and content of the facility is only known by a few people, and no one person knows all of the procedures to open the vault.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only person outside of normal security personnel permitted to see the gold reserves up until 1974, when a group of journalists viewed the vaults. The journalists were granted access to quell persistent rumors that all of the gold in Fort Knox had been removed. (It hadn’t.)
It wasn’t until 2017 that the Fort Knox gold vaults were opened again for a few select visitors. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and a few Congressional representatives viewed the vaults that year.
So, does Fort Knox still have gold today? Yes, and a lot of it.
As we mentioned, Fort Knox stores about half of the U.S. Treasury’s stored gold. Over the decades, the only gold removed from the vaults has been small sample quantities used to test purity during periodically scheduled audits.
U.S. Gold Holdings
So where else does the U.S. store its gold? In addition to Fort Knox, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds a substantial amount of gold in its vaults, serving as a repository for both domestic and foreign gold holdings. The Denver Mint is also known to store some gold reserves, primarily in the form of bullion.
The U.S. ranks first among countries with the largest gold reserves (8,133.46 tons!), followed by Germany, Italy, France and Russia. At today’s prices (as of March 21, 2024), the total U.S. gold reserves are estimated to be worth roughly $518 billion!
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Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold reserves, and with which it is often conflated.
still have gold today? Yes, and a lot of it. As we mentioned, Fort Knox stores about half of the U.S. Treasury's stored gold. Over the decades, the only gold removed from the vaults has been small sample quantities used to test purity during periodically scheduled audits.
Does Fort Knox Still Have Gold? Yes, and a lot of it. Fort Knox, officially known as the United States Bullion Depository, is reportedly home to 147.3 million troy ounces of gold reserves, which has a value of around $274 Billion United States Dollars.
All the 4581.5 tonnes of gold in Fort Knox is entirely owned by The U.S. Department of the Treasury. Much of it is stored in standard bars measuring around 180 x 92 x 44mm each, similar to a standard house brick, and weighing 12.5kg.
It currently holds roughly 147 million troy ounces (4,580 metric tons) of gold bullion, a little over half the total gold presently held by the federal government.
The government says the bullion has a "book value" of $6.22 billion. However, that's based on a fixed price that officials set in 1973. Based on the current market value of gold, the reserves at Fort Knox are worth a far more impressive $273.7 billion, roughly speaking.
So, how much is one tonne of gold precious metal worth? A tonne, in 2022, would be priced at its highest over $65,000,000 and the lowest just under $52,000,000. To calculate how much one tonne of gold would be worth, you can multiply the kilo gold price by 1,000 for a rough figure.
Owning gold is perfectly legal in many countries, including the United States. This was only sometimes the case, however, especially during specific periods in the 20th century when the ownership of gold was heavily regulated or outright banned.
The United States holds the world's largest stockpile of gold reserves by a considerable margin of over 8,100 tons. The U.S. government has almost as many reserves as Germany, Italy, and France, which are the next three largest gold-holding countries combined.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, located in Manhattan, is the largest gold repository in the world. This massive vault holds approximately 7,000 metric tons of gold, making New York City the city with the most gold in the world.
However, if you're curious, there are some countries that produce gold that's as close to pure as possible. The country with the purest gold in the world is Switzerland, a country known for paying attention to quality.
Located 30 miles southwest of Louisville, adjacent to the United States Army Garrison Fort Knox, the Depository is home to a large portion of the gold bullion of the United States. The balance is stored at Mint locations in Philadelphia, Denver, West Point and San Francisco.
In fact, no one has managed to break in because no one has even attempted it! Fort Knox boasts an impressive display of security, and has even more they don't openly display. Visitors are not allowed and even if you manage to get inside, the vaults can all be filled with water.
The gold standard is not currently used by any government. Britain stopped using the gold standard in 1931, and the U.S. followed suit in 1933, finally abandoning remnants of the system in 1973.
According to some estimates, Fort Knox holds 2,3% of the total amount of gold produced in human history. As of November 2017, stocks in the depository stand at 4.582 metric tons (147 million ounces). It is an interesting fact that it is not the vault with the most gold in the world.
There are two schools of thought about the gold bullion in Fort Knox. The first is that it would make no difference to the US dollar if there were none – the second is that it would lead to its destruction, and the destabilization would mean it would lose its world reserve currency status.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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