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Fort Knox, Kentucky...
Fort Knox, Kentucky...
Item # 561785
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June 29, 1935
THE NEW YORK TIMES, New York, June 29, 1935
* Fort Knox, Kentucky
* Franklin D. Roosevelt FDR
* Gold bullion vault
This 32 page newspaper has two column headlines on the front page: "Treasury to Build a Gold Vault At an Army Post in Kentucky" and "Orders Rush Construction in Centre of Fort Knox in Line With Policy of Moving Mounting Bullion Stores From Coast Cities Vulnerable to Enemy Attack". Tells of the initial order by President Roosevelt to build a vault at Fort Knox Kentucky for gold bullion.
Other news of the day throughout. Light browning with minor margin wear, otherwise in good condition.
wikipedia notes: The United States Bullion Depository, commonly called Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located near 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). 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.
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. Mint
In 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.
Category: The 20th Century
No Longer Available
