Executive Order 6102: When the US Confiscated Gold

Executive Order 6102 was a 1933 order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that forced Americans to hand nearly all of their gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates to the Federal Reserve at the official rate of $20.67 per troy ounce.

What the order did

Roosevelt signed it on April 5, 1933: "Forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates." Everyone had to deliver their gold by May 1, 1933, in exchange for $20.67 per troy ounce. The legal cover came from the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, amended by the Emergency Banking Act of March 9, 1933.

The penalty for holding on

A violation was punishable by a fine up to $10,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both. In 1933 that was several years of income for most families.

The exceptions

You could keep up to $100 in gold coins (~5 troy ounces), gold used in industry or art, and rare collector coins. Narrow on purpose.

The 1934 windfall

The Gold Reserve Act of January 30, 1934 let Roosevelt raise the statutory gold price from $20.67 to $35 per ounce, a ~69% jump overnight. Citizens had already surrendered their gold at the old price; the gain went to the Treasury.

41 years locked out

The ban ran from 1933 to 1974. President Ford signed Public Law 93-373; private gold ownership became legal again on December 31, 1974.

Why this matters if you hold crypto

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Educational purposes only, not financial advice.