Posted on 04/10/2025 5:39:13 AM PDT by delta7
There has been ongoing speculation about America’s holdings of foreign gold reserves. Elon Musk’s request to audit Fort Knox pushed the issue into the headlines once more. Now, the new incoming German government is discussing pulling their gold reserves from the New York Fed due to a lack of transparency and the public is asking—where is the gold?
I personally toured the New York Fed many years ago, and while there is gold there, I cannot verify the quantity or quality; no one has ever accomplished such a feat. The last full audit of US gold reserves occurred in 1953 under President Eisenhower.
Auditors from the US Treasury and Mint verified domestic and limited foreign-held gold at the New York Fed and Fort Knox. Third-party auditors were not permitted, but there were US Congressional observers. Treasury Secretary George M. Humphrey and Mint Director William H. Brett were in charge of overseeing this audit.
Now, the government declared the audit to be a “full” inspection. However, only 3 of the 22 compartments at Fort Knox were examined, accounting for only 13.6% of gold holdings. Around 88,000 bars (34.4M oz) were meticulously counted, and auditors weighed around 9,000 bars (130 tons). Only 26 gold bars, selected at random, were drilled to confirm purity.
Auditors confirmed that US gold certificates matched physical holdings at the New York Fed, but due to limited sampling and a lack of transparency, suspicions rose. “We have no reason to believe other melts would differ [from assay results],” the joint commission stated.
Gold Holdings Reserves
The gold examined was mainly domestic. Germany’s holdings, for example, were not part of the audit. Public confidence in the US government was on the decline at this period amid Cold War secrecy. Around the same time of the audit, the CIA admitted it to Operation Ajax—a covert operation to overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and install Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
This was the first time that the US government openly admitted to orchestrating a coup and installing a leader in a foreign nation. How could the public and/or foreign nations trust the US under these conditions?
(Sources: Treasury 1953 Report, Sound Money Defense League, FRASER).
The GAO/Treasury conducted the next audit in 1974, reviewing 21% of gold holdings at Fort Knox. This occurred in the post-Bretton Woods period after Nixon abandoned the gold standard. Again, third-party auditors were not permitted to attend, and this time, auditors did not weigh bars. Some called the September 1974 examination a “show audit” and a publicity stunt as only 1 of the 13 vaults was examined. The “real” audit occurred the following month by a joint GAO-Treasury committee, but as mentioned, only 91,404 bars of 367,500 were examined. Random samples were tested for purity, but there was no assaying or weighing.
Continuing audits were ongoing, and the US government pledged to inspect 10% of its gold holdings annually from 1975 to 1983. As of 1985, the government stated it had audited 89% of its gold holdings, but only through seal verifications and limited sampling. Again, only the US government had access to these vaults.
The matter was ultimately laid to rest until 2012, when US politicians like Ron Paul and foreign governments demanded another audit. Germany was threatening to relocate their US holdings at the time due to a lack of transparency, and had been increasingly calling for an audit in the decades leading up to 2012. To appease doubters, the Treasury OIG conducted another limited audit.
FederalReserveGoldVault
The 2012-2013 NY Fed Audit scope included 34,201 US-owned gold bars (418 tons). Less than 1% (367 bars) were tested for purity. Auditors did not weigh the gold, nor did they conduct a full inventory. All compartments were to remain sealed unless they had reason to suspect tampering. Again, no independent assayers were admitted. Worse, foreign holdings were not inspected. Germany’s gold, for example, was not reviewed but they maintained trust in the US government despite some backlash.
Fast-forward to 2025: DOGE is uncovering government waste and mismanagement and has set its sights on Fort Knox. The US Treasury declared any audit a breach of national security. A true audit of Fort Knox, not including the NY Fed, would take 18-24 months and require 44,000 hours. Foreign governments now have a seemingly plausible reason to point their finger at the US and call “FOUL PLAY!”
Here’s the thing–no nation completely audits its gold holdings. The UAE, for example, implemented mandatory annual audits but only examined 10-20% of its holdings. There is limited transparency as their audits are classified, but they do permit third-party audits and follow London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) standards. Switzerland also follows LBMA standards and conducts regular audits, but auditors only check seals as there is no physical count.
Switzerland is far more transparent about its auditing process, but again, they are only looking at a small percentage of overall holdings and not weighing or physically assessing the gold. Any nation could point the finger at another and question the validity of its stockpile.
As for US gold holdings, there have not been any official sales. If anything is missing, then that means it was stolen. However, the media is honing in on the US without understanding that no foreign nation conducts a full audit of their gold holdings. It all comes down to trust in the government, not only the current administration but every administration that has come to pass.
President Trump had better get busy.
A lot of the gold at the Fed in NYC does not belong to the US. Countries and bullion companies will keep their gold in the vault there to make transactions easier and for security.
There is no obligation for private vault renters to “account” for the gold in their vaults (outside of their personal, private inspections.)
Government records state we hold about 8,100 tons. Ft Knox supposedly holds about 4,000 tons, the rest is held at Denver, West Point Mint and the New York Federal Reserve.
The very first location ( the “ easy” one) should be the Federal Reserve stash in NY as they are the known crooks.
Just because he saw gold in the NY Fed does not mean the US owns that gold. Gold changes ownership and not necessarily location. Example German gold in NYC!
I presume that'd be pixie dust.
It’s all pretend.
Furthermore, gold can have MANY “owners”. In other words, been hypothecated and rehypothecated many times. That’s the Achilles heel of gold derivatives and paper gold.
The question then becomes, when the music stops, who really owns that gold. In reality, it’ll probably be the “owner” that is the last holder of the physical.
More information….and questions.
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/gold-bullion-stored-us-mint-denver/
It’s all pretend.
—————
Do note 2,000 tons of Gold has been shipped ( documented) from the LBMA in London to NY around Feb fueling the missing Gold question.
Some claim it was shipped to our Comex to avoid a failure to deliver event, others say it was our leased out Gold ( by the Federal Reserve) being returned.
There is definitely cause for demanding a full audit, especially with the Federal Reserve involvement.
IBTG
The gold is in the same place as the Epstein files.
bkmk
Official .gov records.
Looks good, I guess it’s all there.
“The last full audit of US gold reserves occurred in 1953 under President Eisenhower.”
Since not auditing gold reserves massively contradicts any kind of security protocols, it means some massive chicanery is underway and has been for decades.
It makes as much sense as a bank neglecting to balance its books or run any audits at all.
“…after Nixon abandoned the gold standard.”
This is one of the most oft repeated lies in history. It was Roosevelt who did that in 1933 - all Nixon did was stop foreign central banks from plundering our gold reserves.
Thanks to Roosevelt, American citizens could not own gold or redeem their dollars for gold - but foriegn central banks still could - but it was worse than that:
When Americans were forced to turned in their gold, the government gold reserve increased massively, which was the whole point. The government was required to have a 40% gold reserve - so the massive increase in the gold reserve meant they could massively increase the money supply - $50 for every $20 worth of gold.
The massive increase in US dollars caused the market price of gold in dollars to rise significantly - but foreign banks and investors could still redeem their devalued dollars for their face value in gold. While this face value redemption price was adjusted upward periodically, it never came close to the true market price of gold - so for decades, foreign central banks were free to plunder our gold reserves at below market rates - until Nixon put a stop to it.
Thank you President Nixon!
I remember, 55 years ago, the claim there was no gold in Fort Knox. When one of the vaults was opened the gold glistened beautifully. Then came the claim it was just gold covered lead.
I was just asking ChatGPT the status yesterday...
I thought trump and Doge were going to audit Fort Knox. Did anything happen yet?
ChatGPT said:
As of April 10, 2025, no official audit of the gold reserves at Fort Knox has been conducted by President Donald Trump or Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). While both have publicly expressed interest in verifying the presence of the nation’s gold reserves, and there have been discussions about organizing such an inspection, no formal audit has taken place to date.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has assured that the gold reserves are audited annually and are fully accounted for.
In the meantime, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has initiated an audit of DOGE itself, focusing on concerns regarding its handling of sensitive data within various federal agencies.
WIRED
Therefore, while there is ongoing interest and discussion about auditing Fort Knox’s gold reserves, no such audit has been conducted as of now.
You said:
Did I read something about the possibility of marking the gold to market and thus improving the government’s balance sheet?
ChatGPT said:
Yes, discussions have emerged regarding the potential benefits of revaluing the U.S. government’s gold reserves to reflect current market prices—a process known as “marking to market.” Currently, these gold reserves are recorded at a statutory value of $42.22 per troy ounce, a figure established in the early 1970s. In contrast, the market price of gold has risen significantly, approaching $3,000 per ounce as of early 2025.
Revaluing the gold reserves to align with current market prices could substantially enhance the book value of these assets on the government’s balance sheet. This adjustment could potentially provide the Treasury with additional financial flexibility, such as delaying the need to raise the debt ceiling or creating opportunities for new fiscal initiatives.
However, it’s important to note that such a revaluation would primarily represent an accounting change rather than an actual influx of funds. While it could improve the appearance of the government’s financial position, it wouldn’t directly reduce the national debt or eliminate underlying fiscal challenges. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated that there are no current plans to pursue this revaluation.
In summary, while marking the gold reserves to market could enhance the government’s balance sheet on paper, it would not provide a comprehensive solution to broader fiscal issues.
It’s in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills
In somebody else’s name...
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