Being a gold bug even back then, I was fully aware of the swindle being pulled off, tried to tell people (Letters to Ed, etc.) - and was pegged as a right-wing kook.
When Roosevelt took us off the gold standard, he left redemption in place for the foreigners - hence the “dollar is as good as gold” saying.
By the ‘70s, the rest of the world, especially France, were alarmed at amount of ever-increasing dollars and started redeeming them. I think the gold backing was something like one ounce of gold for every four dollars in circulation and a bit less for other forms.
In a typical maneuver, the politicians talked the foreign claimants into taking silver instead, replacing their dollars with silver certificates and then converting paper to silver. (I remember citizens doing that, even down to one dollar, getting a packet of silver granules.) They also started melting US silver coins and blaming hoarders for their scarcity - The mint couldn’t make clad coins fast enough and there was a temporary shortage.
While Nixon and the rest were assuring us that “gold was archaic”, I began my first phase of preparing for when TSHTF as I thought this country would only last a few years - shades of the Roman Empire. (I’ve been off in timing but not the direction.)
I believe it’s just a matter of time (i.e. SOON) before things get SO chaotic that we will have to return to a gold-backed but not redeemable currency. IMO, without some brake on the politicians, nothing short of backing like this will keep their spending in check.
You're right, I think. But, unfortunately, without the citizens' right of redemption, there aren't any real checks on the politicians.
If it's not redeemable, it's not "gold-backed."