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The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the late 1920s to 1932 [1] [2] as well as from 1944 until 1971 when the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system. [3]
The Gold Standard Act was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President William McKinley and effective on March 14, 1900, defining the United States dollar by gold weight and requiring the United States Treasury to redeem, on demand and in gold coin only, paper currency the Act specified.
The Gold Clause Cases were a series of actions brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, in which the court narrowly upheld the Roosevelt administration's adjustment of the gold standard in response to the Great Depression.
Thus the United States moved to a gold standard, making both gold and silver the legal-tender coinage of the United States, and guaranteed the dollar as convertible to 23.22 grains (1.50463 grams, 0.048375 troy ounces) of pure gold, or a little over $20.67 per ounce.
Given that the U.S. gold reserve is an estimated 260 million ounces -- worth around $431 billion -- to convert to the gold standard, Washington would first have to acquire a massive amount of bullion.
While the United States observed a gold standard, the certificates offered a more convenient way to pay in gold than the use of coins. General public ownership of gold certificates was outlawed in 1933 and since then they have been available only to the Federal Reserve Banks , with book-entry certificates replacing the paper form.
The limitation on gold ownership in the US was repealed after President Gerald Ford signed a bill to "permit United States citizens to purchase, hold, sell, or otherwise deal with gold in the United States or abroad" with an act of Congress codified in Pub. L. 93–373, [22] [23] [24] which went into effect December 31, 1974.
As the United States Gold Bureau notes, in contrast to the declining value of the U.S. dollar over time, gold’s value has “exploded.” Throughout history, gold has retained its purchasing ...