10 Countries with the Largest Gold Reserves

For as long as many people can remember, gold has been a sought-after commodity. Dating as far back as King Tut and ancient civilizations, the sparkle of the famous bullion has always been seen as an icon of luxury and wealth. Today, the top 10 countries withholding the most gold are (in tons):

The United States- 8,133.50

Germany- 3,401.00

International Monetary Fund- 2,846.70

Italy- 2,451.80

France- 2,435.40

China- 1,054.10

Switzerland- 1,040.10

Russia- 775.20

Japan- 765.20

Netherlands- 615.50

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Gold Bullion In The United States Part One: Fort Knox

Fort Knox, Kentucky, which was opened in 1937, holds one of the largest deposits of the United State’s gold bullion and gold reserves.

The Fort Knox facility holds more than 4,603 tons of gold bullion. This deposit is second only to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which also has an underground vault at its Manhattan location as trust for U.S. Banks and foreign organizations.

Due to the gold call-in of 1933 under FDR, all gold and gold bullion – with the exception of collectible gold coins – were confiscated by the government, as the government declared private ownership of gold an illegal act (see our other article, The 1933 Gold Call-In: What, How, Why for more information on this topic). This, of course, was later re-legislated by Nixon so that governmental gold hoarding could only be exercised in times of war and was not justified by a banking crisis.

Due to the forced selling of gold by citizens and buying of gold by the government, vast amounts of gold were acquired by the U.S. mints, and few adequate places of storage existed. The United States Department of Treasury constructed the Fort Knox, KY U.S. Bullion Depository in 1936. The land was granted by the military and cost $560,000 to construct. The physical transferring of the gold to the facility took more than seven months to move the bullion from banks across the country to the new location, requiring 500 railroad cars and the United States Postal Service to transport.

The Fort Knox institution has served as housing and storage for the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, Lincoln's Gettysburg address, three volumes of the Gutenberg Bible, Lincoln's second inaugural address and the Magna Carta. The crown, sword, scepter, orb, and cape of St. Stephen, King of Hungary also were stored at the Depository, before being returned to the government of Hungary in 1978. The vault has consistently held foreign reserves and other significant historical documents for periods in history.

Iran Trading Cash for Gold?

The Associated Press announced late last week that Iranian newspapers are stating that Iran is converting reserves into gold.

The newspapers are quoting Mojtaba Hasemi Samareh, who is the top advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Saying that the decision to buy gold was executed at the order of Ahmadinejad.

Iran reportedly has $120 billion in reserves. It is unknown how much of the reserves has been converted to gold.

Roughly 80% of Iran’s foreign revenue comes from oil. The decision to buy gold follows recent, dramatic drops in oil prices.

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