Subject: Re: Illegal to own pure gold???

From: [email-masked] (Mike Rehmus)
Date: 1 Dec 1994 02:00:22 GMT

In <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Edward D Schernau) 
writes: 

>
>Someone just told me that they heard that it was illegal in the US
>to own pure gold?
>
>What is this crap?
>
>Ed
>

Not any more.

Mike

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From: [email-masked] (J. Kimberlin)
Date: 1 Dec 1994 18:04:54 -0800

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Pete Bellas) writes:
>In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Edward D
>Schernau) writes:
>|>Someone just told me that they heard that it was illegal in the US
>|>to own pure gold?
>
>Back in the sixties when the price of gold was fixed at $32/oz this was
>true, gold coins being an exception. At the time there was a fairly 
>lucrative living to be made smuggling gold out of the US to Europe where
>you could get $200/oz for it. For some good background on the gold
>smuggling racket read (and I mean read) Ian Flemings "Goldfinger".

I always thought gold went from $16 an oz in the '20s to $35 an oz.  I 
don't ever remember it being $32 an oz.

If you want to smuggle gold, investigate the Saudi (Bahrain Island) to 
India trade.  Buy current price, sell 4X in India.  Oh well,.....

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From: [email-masked] (Edward D Schernau)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 11:20:31 GMT

What is this crap?

Ed

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From: [email-masked] (James Kirkpatrick)
Date: 30 Nov 94 08:41:46 MST

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Edward D Schernau) writes:
|>Someone just told me that they heard that it was illegal in the US
|>to own pure gold?
|>
|>What is this crap?
|>
|>Ed

This is my recollection, and if it's crap, I'm unaware of it.  Back in,
say, the 1950s I believe this was true.  You could own gold jewelry and
gold coins and such, but could not buy plain gold bars.  My vague
recollection is that this was because the printed money was based
at that time on the gold standard, was therefore equivalent to gold,
so the citizenry didn't need to actually hold the metal, or some such
crap (to use your term).  When the US went off the gold standard in
the early 1960s (?) and released the price of gold from $32/oz (by
definition), the situation changed.

As I said, this is my recollection and I will gladly accept clarifications
or corrections from somebody who knows more about this than I do.

Jim

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From: [email-masked] (Vince Miller)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 1994 16:45:08 GMT

>or corrections from somebody who knows more about this than I do.

I think it was also somewhat illegal to own gold coins too.  The govt 
recalled all of them at one point.  I remember my Grandfather telling me 
that about a $10 peice he had saved.

Vince

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From: [email-masked] (Barry Workman)
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 1994 07:21:19 GMT

>Ed

The Federal Government by law was the ONLY dealer in gold bullion
in the US until the Nixon years.  The United States went off of the
gold standard to the silver standard in the 1930's.  The old gold
certificates were larger bills than the silver certificates in fact
the final reason used for going off the gold standard was the Lindberg
kidnapping.  The ransom was paid in gold certificates and the S/Ns were
recorded.  The US of A recalled all of the gold certs as part of the
effort to catch the kidnapper -- remember that the majority of these
bills still have not been recovered -- .  Prior to the US going to
silver, any citizen could go to the Govt and demand gold coin for the
gold certs.  Once the silver standard was established then the bills
could only be exchanged for silver.  Now they can be exchanged for 
paper.  The correct term is Fiat Currency.  Money by declaration.
During the late 1800's, the price of gold was set by the US Government
at $17/oz troy and silver was set at $15/oz troy.  Silver was devalued
and gold set at $32/oz troy.  That's why the Comstock and Calico mines
closed.  Silver mining was no longer profitable.  In fact at the Calico
mines there is a pile of tailings that assays out at about 2 million
in silver at todays prices, it just costs more than that to extract---

Gold ownership was prohibited by the Federal Government when we went
off of the gold standard and in the mid to late '40s all gold mining
operations were closed down in the United States.  An amature prospector
was required to sell all gold found over some small amount -- I think
5 oz troy -- to the Government at the set rate.  Gold was revalued to
$35/oz troy under the Johnson Administration due to international
pressures and then the ban on ownership was lifted under the Nixon
Admin.  At this time, the price of gold was allowed to float and it
jumped to a high of $457/oz troy and finally stabilized around $350.

Small quantites of alloyed gold -- 12, 14, 18, and 22K -- were always
available to amature jewelrs in 1.5 oz t. but the sales were recorded
and reported.  The price of 14K for the amature jeweler was about $42
oz t. as I recall at the time I was making $2100/year.

At the turn of the century you could buy a brand new Colt revolver
for a twenty dollar gold piece.  You still can.
-- 
    - Barry Workman

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From: [email-masked] (Pete Bellas)
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 16:45:09 GMT

-Pete-

* Pete Bellas                   "Cogito ergo spud"                         *
* Citicorp/TTI                       I think therefore I yam.              *
* Santa Monica, CA                                                         *
* [email-masked]                                                     *

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From: [email-masked] (Ken Finney)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 94 09:11:14 PST

> Someone just told me that they heard that it was illegal in the US

It was illegal from about 1932 until Nixon repealed the law.
The only exceptions were jewelry and collector coins.  If you
were a jeweler, you had to have a special federal license to
buy gold to make/repair jewelry.

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