Gold reserve

Official U.S. gold reserve since 1900
Changes in Central Bank Gold Reserves by Country 1993-2014
Central Bank Gold Reserves by Country between 2005 and 2014

Gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders , or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of value, or to support the value of the national currency.

- Gold reserve
Official U.S. gold reserve since 1900

5 related topics

Alpha
Gold can be drawn into a monatomic wire, and then stretched more before it breaks.

Gold

Chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79, making it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally.

Chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79, making it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally.

Gold can be drawn into a monatomic wire, and then stretched more before it breaks.
A gold nugget of 5 mm in size can be hammered into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 in area.
Different colors of Ag–Au–Cu alloys
Gold(III) chloride solution in water
Schematic of a NE (left) to SW (right) cross-section through the 2.020-billion-year-old Vredefort impact crater in South Africa and how it distorted the contemporary geological structures. The present erosion level is shown. Johannesburg is located where the Witwatersrand Basin (the yellow layer) is exposed at the "present surface" line, just inside the crater rim, on the left. Not to scale.
Oldest golden artifacts in the world (4600 BC - 4200 BC) from Varna necropolis, Bulgaria - grave offerings on exposition in Varna Museum.
An Indian tribute-bearer at Apadana, from the Achaemenid satrapy of Hindush, carrying gold on a yoke, circa 500 BC.
The Muisca raft, between circa 600-1600 AD. The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of El Dorado. The zipa used to cover his body in gold dust, and from his raft, he offered treasures to the Guatavita goddess in the middle of the sacred lake. This old Muisca tradition became the origin of the legend of El Dorado. This Muisca raft figure is on display in the Gold Museum, Bogotá, Colombia.
Ancient golden Kritonios Crown, funerary or marriage material, 370–360 BC. From a grave in Armento, Basilicata
Gold coin of Eucratides I (171–145 BC), one of the Hellenistic rulers of ancient Ai-Khanoum. This is the largest known gold coin minted in antiquity (169.2 g; 58 mm).
An early mention of gold in the Beowulf
Gold crafts from the Philippines prior to Western contact.
The Agusan image, depicting a deity from northeast Mindanao.
Time trend of gold production
A miner underground at Pumsaint gold mine, Wales; c. 1938.
Grasberg mine, Indonesia is the world's largest gold mine.
Relative sizes of an 860 kg block of gold ore and the 30 g of gold that can be extracted from it, Toi gold mine, Japan.
Gold prospecting at the Ivalo River in the Finnish Lapland in 1898
Gold Nuggets found in Arizona.
Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was based on a gold standard. The coin to the left is Swedish and the right one is Danish.
Gold price history in 1960–2020.
Moche gold necklace depicting feline heads. Larco Museum Collection, Lima, Peru.
A 21.5k yellow gold pendant watch so-called "Boule de Genève" (Geneva ball), ca. 1890.
Cake with gold decoration served at the Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam
Mirror for the James Webb Space Telescope coated in gold to reflect infrared light
Kamakshi Amman Temple with golden roof, Kanchipuram.
Iron pyrite or "fool's gold"
Minoan jewellery; 2300–2100 BC; various sizes; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Pair of Sumerian earrings with cuneiform inscriptions; 2093–2046 BC; Sulaymaniyah Museum (Sulaymaniyah, Iraq)
Ancient Egyptian statuette of Amun; 945–715 BC; gold; {{cvt|175x47|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ancient Egyptian signet ring; 664–525 BC; gold; diameter: {{cvt|30|x|34|mm}}; British Museum (London)
Ancient Greek stater; 323–315 BC; {{cvt|18|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Etruscan funerary wreath; 4th–3rd century BC; length: {{cvt|333|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Roman aureus of Hadrian; 134–138 AD; 7.4 g; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Quimbaya lime container; 5th–9th century; gold; height: {{cvt|230|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Byzantine scyphate; 1059–1067; diameter: {{cvt|25|mm}}; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
Pre-Columbian pendant with two bat-head warriors who carry spears; 11th–16th century; gold; overall: {{cvt|76.2|mm}}; from the Chiriqui Province (Panama); Metropolitan Museum of Art
English Neoclassical box; 1741; overall: {{cvt|44|x|116|x|92|mm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
French Rococo glass bottle mounted in gold; circa 1775; overall: {{cvt|70|x|29|mm}}; Cleveland Museum of Art

With the sharp growth of economies in the 20th century, and increasing foreign exchange, the world's gold reserves and their trading market have become a small fraction of all markets and fixed exchange rates of currencies to gold have been replaced by floating prices for gold and gold future contract.

The Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C. houses the main offices of the Board of Governors of the United States' Federal Reserve System

Central bank

Institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a state or formal monetary union,

Institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a state or formal monetary union,

The Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C. houses the main offices of the Board of Governors of the United States' Federal Reserve System
The European Central Bank building in Frankfurt
Central bank independence versus inflation. This often cited research published by Alesina and Summers (1993) is used to show why it is important for a nation's central bank (i.e.-monetary authority) to have a high level of independence. This chart shows a clear trend towards a lower inflation rate as the independence of the central bank increases. The generally agreed upon reason independence leads to lower inflation is that politicians have a tendency to create too much money if given the opportunity to do it. The Federal Reserve System in the United States is generally regarded as one of the more independent central banks
Sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694), by Lady Jane Lindsay, 1905.
The Bank of England, established in 1694.
Walter Bagehot, an influential theorist on the economic role of the central bank.
The Bank of Finland in Helsinki
The headquarters of the People's Bank of China (established in 1948) in Beijing.

Reserve management: managing a country's foreign-exchange and gold reserves and government bonds;

Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was based on a gold standard. The coin to the left is Swedish and the one on the right is Danish.

Gold standard

Monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold.

Monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold.

Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was based on a gold standard. The coin to the left is Swedish and the one on the right is Danish.
Gold certificates were used as paper currency in the United States from 1882 to 1933. These certificates were freely convertible into gold coins.
The British gold sovereign or £1 coin was the preeminent circulating gold coin during the classical gold standard period.
Huge quantities of $20 double eagles were minted as a result of the California gold rush.
The US dollar was said to be on a limping standard due to huge quantities of Morgan silver dollars continuing to circulate at par with gold dollars despite their silver value being less.
William McKinley ran for president on the basis of the gold standard.
Ending the gold standard and economic recovery during the Great Depression.
Gold prices (US dollars per troy ounce) from 1914, in nominal US dollars and inflation adjusted US dollars.

Many states still hold substantial gold reserves.

Reserves of SDR, forex and gold in 2006

Gold as an investment

Most popular as an investment.

Most popular as an investment.

Reserves of SDR, forex and gold in 2006
A Good Delivery bar, the standard for trade in the major international gold markets.
Size of a 100 gram gold bar - packaged inside an assay for proof of authenticity - compared to a playing card.
Gold prices (US$ per troy ounce), in nominal US$ and inflation adjusted US$ from 1914 onward.
Gold price history in 1960–2014
Gold price per gram between Jan 1971 and Jan 2012. The graph shows nominal price in US dollars, the price in 1971 and 2011 US dollars. The notable peak in 1980 followed the Soviet military involvement in Afghanistan, after a decade of inflation, oil shocks, and American military failures.
1 ozt gold bar with certificate
Dow/Gold Ratio 1968–2008

At the end of 2004, central banks and official organizations held 19% of all above-ground gold as official gold reserves.

Reichsbank at Jägerstraße

Reichsbank

The central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945.

The central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945.

Reichsbank at Jägerstraße
Reichsbank at Jägerstraße
A 100-Goldmark banknote issued by the German Reichsbank in 1908
A 10000 Mark banknote issued by the German Reichsbank in 1922. A watermark is present, but not visible in scanned image.
As Minister of Economics, Walther Funk accelerated the pace of rearmament and as Reichsbank president banked for the SS the confiscated gold rings of Buchenwald prisoners
Nazi gold in Merkers Salt Mine
Organization of the Reichsbank during the Nazi period.

The bank benefited by the theft of the property of numerous governments invaded by the Germans, especially their gold reserves and much personal property of the Third Reich's many victims, especially the Jews.