Pre-1933 Gold

Coins minted before 1933 are sometimes referred to as “investment grade gold” or “private gold”. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt confiscated gold by executive order. Overnight, it became illegal for Americans to own gold and all privately held gold had to be surrendered to the government. Failure to comply would result in a fine and/or imprisonment.

From 1933 until 1974, the United States enjoyed a gold standard establishing and backing every U.S. dollar with physical gold.

In 1974 President Gerald Ford finished what Richard Nixon started and took the country off of the gold standard allowing the government to back the dollar with a simple “promise to pay”. We could now crank up the printing press and print ourselves into debt as we have managed to do. It also allowed Americans to once again own gold.

Coins minted before this executive order was issued in 1933, fall into a special category and can provide additional privacy and tax benefits many investors appreciate.