User:Work permit/sandbox/United States Bullion Depository

Lede

The facility has a reputation of being very secure. Between it's fenced perimeter and granite lined concrete structure lie rings of razor wire and mine fields. The grounds are monitored by high-resolution, night vision video cameras and microphones. The subterranean vault is made of steel plates, i-beams and cylinders encased in concrete. It's torch- and drill-resistant door is 21 inches (53 cm) thick and weighs 20 short tons (18 metric tons). For security reasons, visitors are not allowed inside. It is so secure, the term "safe as Fort Knox" has become a metaphor for safety and security.

pop culture

The term "safe as Fort Knox" has become a metaphor for safety and security in popular vernacular. As an example, 2020 Democratic Party presidential party candidate Elizabeth Warren, when outlining in a Medium post a plan to make voting machines secure, stated “Our elections should be as secure as Fort Knox. But instead, they’re less secure than your Amazon account.” Samsung Knox, part of Samsung's SAFE (SAmsung For Enterprise) initiative, is named after Fort Knox, connoting a sense of security.

Because of the gold stored at Fort Knox, the depository has been featured in many popular books, movies, and televion shows. A well known example is the movie Goldfinger, in which the protagonist executes a labyrinthine scheme to irradiate Fort Knox in order to corner the gold market. The movie Behind the Headlines, released the same year as the the first wave of gold shipments to Fort Knox, was about gangsters stealing gold from an armored gold on route to the Fort.. In the 1951 comedy "Comin' Round the Mountain," Abbott and Costello follow a treasure map and unwittingly dig into the vault at Fort Knox, where they are immediately arrested. In the 1952 animated cartoon 14 Carrot Rabbit, Bugs Bunny tricks Yosemite Sam into digging into the vault where he too is immediately arrested.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-goldfinger-sean-connery/3623929 Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) and his convoluted scheme to irradiate Fort Knox in order to corner the gold market

https://moneywise.com/a/fort-knox-secrets You may be aware of Fort Knox from the James Bond movie Goldfinger, or from the old cartoon where Bugs Bunny tricks Yosemite Sam into digging up some of the gold bars and getting arrested.

safe as fort knox https://books.google.com/books?id=nW_YDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA196&dq=safe+as+fort+knox&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiiqsPxyarjAhUH11kKHSpVBJsQ6AEIQTAF#v=onepage&q=safe%20as%20fort%20knox&f=false https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/fort-knox

https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/fort-knox-fun-facts Have you ever heard the expression “as secure as Fort Knox?” It means something has the highest level of protection

Elizabeth Warren Wants to Replace Every Single Voting Machine to Make Elections 'As Secure As Fort Knox' https://time.com/5613673/warren-election-security/

https://www.rd.com/culture/fort-knox-security/ Saying something is “as secure as Fort Knox” implies way stronger protection than you might have realized. As home to about half of the U.S. gold reserves, Fort Knox has been called the most secure vault on the planet.

https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/signal/coins/soltaylor041908.html In a 1937 film, "Behind the Headlines," the plot was to steal the gold en route from Washington to Fort Knox. In the 1951 comedy with Abbott and Costello, "Comin' Round the Mountain," the duo follow a treasure map to find themselves at Fort Knox and are immediately taken into custody.

https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/88000056_text "Fort Knox" is a well-known landmark that is referred to frequently in factual and fictitious contexts.

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/fort-knox

https://www.usmint.gov/about/mint-tours-facilities/fort-knox-fun-facts Have you ever heard the expression “as secure as Fort Knox?” It means something has the highest level of protection

Elizabeth Warren Wants to Replace Every Single Voting Machine to Make Elections 'As Secure As Fort Knox' https://time.com/5613673/warren-election-security/

https://www.rd.com/culture/fort-knox-security/ Saying something is “as secure as Fort Knox” implies way stronger protection than you might have realized. As home to about half of the U.S. gold reserves, Fort Knox has been called the most secure vault on the planet.

https://www.kiro7.com/living/shopping/could-goldfinger-really-break-fort-knox/81704578 chemical gas, a time bomb, a helicopter, and a disguise

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Operation_Fort_Knox Operation Fort Knox", after the impenetrable 20th century Earth facility

reserves

https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/roosevelts_gold_program#footnote1 https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/emergency_banking_act_of_1933 https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/banking_acts_of_1932

Contemporaneous with the building and early operation of the depository was the substantial growth of U.S. gold reserves. These reserves, which were 194 million troy ounces (6,019 metric tons) in the beginning of 1934, increased by 309 million troy ounces (9,598 metric tons) by the end of 1939. Of this increase, only 6 million troy ounces (178 metric tons) was gold acquired under the gold buying program of Executive Order 6102 , which required required individuals and institutions deliver to the government all but a small amount of their gold coin and bullion. The remaining 303 million troy ounces (9,420 metric tons) were added to the gold stock since January 1934. A little less than 26 million troy ounces (800 metric tons) of the increase represented domestic production and return of coin and scrap gold and 277 million troy ounces (8,620 metric tons) were the result of imports from abroad. Of the 277 million troy ounces (8,620 metric tons) of gold from abroad,it is estimated that 89 million troy ounces (2,755 metric tons) came out of central bank reserves of other countries, mostly France and England, and 174 million troy ounces (5,421 metric tons) out of foreign mines, largely from South Africa. The balance came from other sources, principally private holdings in India.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21021/toc/140008

By 1941,

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21034/toc/133053

628.4 million troy ounces (19,546 metric tons)

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21033/toc/167359

char-acter of both of the principal factors behindthe gold flow to this country—namely, thecapital movement and the trade balance. Thecountries in which the pre-war movement ofcapital to the United States largely originatedhave increasingly limited or prohibited thetransfer of capital abroad; and, as regardstrade, the belligerent countries which canstill transport goods from the United Stateshave taken foreign trade initiatives more orless completely out of private hands andvested them in the government. As the warhas progressed, the inward movement ofcapital on private account, which had pre-viously constituted by far the major partof the total, has given way to the accumula-tion of official funds and other official assetsin this country; and American exports havecome increasingly to consist of goods pur-chased by governments for the prosecutionof the wa

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21042/toc/50907

649.6 million troy ounces (20,206 metric tons)

On March 5th, 1941 Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau announced the completion of the shipment of 258,739,561.484 ounces of gold to the Fort. The total value at the depository after completion of the shipment was $14,579,591,387.22. This would equate to a total holding of 416,559,753.92 ounces. This shipment began in July of the previous year. It took seven months and required 45 trains consisting of 337 cars.

On March 5th, 1941 Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau announced the completion of another shipment totaling 258.74 million troy ounces (8,048 metric tons) of gold to the Fort from the New York Assay Office. The total amount at the depository after completion of the shipment was 416.6 million troy ounces (12,956 metric tons). This shipment began in July of the previous year. It took seven months and required 45 trains consisting of 337 cars.

416.6 million troy ounces (12,956 metric tons)

157.82 million troy ounces (4,909 metric tons)

https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/koos-jansen/gold-fort-knox-come-part-one/

https://www.bullionstar.com/gold-university/central-bank-gold-policies-us-treasury#heading-4

https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/keys-gold-vaults-new-york-fed-part-3-coin-bars/

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21033/toc/167382

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21034/toc/133053

628.4 million troy ounces (19,546 metric tons)

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/62/item/21042/toc/50907

649.6 million troy ounces (20,206 metric tons)

157.82 million troy ounces (4,909 metric tons)

389 million troy ounces (12,086 metric tons)

194 million troy ounces (6,019 metric tons)

286 million troy ounces (8,887 metric tons)

9000000000 257 million troy ounces (7,998 metric tons)

14579591387 417 million troy ounces (12,956 metric tons)

5523706546.45

Monetary gold in this country today hasmounted to the unprecedented total of $17.6billions. It has increased by about $13.6 bil-lions since the beginning of 1934. Of theincrease $2.8 billions represent the result ofthe revaluation from $20.67 to $35 an ounceof the $4 billions in gold which we had atthat time, and $.2 billion was gold acquiredunder the gold buying program before re-valuation. The remaining $10.6 billions havebeen added to the gold stock since January1934. A little less than $.9 billion of theincrease represents production and returnof coin and scrap gold in this country and$9.7 billions are the result of imports fromabroad. In January 1934 our stock of goldwas about 30 per cent of the world stock,counting central reserve holdings only, whiletoday it is in the neighborhood of 60 per cent,so that our proportion of the holdings of theeffective monetary gold of the world hasdoubled in the period of approximately sixyear

Why has so much gold come to this coun-try? It is not, as it is sometimes stated,because we pay more for it than do othercountries. As a matter of fact, when thereare no artificial restrictions on the free move-ment of gold, as there have been in the bel-ligerent countries since last September, theprice of gold expressed in dollars or any othercurrency is the same the world over. Thismeans that an ounce of gold can be bought(and sold) in England or France for as manypounds or francs as will exchange for $35—the price of an ounce of gold in the UnitedStates. If this were not so, arbitrageursthroughout the world would buy gold in thecheaper market and sell it in the dearer mar-ket until the spread was eliminated.The gold has come to this country as theresult of complex economic influences whichhave been constantly shifting during the pasthalf dozen years. Some of these factors werebusiness developments in the United Statesand abroad, political uncertainties in Europe,rearmament programs, and the general risein the currency prices of gold throughout theworld. These higher prices for gold are im-portant because they have resulted in in-creased production of gold, and have made itpossible for foreign countries to send greatquantities of gold to the United States with-out suffering reductions in their gold reservesto a point where they had to impose exchangerestrictions.Of the $9.7 billions of gold from abroad,it is estimated that $3.1 billions came out ofcentral bank reserves of other countries,mostly France and England, and $6.1 billionsout of foreign mines, largely from SouthAfrica. A half billion dollars more on bal-ance has come from other sources, principallyprivate holdings in India

Coincident with the building of fort knox, the us saw an unprecedent increase in gold reserves.

U.S. Says Gold Is 'For Sale,' $35 an Ounce: Consensus of Replies To Bevin's Division Plan: 'Nothing Doing' U.S. Willing to Sell Gold By the United Press. The Washington Post (1923-1954); Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C]04 Sep 1947: 1. Treasury says gold reserves 21.7 bn. 12.5bn at fort knox

movement 1937

https://postalmuseum.si.edu/behindthebadge/protected-shipments.html

The Postal Inspection Service, Railway Mail Service, U.S. Treasury and U.S. Army worked together to secure the gold en route with an elaborate system of decoy trains, armed inspectors, steel doors, and machine guns.

When the Second World War broke out in the Pacific and Europe, nations tried to secure their assets. Gold bullion began to accumulate in the New York depository. In January 1941 the Postal Inspection Service was enlisted again to assist with moving this new shipment to Fort Knox. The cooperative effort this time engaged 37,404 registered mail crates of gold that were loaded on 337 train cars on 45 trains. This gold shipment

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/fort-knox-depository.htm Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the Depository for many years. The highest gold holdings was 649.6 million ounces, on December 31, 1941.

On April 30, 1941, worried that the war raging in Europe might engulf the United States, the newly appointed Librarian of Congress, Archibald MacLeish, wrote to the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr. "to enquire whether space might perhaps be found" at the Bullion Depository in Fort Knox for his most valuable materials, including the Declaration, "in the unlikely event that it becomes necessary to remove them from Washington."

On December 23, the Declaration and the Constitution were removed from the shrine and placed between two sheets of acid-free manila paper. The documents were then carefully wrapped in a container of all-rag neutral millboard and placed in a specially designed bronze container, secured with padlocks on each side. The container was finally sealed with lead and packed in a heavy box; the whole weighed some 150 pounds. At about 5 p.m. the box, along with other vital records, was loaded into an armed and escorted truck, taken to Union Station, and placed in a compartment of the Pullman sleeper Eastlake. More Secret Service agents and a cavalry troop of the 13th Armored Division met the train in Louisville, KY, and convoyed its precious contents to the Bullion Depository at Fort Knox.

In 1944, when the military authorities assured the Library of Congress that all danger of enemy attack had passed, the documents were removed from Fort Knox. On Sunday, October 1, at 11:30 a.m., the doors of the Library were opened and once again the Declaration was back in its shrine.

The two-story basement and attic building is constructed of granite, steel and concrete. Its exterior dimensions measure 105 feet by 121 feet. Its height is 42 feet above ground level. The building's construction was supervised by the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department, now the Public Buildings Administration of the General Services Administration. Upon its completion, the Depository was placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of the United States Mint.

Within the building is a two level steel and concrete vault that is divided into compartments. The vault door weighs more than 20 tons. No one person is entrusted with the combination. Various members of the Depository staff must dial separate combinations known only to them. The vault casing is constructed of steel plates, steel I-beams and steel cylinders laced with hoop bands and encased in concrete. The vault roof is of similar construction and is independent of the Depository roof. Between the corridor encircling the vault and the outer wall of the building is space used for offices and storerooms.

Over the marble entrance at the front of the building is the inscription "United States Depository" with the seal of the Department of the Treasury in gold. Offices of the Officer in Charge and the Captain of the Guard open upon the entrance lobby. At the rear of the building is another entrance used for receiving bullion and supplies.

At each corner of the structure on the outside, but connected with it, are four guard boxes. Sentry The Depository is equipped with its own emergency power plant, water system and other facilities. In the basement is a pistol range for use by the guards.

The gold stored in the Depository is in the form of standard mint bars of almost pure gold or coin gold bars resulting from the melting of gold coins. These bars are about the size of an ordinary building brick, but are somewhat smaller. The approximate dimensions are 7 x 3-5/8 x 1-3/4 inches. The fine gold bars contain approximately 400 troy ounces of gold, worth $16,888.00 (based on the statutory price of $42.22 per ounce). The avoirdupois weight of the bars is about 27-1/2 pounds. They are stored in the vault compartments without wrappings. When the bars are handled, great care is exercised to avoid abrasion of the soft metal.

The Depository is headed by an Officer in Charge, who is responsible for ensuring the security of the gold. The guard force is composed of men selected from various Government agencies, or recruited from Civil Service registers. No visitors are permitted at the Depository. This policy was adopted when the Depository was established, and is strictly enforced

Movement

The first wave of gold shipments from New York and Philadelphia to the depository were made twice a week between January 11th and June 17th, 1937, and overseen by the US Post Office. Postal workers were accompanied by soldiers, secret service agents, and mint guards on the armored trains. Decoy trains were employed. The shipment was protected by soldiers with armor piercing bullets and machine guns as the train was unloaded from the train onto Army trucks. The trucks were escorted by combat cars of the First U. S. Cavalry to the fort. The Post Office Department billed the Treasury Department for transporting the weight of the crates and gold using the fourth class postage rate with added insurance fees. A total of 157.820187 million troy ounces (4,909 metric tons) were moved to Fort Knox in this wave.