Money and emergency powers

1. 1913December 23, 1913Wall Street & Banking

   The Federal Reserve Act is signed

   A central bank with the power to issue the currency. The consumer price index that year averaged 9.9; in July 2026 it was 333.918.

   Source: Federal Reserve Act Signed into LawRead the full story →
2. 1933April 5, 1933Wall Street & Banking

   Every American ordered to surrender gold by May 1

   Executive Order 6102: delivery at $20.67 an ounce, $100 exception, ten years in prison for keeping it.

   Source: Executive Order 6102, Forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion and Gold CertificatesRead the full story →
3. 1934January 31, 1934Wall Street & Banking

   Gold repriced at $35 after the public sold at $20.67

   The dollar cut to 59 percent of its gold value; $2 billion of the gain funds the Exchange Stabilization Fund.

   Source: Gold Reserve Act of 1934Read the full story →

Stories (1)

• 1933 to 1974Executive Order 6102: When FDR Made Owning Gold a Federal Crime in 1933On April 5, 1933 the president ordered every American to hand their gold to a Federal Reserve bank by May 1 at $20.67 an ounce, with up to ten years in prison for keeping it. Nine months later the government set the price at $35, kept the difference, and used $2 billion of it to fund a Treasury account outside the budget. The Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of gold clauses in private contracts 5 to 4. It was a crime to own gold coins until December 31, 1974.Wall Street & Banking