Money
Gold
Gold has maintained a fascination for people over the centuries and the gold market remains an important market in the financial centers of the world. Gold used to play a far more important function in the economy and in the past the Gold Standard was the basis of the currency and indeed of the value of exchange rates. This is no longer the case, but gold can be a useful part of an investment portfolio. Economic uncertainty can often lead to people investing in gold rather than other more modern investments.
The US Mint, part of the US Treasury Department is responsible for storing about 4,500 tons of gold at Fort Knox. Gold is also stored at other US Mint sites, especially at Denver and West Point. The New York Federal Reserve District maintains a vault in Manhattan that stores about 5,000 tons of gold. Most of that gold is held on behalf of foreign central banks.
In this section we look at four main areas relating to gold:
