The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 ended the Roaring Twenties and began the Great Depression. Gold remained pinned at $20.67, but the deflation and banking collapse that followed would prove catastrophic for the existing monetary order.
As the Depression deepened and citizens hoarded gold against failing banks, pressure built that would culminate in Roosevelt's 1933 confiscation and the 1934 revaluation to $35. In a fixed-price world, 1929 is a reminder that gold's importance is not always in its price — sometimes it is in what governments do *to* it when the system breaks.
Key events of 1929
- 1929-10-29
Black Tuesday
The stock market crashes; the Great Depression begins, setting the stage for the 1933 gold confiscation.