1932 marked the bottom of the Great Depression: industrial output had halved, a quarter of the workforce was idle, and banks were failing in waves. Fearful citizens increasingly hoarded gold coin rather than trust the banks — a drain on the system that alarmed the incoming Roosevelt administration. That hoarding is precisely what the 1933 Executive Order would target. The fixed $20.67 price tells you nothing of the desperation; the policies it provoked tell you everything.
Gold Price History · Interwar Chaos
1932
The Depression’s Depths
At the trough of the Great Depression, Americans hoarded gold against a collapsing banking system.
- Average price
- $21/oz
- In 2025 dollars
- $487/oz
- Change on the year
- +0.0%
- After inflation
- +11.5%
1932 in context · real value, 1912–1952
What would $10,000 of gold in 1932 be worth today?
Run the numbers across gold, stocks, housing, and bonds — adjusted for inflation.
Calculate 1932 →How gold did in 1932
Value at year-end of $10,000 invested on 1 January 1932.
Gold $10,000 +0.0%
S&P 500 (total return) $9,136 −8.6%
US housing $8,969 −10.3%
Inflation (CPI) $9,013 −9.9%
Annual-average basis. Gold: Officer & Williamson; S&P 500 & Treasuries: Damodaran (NYU); housing: Shiller; CPI: BLS. Methodology →
Related years
Sources. Gold price: Officer & Williamson, The Price of Gold, 1257–Present (annual average); inflation adjustment by US CPI (BLS / Officer & Williamson). Asset comparison from the calculator dataset. Figures are annual averages. Full methodology →