If 1933 was the confiscation, 1934 was the revaluation. The Gold Reserve Act of 30 January 1934 raised the official price of gold from $20.67 to $35 an ounce — and with it devalued the dollar by 41%. The act also transferred ownership of the Federal Reserve's gold to the US Treasury and authorized the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
For the next 37 years, $35 was simply what gold "cost." It became the anchor of the post-war Bretton Woods system a decade later, and the number every investor of the era knew by heart. In real terms, though, inflation steadily eroded that fixed price — a slow squeeze you can watch on the ribbon as the gold ribbon thins through the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
Key events of 1934
- 1934-01-30
Gold Reserve Act
Gold revalued to $35/oz; the dollar devalued 41%; Treasury takes title to the Fed’s gold.