The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 again drove the world's gold toward the United States, now the dominant holder under the $35 price set in 1934. As in the previous war, belligerent nations liquidated gold to buy American supplies. By the war's end, the US would hold the majority of the world's monetary gold — the foundation on which the Bretton Woods system would be built in 1944.
Gold Price History · Interwar Chaos
1939
The World at War Again
As the Second World War began, gold sat fixed at $35 — and flowed once more into American vaults.
- Average price
- $35/oz
- In 2025 dollars
- $811/oz
- Change on the year
- +0.0%
- After inflation
- +1.4%
1939 in context · real value, 1919–1959
What would $10,000 of gold in 1939 be worth today?
Run the numbers across gold, stocks, housing, and bonds — adjusted for inflation.
Calculate 1939 →How gold did in 1939
Value at year-end of $10,000 invested on 1 January 1939.
Gold $10,000 +0.0%
S&P 500 (total return) $9,890 −1.1%
US housing $9,869 −1.3%
Inflation (CPI) $9,858 −1.4%
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 →