1970 was the last full year of the $35 gold price. After the London Gold Pool collapsed in 1968, a two-tier market had opened, and the free price was straining upward against the official ceiling. American gold reserves were dwindling as foreign governments, doubting the peg, redeemed dollars for metal. The system was visibly living on borrowed time. Within a year, Nixon would close the gold window and end the $35 era forever.
Gold Price History · Bretton Woods
1970
The Last Year of $35
Cracks in the gold peg widened as the free-market price strained against the official $35 ceiling.
- Average price
- $36/oz
- In 2025 dollars
- $298/oz
- Change on the year
- −12.5%
- After inflation
- −17.4%
1970 in context · real value, 1950–1990
What would $10,000 of gold in 1970 be worth today?
Run the numbers across gold, stocks, housing, and bonds — adjusted for inflation.
Calculate 1970 →How gold did in 1970
Value at year-end of $10,000 invested on 1 January 1970.
Gold $8,747 −12.5%
S&P 500 (total return) $10,356 +3.6%
US housing $10,819 +8.2%
Inflation (CPI) $10,572 +5.7%
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 →