1972 was gold's first full year of freedom. With the Nixon Shock of the previous August having severed the dollar from gold, and the stop-gap Smithsonian peg already failing, the price began to rise in earnest — roughly doubling from its old $35 anchor. Investors were discovering what a market-set gold price looked like for the first time in modern history. The great 1970s bull market was underway, with the oil shock of 1973 about to pour fuel on the fire.
Gold Price History · The Free-Float Era
1972
The Float Takes Hold
In the first full year off the gold standard, the newly free price began its historic climb.
- Average price
- $58/oz
- In 2025 dollars
- $447/oz
- Change on the year
- +42.5%
- After inflation
- +38.0%
1972 in context · real value, 1952–1992
What would $10,000 of gold in 1972 be worth today?
Run the numbers across gold, stocks, housing, and bonds — adjusted for inflation.
Calculate 1972 →How gold did in 1972
Value at year-end of $10,000 invested on 1 January 1972.
Gold $14,255 +42.5%
S&P 500 (total return) $11,876 +18.8%
US housing $10,333 +3.3%
Inflation (CPI) $10,321 +3.2%
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 →