The price of gold surged to $3,800 per ounce on Monday, sending the market value of U.S. gold reserves past the $1 trillion mark—but on the government’s books, it’s still worth pennies in comparison.
The U.S. holds 261.5 million troy ounces of gold, or 8,133 metric tons. That’s the largest stockpile in the world. At current market prices, this hoard is worth roughly $994 billion, just shy of $1 trillion.
Yet officially, Washington continues to value its gold at $42.22 per ounce, a price set by Congress in 1973—which puts the total at only $11.04 billion on paper.
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Is A Revaluation Coming?
In early August, a paper published by Federal Reserve economist Colin Weiss fueled speculation about reevaluating the U.S. valuation of its gold.
Weiss described a possible scenario in which the government uses the “valuation gains” to reduce public debt without issuing new bonds or raising taxes.
If the U.S. were to revalue its 261.5 million troy ounces from $42.22 to $3,800, …