Gold Facts
This presidential order in 1933 forced Americans to turn in their gold holdings.
What is Executive Order 6102?
This category of U.S. coins—minted before 1965—contains 90% silver by weight.
What is Constitutional or Junk silver?
Money backed by a physical commodity like gold or silver is commonly called this.
What is sound money?
Precious metals are commonly weighed using this unit—slightly heavier than the ounce used in your kitchen.
What is a troy ounce?
Many people still believe U.S. paper dollars are backed by this physical asset.
What is gold?
This year ended a 41-year federal restriction on private U.S. citizens owning gold.
What is 1975?
This classic U.S. silver dollar was minted from 1878 to 1904, then once again in 1921.
What is the Morgan Dollar?
This historic process involved reducing the metal content in coins, weakening their purchasing power.
What is debasement?
Bullion coins like the American Silver Eagle have this kind of official dollar amount printed on them—even though their metal is worth much more.
What is a face value?
Some claim governments can print unlimited money without consequences—this is the most likely outcome.
What is inflation (or currency devaluation)?
This act officially centralized U.S. gold reserves into the hands of the Treasury in 1934.
What is the Gold Reserve Act?
Each $1 face value of pre-1965 90% silver coins contains approximately this many troy ounces of pure silver.
What is 0.715 oz?
This term refers to how many ounces of silver are required to purchase one ounce of gold.
What is the gold-to-silver ratio?
This stamp identifies the origin of a bullion bar or coin.
What is a mint mark or refiner’s mark?
Some dismiss this metal as “just jewelry,” ignoring its critical roles in electronics, solar panels, and medical tech.
What is silver?
This $20 gold coin, last minted for circulation in 1933, contains just under one full troy ounce of gold and features Lady Liberty on the obverse.
What is the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle?
The American Silver Eagle debuted in this year and remains the best-selling silver bullion coin globally.
What is 1986?
Before 1971, U.S. dollars could be redeemed for gold by foreign governments under this monetary system.
What is the Bretton Woods system?
Compared to cast bars, these bars are machine-pressed and have sharper edges and cleaner surfaces.
What are minted bars?
Though commonly used to describe paper currency, this term actually refers to any government-issued money not backed by a commodity.
What is fiat currency?
This $10 U.S. gold coin features a Native American headdress and was designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ protégé, Bela Lyon Pratt.
What is the Indian Head Eagle?
This Perth Mint silver coin series features annual animal designs based on a 12 year Chinese cycle.
What is the Lunar Series?
Unlike sound money, this type of currency has no intrinsic value and is not backed by a physical commodity—but is used because governments declare it legal.
What is fiat currency?
This document or engraving confirms the weight and purity of a bullion product, often included with gold bars.
What is an assay certificate (or assay card)?
It’s a myth that carrying this form of government-issued paper makes you wealthy—when in reality, it loses value over time.
What is cash (or paper fiat)?