In an extensive report from CoinNews.net, we are given a rare behind the scenes accounting of total ounces of gold held by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve. In the following table, note that the book value is not calculated by current market prices but rather the 1973 Book price of $42.22, the statutory price of gold for accounting purposes. While overall market value has fallen in the past 4 years, precious metals hedgers have made a handsome profit and experienced very little risk
This table breaks down the status of U.S. Treasury-owned gold:
| Fine Troy Ounces | Book Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | ||
| Gold Bullion | 258,641,878.074 | $10,920,429,098.79 |
| Gold Coins, Blanks, Miscellaneous | 2,857,048.156 | 120,630,858.67 |
| Total | 261,498,926.230 | 11,041,059,957.46 |
| US Mint Held Gold – Deep Storage | ||
| Denver, CO | 43,853,707.279 | 1,851,599,995.81 |
| Fort Knox, KY | 147,341,858.382 | 6,221,097,412.78 |
| West Point, NY | 54,067,331.379 | 2,282,841,677.17 |
| Subtotal – Deep Storage Gold | 245,262,897.040 | 10,355,539,085.76 |
| US Mint Held Treasury Gold – Working Stock | ||
| All Locations- Coins, blanks, miscellaneous | 2,783,218.656 | 117,513,614.74 |
| Subtotal – Working Stock Gold | 2,783,218.656 | 117,513,614.74 |
| Grand Total – Mint Held Gold | 248,046,115.696 | 10,473,052,700.50 |
| Federal Reserve Bank Held Gold | ||
| Gold Bullion: | ||
| Federal Reserve Banks – NY Vault | 13,376,987.715 | 564,805,850.63 |
| Federal Reserve Banks – Display | 1,993.319 | 84,162.40 |
| Subtotal – Gold Bullion | 13,378,981.034 | 564,890,013.03 |
| Gold Coins: | ||
| Federal Reserve Banks – NY Vault | 73,452.066 | 3,101,307.82 |
| Federal Reserve Banks – Display | 377.434 | 15,936.11 |
| Subtotal – Gold Coins | 73,829.500 | 3,117,243.93 |
| Total – Federal Reserve Bank Held Gold | 13,452,810.534 | 568,007,256.96 |
| Total – Treasury Owned Gold | 261,498,926.230 | $11,041,059,957.46 |
Market Value
Of course, market conditions have changed significantly over the last 40 years with gold’s value at about 28 times higher than the 1973 set $42.2222 per ounce statutory price.
To highlight some of those changes, the chart below shows total ounces of U.S. Treasury owned gold over the last few years, the recorded book value and the approximate market value of the precious metal based on the London price of gold at the time of the report.
Treasury Owned Gold Book and Market Values
| Report Date | Ounces of U.S. Treasury Owned Gold | Book Value (based on $42.222 an ounce) | Approximate Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 31, 2012 | 261,498,899.316 | $11,041,059,487 | $456,054,080,407 |
| January 31, 2013 | 261,498,926.247 | $11,041,059,958 | $435,330,337,470 |
| January 31, 2014 | 261,498,926.247 | $11,041,059,958 | $327,135,156,731 |
| January 31, 2015 | 261,498,926.230 | $11,041,059,957 | $329,554,021,781 |
| March 31, 2015 | 261,498,926.230 | $11,041,059,957 | $313,014,214,697 |
The market value of the gold today, May 1, is $307,509,662,300 at the latest London gold price of $1,175.95 an ounce.