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"All safe deposit boxes in banks have been sealed... and may only be opened in the presence of
oreville
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FDR once stated in 1933:
"All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed... and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the I.R.S."
- President F.D. Roosevelt, 1933
Did this really happen with every safe deposit box in 1933?
Any information would be appreciated.
"All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed... and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the I.R.S."
- President F.D. Roosevelt, 1933
Did this really happen with every safe deposit box in 1933?
Any information would be appreciated.
A Collectors Universe poster since 1997!
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Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
By Executive Order Of The President of The United States, March 9, 1933.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 (b) of the Act of October 6, 1917, as amended by Section 2 of the Act of March 9, 1933, in which Congress declared that a serious emergency exists, I as President, do declare that the national emergency still exists; that the continued private hoarding of gold and silver by subjects of the United States poses a grave threat to the peace, equal justice, and well-being of the United States; and that appropriate measures must be taken immediately to protect the interests of our people.
Therefore, pursuant to the above authority, I hereby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for compensation at the official price, in the legal tender of the Government.
All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed, pending action in the due course of the law. All sales or purchases or movements of such gold and silver within the borders of the United States and its territories and all foreign exchange transactions or movements of such metals across the border are hereby prohibited.
Your possession of these proscribed metals and/or your maintenance of a safe deposit box to store them is known by the government from bank and insurance records. Therefore, be advised that your vault box must remain sealed, and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the Internal Revenue Service.
By lawful order given this day, the President of the United States.
Franklin Roosevelt – March 9, 1933
The order was aimed at people and businesses that had made large withdrawals of cash in gold and gold certificates. Bank withdrawal reports were surreptitiously collected by the Hoover administration. These listed gold deposits and withdrawals by individuals and businesses for most of 1932 through February 1933. (Hoarding was not illegal, but Hoover’s individual tracking of account activity was in a legally gray territory at that time.) These lists were mentioned in newspaper articles after April 1933 and the publicity likely encouraged many to surrender their hoarded gold. The Roosevelt administration concentrated on only reports from February 1933 forward, but did not make a point of publicizing this. The lists of potential hoarders were prepared by Treasury Secretary Ogden Mills. Hoover had completed an unsuccessful nationwide anti-hoarding campaign less than a year before and the Treasury lists were part of Mills’ plan to nationalize gold. Some of this was also based on the research by former Mint Director A. Piatt Andrew, a Republican Congressman from Massachusetts, into hoarding during the Panic of 1907.
Anyone on the excessive withdrawal list had to open their safe deposit box as noted in the EO. Other people were not required to do anything special and had no access restrictions.
Approximately 10,000 individuals and business were on the Hoover Treasury lists in April 1933. Most were able to account for the gold, commonly used to make business payments, or were foreign nationals exempt from the EO. Also note that gold and gold certificates held by US citizens in foreign banks was exempt. This allowed many corporations to continue normal payments and wealthy individuals to sidestep the domestic regulations. Actual cases taken to court numbered less than 100.
Those wishing to export gold were required to obtain licenses from the treasury department and new Treasury Secretary Woodin seemed to have approved most business-related applications until the gold convertability suspension order in April.
Thanks
Paul
Keep an open mind, or get financially repressed -Zoltan Pozsar
What is surprising to me, is that it included silver. I thought the law was only for gold.... !!
Don't think it can happen again? Keep physical possession!
private hoarding of gold and silver by subjects of the United States poses a grave threat to the peace
Subjects? Subjects of the United States? Interesting, eh?
I knew it would happen.
<< <i>Subjects? Subjects of the United States? Interesting, eh? >>
Yeah- that jumped out at me when I read it, too. So much classier than "We, the People...", isn't it? Makes one proud, it does.
What would you do ? Principle vs. Patriotism. Who's country is it ? And what is "SUBJECT" to who ?
All safe deposit boxes in banks or financial institutions have been sealed, pending action in the due course of the law. All sales or purchases or movements of such gold and silver within the borders of the United States and its territories and all foreign exchange transactions or movements of such metals across the border are hereby prohibited.
Your possession of these proscribed metals and/or your maintenance of a safe deposit box to store them is known by the government from bank and insurance records. Therefore, be advised that your vault box must remain sealed, and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the Internal Revenue Service.
By lawful order given this day, the President of the United States.
Franklin Roosevelt – March 9, 1933
Rather it's the opposite considering that the framers required silver coin and gold to be the original money of the 13 colonies. They knew that fiat money was the true threat to peace.
roadrunner
Which brings us 'round to another interesting dilemma - since you bought the stuff directly from the guv'mint with their explicit approval enacted into Law.
Since the American Eagle Bullion Program was explicitly enacted in order for U.S. "subjects", er citizens to be able to legally own gold and silver coinage, I wonder what "national emergency" would justify reneging on that legal precedent? A monetary crisis, caused by said government, I suppose?
I knew it would happen.
There were several exceptions. One was:
B. Gold coin having a recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coin (but not including quarter eagles, otherwise known as $2.50 pieces);
Under order of January 11, 1934 this was amended as follows:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, HENRY MORGENTHAU, JR., SECRETARY of the TREASURY, do hereby amend said order of December 28,1933 by inserting after after the word "pieces" in the parenthetical phrase in Paragraph (B) of the first section thereof a comma and the following:
"unless held, together with rare and unusual coin, as part of a collection for historical, scientific, or numismatic purposes, containing not more than four quarter eagles of the same date and design, and struck by the same mint."
This order may be modified or revoked at any time.
This section B, as amended, was repeated in the order of January 15,1934 establishing January 17, 1934 as the deadline for turning your gold in without penalty.
Actually there no penalties for those who turned their gold in after this date voluntarily.
Oreville, I know I owe you copies of this for a long time now. I will surprise you some day.
Oh wait, that's because there is a republican in office.
They melted my 'babies'!
The ba$tards!.....uhh....Thanks!
If it was EVER tried again, there would be a new rebellion and the roots of the Liberty Tree would be enriched by the blood of the tyrants, I suspect.
I am puzzled why they picked on quarter eagles. They were a newly obsolete denomination having been officially discontined in 1929 (I think). Mintages were not that high before that date. I think it would have made more sense to restrict double eagles.
Still, that gold confiscation really did happen, coupled with periodic events like the Japanese relocation camps, Senator McCarthy's House Un-American Activities Committee, and certainly our recent examples of the Patriot Act (complete with disturbingly 1984ish name) and use of words like "detainee" to weasel out of the Geneva Convention--suffice it to say, on a planet occupied by 6.5 billion humans, paranoia is probably a perfectly legitimate and logically defensible position.
<< <i>The gold confiscation of 1933 is pretty scary to read about, and it's one of the things that came up a lot in my reading about investing in gold. Were it to happen again, rare coins would seem to be protected. >>
there's no reason to assume that the next time will be the same.
<< <i>Whether or not the government could confiscate foreign-minted bullion as well is also unknown, although theoretically the government can do just about anything. >>
And there you have it.
of gold". There were considered as good as gold or even better. If a gold coin were lightweight, you could be in for a loss. Not so with a gold certificate, it was worth face value. Turns out they were called in with no exemptions for collectors of paper money until 1964.
* quantity meant a fixed weight as well as a fixed dollar amount.
edited to expand on the meaning of "quantity".
<< <i>Yep. If you ever bought a coin from the mint or eBay, *they* have your address. Which brings us 'round to another interesting dilemma - since you bought the stuff directly from the guv'mint with their explicit approval enacted into Law. Since the American Eagle Bullion Program was explicitly enacted in order for U.S. "subjects", er citizens to be able to legally own gold and silver coinage, I wonder what "national emergency" would justify reneging on that legal precedent? A monetary crisis, caused by said government, I suppose? >>
Doesn't have to be any reason at all. Legal precedents don't matter. They can make the $50 gold eagle worth $50 anytime they feel like it as a quick example. ou did notice it says $50 on the coin? Or, they could make them illegal, and fix the price of gold again. Anything they want to do they can.
They can make collectors coins illegal. He#@, they can do what they want when it comes to minted coins. Or printed dollars. That's the fact Jack. And I will be glad to discuss this in a friendly, fact based manner any time.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 5 (b) of the Act of October 6, 1917, as amended by Section 2 of the Act of March 9, 1933, in which Congress declared that a serious emergency exists, I as President, do declare that the national emergency still exists; that the continued private hoarding of gold and silver by subjects of the United States poses a grave threat to the peace, equal justice, and well-being of the United States; and that appropriate measures must be taken immediately to protect the interests of our people.
Therefore, pursuant to the above authority, I hereby proclaim that such gold and silver holdings are prohibited, and that all such coin, bullion or other possessions of gold and silver be tendered within fourteen days to agents of the Government of the United States for compensation at the official price, in the legal tender of the Government. >>
What happened to this order? From March 9, 1933 we had 14 days to turn in ALL gold and SILVER coins. That obviously didn't happen for the silver. If everybody turned in their gold then, the later exemptions (Dec. 28 ,1933; Jan 11, 1934; and Jan. 15,1934) for collectors would have had little meaning.
That must have been a shocker to wake up one morning and find that all your Gold holdings have been declared null and void.
No special tools needed, no guns required, no late night visit.
Just a little piece of paper and poof they are gone.
Ìïëþí ËáâÝ
<< <i>"All safe deposit boxes in banks have been sealed... and may only be opened in the presence of an agent of the I.R.S."
That must have been a shocker to wake up one morning and find that all your Gold holdings have been declared null and void. >>
Wasn't a problem for the people with the most gold, you know, the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, etc. They slyly shipped their gold holdings over to Europe beginning in the mid to late 1920's. They saw it coming. And thanks to them, we now have many of the coins they shipped over, ie BU examples of $20 pieces etc.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people living at that time were not even affected by the acts of Roosevelt vs. gold, they were living on a lot less money than being able to possess gold.
<< The gold confiscation of 1933 is pretty scary to read about, and it's one of the things that came up a lot in my reading about investing in gold. Were it to happen again, rare coins would seem to be protected. >>
there's no reason to assume that the next time will be the same.
<< Whether or not the government could confiscate foreign-minted bullion as well is also unknown, although theoretically the government can do just about anything. >>
And there you have it.
mrpotatoheadd, I couldn't have said it better. They CAN do anything that they want, when and where they want to do it. It's strange how most citizens can object to what the government does individually, and yet it seems that the government somehow gets away with doing so many things that are counter to the welfare of those same citizens.
thievery, plain and simple.
moonshine, confiscation of private property by the gov'mint is taking place all day long in the form of inflation and bailouts and welfare. Holding precious metals to protect yourself from the gov'mint WILL probably be perceived as a threat by that same gov'mint at some point.
Which is why the 2nd Amendment was written - that's my understanding.
I knew it would happen.
I mean, they didn't go into your box unless you went there first.
<< <i>
Which is why the 2nd Amendment was written - that's my understanding. >>
That will be a thing of the past when the Constitution is Patriotised soon.
The EO quoted above refers to hoarding, not normal commercial use.
There were also multiple executive orders and treasury regulations affecting gold, silver and paper currency. At times, these seemed to have been revisions attempting to clarify what was demanded. Other changes seemed to be corrections. For example, the two best known exemptions to the gold nationalization EO originally were: $100 per person, and coin collections. Coin collections were completely a “wild card” – nobody knew how to define this and it never was defined well enough for Treasury Agents to make clear distinctions, so most collections survived intact. But $100 per person in gold would have equaled more gold that the total production of the nation since 1789. Obviously, not workable if the aim is to nationalize gold.
FWIW. Both gold and silver were nationalized. Gold through EO’s and January 1934 legislation, and silver via the Thomas Amendment in June 1933 and the Silver Purchase Act of June 1934. Gold was called in but silver was not. Further, Roosevelt refused to lower the silver content of the standard dollar and other coins, or to call in silver. The government was paying well above world market prices and became the ultimate consumer. The largest commercial effects nationally were to vastly increase the price and production of both gold and silver in the US. This resulted in effective subsidies for western mining states and the government eventually owning huge stocks of these metals.
The whole story is buried in the web of details and interactions from the 1920’s well into the 30’s. That is what I am sorting through, and it is a long, grinding process.
FWIW, my uncle died in the early 1970's, my aunt sold the property, developers came in and put houses all over hells half acre to Kingdom come, so all traces of what is under there are just but a memory. Someone, or several people are housed literally over a gold mine.
<< <i>The whole story is buried in the web of details and interactions from the 1920’s well into the 30’s. That is what I am sorting through, and it is a long, grinding process. >>
Compounding the situation is that one part of the government didn't know what the other was doing. The Treasury agents, by and large, had no clue what constituted numismatic gold. So there is the statutory situation to explain, and then there is the story of what happened in actual practice.
<< <i>but not including quarter eagles, otherwise known as $2.50 pieces
They melted my 'babies'!
The ba$tards!.....uhh....Thanks!
If it was EVER tried again, there would be a new rebellion and the roots of the Liberty Tree would be enriched by the blood of the tyrants, I suspect.
>>
Coinboy, please send me (a) PM and i will join
Sorry to hear about your uncle’s situation but there must have been a lot more to the story that was never told.
When the April 1933 order suspended convertibility, the international price of gold rose from $20 per oz to approx $27 then gradually to about $29. Beginning in Sept 1933 the US Treasury deliberately increased its purchasing price ending in January 1934 at $35/oz. These prices were, in effect, a subsidy to US gold miners and encouraged increased production. A similar approach was used for silver with the government paying more than the market price for domestic metal.
These subsidies kept many mine owners in business during the depression and also led to modest consolidation of the industry. Poorly run mines or those with high operating overhead fared no better than before.
Some small mines got into trouble by cooperating with people trying to smuggle gold into the US to get the higher price, and with a process known as “high grading.”
<< <i>...
suffice it to say, on a planet occupied by 6.5 billion humans, paranoia is probably a perfectly legitimate and logically defensible position. >>
LOL - Are you half Vulcan by any chance?
The Fireman...
<< <i>If you keep your money in the bank, where the government has access to it, its called "savings". If you keep it stashed at home, where only you have access to it, its called "hoarding". >>
Can you HOARD PCGS slabs?
Gardnerville, NV
=========================
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<< <i><<BUT pieces $2.50 as known otherwise eagles, quarter including not>> I am puzzled why they picked on quarter eagles. They were a newly obsolete denomination having been officially discontined in 1929 (I think). Mintages were not that high before that date. I think it would have made more sense to restrict double eagles. >>
You give the gummint more credit that it deserves. Hey, they are trying to control several hundred million souls. They didn't actually sit down and debate the merits of mintages or PCGS holder....no, they simply didn't want folks to own real money. And the federal reserve was jumping up and down to get the Gummint to take some action which 'seemed' to make sense.
Downgraded from gold certificates, to silver certificates, to debt instruments called notes that we use today. How better to control a crowd than control their money. Two of the founders of the Fed wrote articles many years later explaining in great detail what they did, and why they did it. I was initially shocked, but then I realized that it would be silly to think that the creation of this monster would NOT take place.
This is not about lack of patriotism or not loving my country. It's about simple human behavior. Sure, I like to expect the best from our elected folks, but I ain't that stupid. My dad used to tell me when they sat around the radio listening to the president. They had respect for him back then.
Blah, blah, blah, sorry for using this wonderful coin forum for pointing out information that I COULDN'T MAKE UP.
Obscurum per obscurius
They could now do it with a keyboard. So many have shares in GLD, and SLV, and also many have PM's stored at a third party institution.... all that has to be done is make the decree and press a few keys. BINGO.... you are locked out of your accounts and the government can take possession at its discretion.
Although I do have to wonder how they would handle GLD and SLV.... since there is probably foreign ownership of shares also. Perhaps they would seize those also, since GLD and SLV is a US business/fund?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
The executive order of March 9, 1933 was issued under authority of the Emergency Banking Act of the same date. It has no formal number. (EO 9066 authorized relocation of American citizens of Japanese descent.)
At that time all banks were closed for the national banking holiday as the Treasury sought to determine which banks were sound and which ones were not. Banks reopened beginning March 12. As stated in an earlier post, the March 9 order applied only to those on the hoarding lists prepared by Hoover. Business as usual applied to everyone else. In the days following bank reopenings, people consistently deposited money of all forms rather than make the panicked withdrawals seen earlier in the year.
(In the draft of the book I’m working on, there is a lengthy chapter on the gold standard, hoarding, nationalization, smuggling, coin collections and investigations relating to gold coin and certificates. One of the unexpected things noticed are the large quantities of high value gold certificates in estates and large money hoards. They far outnumber gold coin, and $500, $1,000 and $10,000 denominations are much more common than double eagles. One Swiss citizen had over five hundred $10,000 gold certificates in his safe deposit box, plus a box of sovereigns.)