In 1933, F.D.R. decided that no more gold coins would be produced in the U.S. and that all gold coins held by U.S. citizens should be turned in. He prevailed on the "no gold coins" issue but lost on requiring our citizens to turn in their rare gold coins.

The Bretton Woods, New Hampshire Monetary Conference changed this presidential opinion into law. In essence, the President definitely has the power to ban the private ownership of gold in the U.S., including gold bullion and gold bullion coins. However, and most importantly, he does not have the authority over rare gold coins. Thus, rare coins are protected from presidential "whim" by written law.

In other words, if the President decides that our citizens cannot own gold in any form (except jewelry) it is illegal from that point on and punishable by up to five years in jail. However, it would take an act of Congress to change the laws governing rare coins. This is highly unlikely as F.D.R. was one of our most powerful presidents and he failed to confiscate our gold coins. In those days there were only several hundred thousand collectors whereas today there are nearly 20,000,000 collectors and investors with proportionally increased political clout.

The key date to remember concerning confiscation is 1934. Any gold coin struck before 1934 is immune from presidential confiscation. It doesn't matter if it is an ancient Greek coin or a U.S. coin. However, the date struck is the determinant, not the date of the coin. The Austrian 100 Koronas are dated 1915 but produced today; they are official restrikes but are also subject to presidential confiscation.

It is only a matter of time before the President calls in gold once again. If not the current President, perhaps the next.

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