Did you know, from 1933 to 1974 private ownership (you and I) of more than 5 ounces of gold was made illegal in the US? I researched this and made a post about it awhile back because WTH. I’ll copy/paste the post so others are aware.
What if I told you that the US Government decided we shouldn’t have the right to own more than 5 ounces of Gold. Sounds like a conspiracy theory right? Well what if the US President penned an Executive Order that called you a hoarder and fined you $10,000 (roughly $200,000 today) and/or 10 years in Prison for not surrendering your personal stash of jewelry and bullion over a total of 5 ounces of Gold? Would you suspect corruption if around the same time the government passed a law (The Gold Reserve Act of 1934) that gave the President sole authority to establish the price of Gold only a few months after the surrender period ended? What if the President used his new found power chose to increase the price of Gold from $20.67/ounce to $35/ounce RIGHT AFTER they just forced everyone in the country to turn theirs in to the government for $20.67?
Executive Order 6102 signed by FDR that took effect on April 5th 1933 under the authority of the “Trading with the enemy Act of 1917” gave all US citizens less than a month (April 5th to May 1st 1933) to surrender any Gold they owned over 5 ounces. In all fairness there were a few exemptions to this law, Jewelers, Gold dental work and Gold coins with numismatic value (collectors) are the main exceptions. Basically all private ownership of gold by common citizens was deemed a criminal offense.
Who really was the criminal? This Executive Order was in effect for 41 years until 1974 when President Gerald Ford re-legalized private ownership of Gold by US Citizens.