Worried that the dollar might tank and that the paper in your wallet might be worth more keeping the house warm than spending? Are you thinking, "I really should have a pile of gold in the house in case the economy really gets horrible."? Think again. In 1933 Ol’ Delano took measures to make sure you didn’t have that concern.
From: President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt
To: The United States Congress
Dated: 5 April, 1933
Presidential Executive Order 6102Forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion and Gold Certificates 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, entitled
An Act to provide relief in the existing national emergency in banking, and for other purposes
in which amendatory Act Congress declared that a serious emergency exists,
I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do declare that said national emergency still continues to exist and pursuant to said section to do hereby prohibit the hoarding gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States by individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations…
[Source, The Privateer Gold Pages, The Roosevelt Gold Confiscation Of April 5, 1933]
Oh, crap. Am I in violation of the law?
Relax.
From wikipediaThe limitation on gold ownership in the U.S. was repealed after President Gerald Ford signed a bill legalizing private ownership of gold coins, bars and certificates by an act of Congress codified in Pub.L. 93-373 [1] [2] which went into effect December 31, 1974
Whew!
Now if they can only do something about those damn hobbits.