Money and Markets, in its November 2, 2012 article, reports that Central Bank Gold Run could be a possibility ?.
Extract :
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On learning that French gold was
being held by the U.S. Federal Reserve, French President Charles de Gaulle is
reported to have said, “I could hardly sleep easily with such an
arrangement.” So in 1965 he ordered French navy ships to cross the
Atlantic to pick up $150 million in gold held in the Fed’s New York
vaults and deliver it to the Banque de France in
Paris.
It was a prudent move by de
Gaulle. And it was consistent with the advice I have long given: Do not leave
your gold in the care of somebody else. Take physical possession of your
gold.
De Gaulle realized the United
States was running an international con. It had promised that holders of U.S.
dollars would always be able to redeem them for gold at the official rate of
$35 per ounce. But like someone writing bad checks, it was clear that the
U.S. was printing more dollars than it could possibly redeem at that rate.
De Gaulle was ahead of the pack.
But before long other nations figured out the same thing and began demanding
gold for the dollars they held. Soon Washington began to hemorrhage gold as
it faced demands to redeem tens of billions of its paper dollars.
It was nothing less than a run
on the U.S. gold bank …
On a single day in March 1971,
400 tons of gold were taken from the exchange mechanism, the London Gold
Pool, forcing it to close. By August, President Nixon closed the gold window
entirely, essentially defaulting on America’s explicit promise of
dollar convertibility.
Germany Demands Accountability
Like France, Germany has had bitter national
experience with the hyperinflation of fiat currency. It should not be
surprising if both nations are sensitive bellwethers when funny money
business is afoot. Now we are beginning to learn about steps Germany has been
taking consistent with troubling questions today about the world’s
central banks and the gold entrusted to their vaults
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