Der Spiegel reports that nearly half of Germany’s entire gold reserves are still held (supposedly) 5 floors below the NY Fed:
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York continues to hold 1,536 metric tons of German gold — or nearly half of Berlin’s reserves. This enormous hoard of gold is stored in the fifth subfloor of the bank’s building on Liberty Street, 25 meters (80 feet) below street level, and 15 meters below sea level. According to the bank’s website, the vault rests on the bedrock of Manhattan Island.
The Fed has reportedly denied German requests to view their own gold reserves, ‘in the interest of security’:
Tourists are allowed to venture below street level to see the vault. After descending in an elevator, they stand in front of an enormous steel cylinder that pivots like a door in a 140-ton steel-and-concrete frame. But not even the owners are allowed to view their own gold. According to the Federal Audit Office report, the Fed explained that “in the interest of security and of the control process” no “viewings” are possible.
Of the 9 compartments supposedly storing German gold, German officials were finally allowed to briefly view a few bars from a single compartment in 2011:
Finally, in 2007, “following numerous enquiries,” Bundesbank staff members were allowed to see the facility, but they reportedly only made it to the anteroom of the German reserves.
In fact, auditors from the Bundesbank made a second visit in May 2011. This time one of the nine compartments was also opened, in which the German gold bars are densely stacked. A few were pulled out and weighed. But this part of the report has been blacked out — out of consideration for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Unlike the US financial MSM, the German media is willing to discuss not only the question of whether the Federal Reserve has absconded with Germany’s gold, but also the risk of a collapse of a fully fiat currency:
The debate over a collapse of strictly paper-based currency is experiencing a renaissance — as is the dispute over the gold reserves. Even Green Party financial expert Gerhard Schick has joined the fray: “I think the question of how much gold is available in an emergency is a valid concern.”
Not surprisingly, Bundesbank officials are attempting to smooth over German concerns about their gold reserves, with board member Thiele snidely remarking that he took a look inside of one of the vaults at the NY Fed recently, and “There was no paper in there, just gold.“:
The Bundesbank also objects to this notion for another reason. It says the gold is supposed to act as an emergency buffer. In the extreme situation of a currency collapse, the bankers say that the gold bars could easily and quickly be exchanged on location for pounds or dollars to pay urgent bills.
In a bid to calm the debate, the Bundesbank has pledged to bring back and inspect 150 tons of gold from abroad over the next three years. Furthermore, there are plans to count and weigh the gold bars stored in one of the nine chambers at the Fed in New York — although no date has been set for this.
Bundesbank board member Thiele was also recently in New York where he took a look behind one of the vault doors. He had good news for the members of the parliamentary budget committee: “There was no paper in there, just gold.”
While Bundesbank officials likely understand the reality (much better than German politicians do) that a German repatriation of it’s entire 1,536 tons of gold reserves held at the NY Fed would likely cause a complete Western financial collapse if/when the Fed failed to promptly deliver said gold (tungsten free), confidence in the Fed and the BOE has clearly been shattered, and it is now only a matter of time for an absolute mad run on every last gram of physical metal underneath the NY Fed ensues.
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Check out these similar articles:
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- Bundesbank Makes Official Statement on Gold Reserves: Gold Must Be Held Abroad for Liquidity
- Classified Report: Germany Withdrew 1000 Tons of Gold from London in 2000-01
