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Fort Knox

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By Something ComplicatedPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Fort Knox
Photo by 1AmFcS on Unsplash

The Depository Centre of the US Bullion Deposit in Fort Knox, Tennessee, is located in the heart of Knoxville, TN, south of Nashville and has the highest security in the world. It is not only the largest U.S. depository for ingots, but also the largest and safest in the world.

The US Barrel Deposit, as it is known, has continuously held most of the United States gold reserves since its establishment and is home to a well-known army base. The warehouse is located in the heart of Knoxville, TN, south of Nashville, Tennessee, near the Tennessee-Kentucky border. It is also the largest gold storage centre in North America and the only one of its kind to be located on a military base and to have the highest safety standards. All American gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper and other precious metals as well as gold and silver bars are stored here.

Fort Knox houses gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper and other valuable items that belong to the Federal Government. The vault has also been used for many years as a storage facility for the US Army.

At Fort Knox, gold bars, silver bars and various coins made with precious metals inside are stored in a separate vault from the rest of the the federal government's high value items.

Fort Knox is so secretive that the Treasury secretary who heads the executive branch that owns the gold vaults rarely visits the facility. It is the only place in the United States that only those who work there, such as the Secretary of State and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are allowed to visit.

The gold in the vaults of Fort Knox is to remain there until the US government sees otherwise. The gold held in Denver, CO and West Point, NY is owned by the US Treasury and the remaining gold reserves are held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in Washington, D.C. and in a separate safe deposit box in Philadelphia, PA. Some of this gold is held by both the federal government and the private sector, . All gold holdings of all banks in America, except for Ulysses S. Grant's $1.2 billion, are held in the Fed's New Orleans, LA headquarters.

In addition to West Point and Denver, Fort Knox, known as the US ingot depot, has a reputation as an impenetrable fortress. It is located in the Fort Knox Army Post, which houses over 30,000 soldiers and is home to the United States Mint and the U.S. Mint Police, who guard the facility.

Fort Knox, formally better known as the United States Bullion Depository, has long stood as a symbol of impenetrable defence. The barren depot became a symbol of impregnable safes during World War II, which led to the founding of the US Mint and the US Mint Police.

Given this protection, it seems obvious that Fort Knox actually has billions of dollars worth of precious metals in storage. As of March 31, 2020, there were about $190 billion in U.S. gold bars in the vaults at Fort Knox.

Fort Knox holds 56% of the total US gold reserves, and Denver and West Point also hold a good share. The remaining gold reserves are located at the US Mint in Washington, D.C. and at the US Mint in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

At Fort Knox, tons of precious metals are stored in underground vaults, also interestingly a 22-carat Sacagawea dollar coin that has flown on the space shuttle.

You may not be able to visit the nation's cash depot, but you may own one that one day maybe kept in a safe at Fort Knox. The US government claims that 147.3 million ounces of gold are currently being stored there as gold bars from melted coins. These range from a variety of coins, many have already been in circulation.

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Something Complicated

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