Executive Order 6102 (1933)

Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 5, 1933, Executive Order 6102 compelled all persons in the United States to surrender gold coins, gold bullion, and gold certificates to the Federal Reserve in exchange for paper currency at $20.67 per troy ounce, under penalty of fine or imprisonment. It effectively ended gold ownership as a private property right in the United States until the prohibition was lifted in 1974. A landmark case study in the exercise of executive power over property rights and monetary freedom, and a key reference point in discussions of sound money, state expropriation, and financial sovereignty.