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https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  ,  THE KEY TO THE GOLD VAULT  Indeed, there can be no other criterion, no  other standard than gold. Yes, gold, which  never changes, which can be shaped into  ingots, bars, coins, which has no national-  ity and which is eternally and universally  accepted as the unalterablefiduciary  value par excellence.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Charles de Gaulle  •  INTRODUCTION  tional organizations that choose to leave their monetary  As one of the metallic elements in the earth's crust, gold  gold reserves in custody with it.  is as old as the planet itself and is found and extracted on all continents. It is referred to by many as the "king  This publication outlines the history of gold and  of metals" and always has been assigned a role far  explores its financial significance and the unique role of  beyond its value as a commodity.  the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in storing and safeguarding the exquisite metal.  Gold has been coveted by the great and wealthy — from pharaohs to modern-day heads of state — as a  LE GRAND MYSTIQUE  means of ostentation. It has been desired by the com-  One of the oldest civilizations known to man, the  mon folk for its beauty of appearance and beloved by  Sumerians of Mesopotamia, who lived in what is mod-  goldsmiths for its splendid working qualities. Gold has  ern-day Iran and Iraq, first used gold as sacred, orna-  provided material for great artists, novelists, and poets.  mental, and decorative instruments in the fifth millenni-  And, over the years, it has been used to decorate cathe-  um B.C. Around the same period, the early Egyptians —  drals and palaces, to honor Olympic medalists and  the richest gold-producing civilization of the ancient  movie stars, and to celebrate 50th wedding anniversaries.  world — began the art of gold refining. Like the  Exemplifying supreme appeal and arousing human  Sumerians, the Egyptians used gold primarily for per-  desire, this metal, above all others, has been used for  sonal adornment, rather than for monetary purposes,  centuries as a medium of exchange, a measure of value,  although the kings of the fourth to sixth dynasties  and a store of wealth.  (c. 2700 - 2270 B.C.) did issue some gold coins.  The gold you see in the vault of the Federal Reserve  The first large-scale, private issuance of pure gold coins  Bank of New York attracts more than 20,000 visitors a  was under King Croesus (560-546 B.C.), the ruler of  year. It is the world's largest accumulation of gold and  ancient Lydia, modern-day western Turkey. Stamped with  belongs to approximately 60 foreign central banks and  his royal emblem of the facing heads of a lion and a bull,  international monetary organizations. Only a very small  these first known coins eventually became the standard  portion of this gold belongs to the U.S. Government.  of exchange for worldwide trade and commerce.  The Federal Reserve Bank does not own the precious  Following the collapse of the Lydian Empire in 546  metal but serves as guardian for the nations and interna-  B.C., the Persians gained control of Asia's richest gold   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  sources, which gave it far greater power in the world.  As  The standard gold coin of the Persian Empire was the  cern. By 1521, Spain had overthrown the Aztecs, and  daric, named after Darius the Great (521 - 486 B.C.).  Mexico, with its vast stores of gold, became part of the  Alexander the Great of Macedonia (336 B.C. - 323 B.C.)  Spanish Empire. Soon thereafter, Spanish explorers con-  subsequently established a rival coinage system that  quered the gold-rich Inca civilization of Peru and  served as one of the important factors in his conquest  destroyed its golden sun temples, which were covered  of Persia and the movement of gold into Europe. Later,  in ornaments of dazzling beauty.  history has shown, humanity was of secondary con-  Emperor Augustus (31 B.C. - A.D. 14) was the first Roman to establish a golden currency, known as the  Although they acquired immense wealth, the Spaniards  aureus, which helped spur the dynamic expansion of  continued their quest. The myth that gold was created  the Roman economy.  by the striking of the sun's powerful rays against mud led the Spanish Conquistadors to search in areas where  By the time the Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th cen-  wide tropical rivers flowed. Soon, rumors began to cir-  tury, gold had been used as both a tool of trade and a  culate of a fabulous city along the equator — El Dorado  means to accumulate wealth for many hundreds of  — where the houses and lake were made of solid gold  years. For medieval Christianity, though, gold remained  and the people wore fabrics of gold.  a mystical symbol of eternity and light, as represented in such objects as crowns, halos, and altars.  As these stories spread, other Europeans began to finance expeditions in search of the great source of gold  During the 16th century, as the New World was being  proclaimed to lie somewhere in South America. Sir  explored, gold currencies became prevalent in Europe.  Walter Raleigh, the British explorer, obtained a special  After Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in  grant from Queen Elizabeth I in the late 1500s that  1492, other expeditions set sail to uncover the gold trea-  allowed him to search for the mysterious South  sures rumored to lie in these distant lands. King  American city. Raleigh, after returning empty-handed,  Ferdinand V of Spain issued the order, "Get gold,  wrote a book, The Discoverie ofthe Large, Rich and  humanely if you can, but at all hazards get gold."  Beautiful Empire of Guiana, detailing everything "known" about the great city. Although no one ever dis-  Early Egyptians, the richest gold producers of the ancient world, began the art of refining around the fifth millennium B.C.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  covered such a city, belief in the legend kept searches going for centuries.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  The great era of gold production that followed the dis-  standard were used to establish the relative values of  covery of the New World continued throughout the  national currencies, and gold itself was used to meet  17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. "Gold rushes" occurred in  international payments.  the 19th century when people, in search of instant fortune, flocked to California (1848), Australia (1851), South  A currency on an unrestricted gold standard could be  Africa (mid-1850s to the late 1880s), and the Klondike  converted into gold at a fixed price — regardless of  area of Canada along the Yukon River (1896). Today,  the amount involved or the nationality of the curren-  according to the Gold Institute in Washington, D.C.,  cy's holder. Great Britain, through a series of laws  South Africa is the largest supplier of gold, followed by  passed between 1816 and 1821, became the first mod-  the United States, Australia, the Commonwealth of  ern nation to link its money to gold in this way.  Independent States (CIS), and Canada.  Although the United States defined the value of the dollar in terms of gold and silver even earlier (the offi-  Although the role of gold in the world economy has  cial price of gold was established at $19.75 a troy  declined over the last century, people are still  ounce by the Coinage Act of 1792), the government  intrigued by the power, mystery, and brilliance associ-  didn't adopt an exclusive gold standard until 1900. By  ated with the metal. Today, gold is no longer com-  1905, most of the world's major trading countries had  monly used as money but continues to serve as an  adopted the gold standard as well.  important store of value. When people are worried about political instability, war, or inflation, they often  Few European nations could maintain their gold stan-  put their savings into gold.  dards during World War I, however, as shipments of the metal frequently were embargoed. And when the  THE GOLD STANDARD  standards were restored in the late 1920s, many coun-  The gold bullion in the Federal Reserve Bank of New  tries adopted a revised version called the gold  York's vault is part of the monetary reserves of foreign  exchange standard. This revision appealed to coun-  governments, central banks, and official international  tries that wanted some sort of gold standard but also  organizations around the world. It is largely a relic of  wanted to halt the drain of gold reserves. The gold  an era when the gold standard and gold exchange  exchange standard did just that by permitting the use  Bullion at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — the world's largest repository of gold — belongs to some 60 foreign central banks and international monetary organizations.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  of "reserve currencies" instead of gold in exchange for their currencies.  At first, the United States and England — countries with  When the United States stopped selling gold to foreign  substantial gold reserves — became issuers of the  official holders of dollars at the rate of $35 an ounce in  world's "reserve currencies." But in 1931, after maintain-  1971, it brought the gold exchange standard to an end.  ing gold parity throughout the stress of the decade fol-  In August 1974, President Ford repealed the prohibition  lowing World War I, England suspended gold payments.  on the public's owning gold or engaging in gold transac-  This set off a wave of similar suspensions so that, by the  tions. Today, no country bans private ownership of gold.  first half of 1932, more than 40 nations had deserted either the gold standard or the gold exchange standard.  GUARDIAN OF THE GOLD  Then, in 1933, President Roosevelt imposed a ban on  The gold stored at the Federal Reserve Bank of New  U.S. citizens' buying, selling, or owning gold. While the  York is secured in a most unusual vault. It rests on the  U.S. Government continued to sell gold to foreign cen-  bedrock of Manhattan Island — one of the few founda-  tral banks and government institutions, the ban prevent-  tions considered adequate to support the weight of the  ed hoarders from profiting after Congress devalued the  vault, its door, and the gold inside — 80 feet below  dollar (in terms of gold) in January 1934. This action  street level and 50 feet below sea level.  raised the official price of gold by more than 65 percent (from $20.67 to $35 per troy ounce). Gold coins and  In the middle of 1997, the Fed's vault contained roughly  certificates considered collectors' items were exempt  269 million troy ounces of gold (1 troy oz. is 1.1 times  from the prohibition, and artistic and industrial users  as heavy as the avoirdupois ounce, with which we are  of gold were permitted to deal in the metal under a  more familiar), representing 25 to 30 percent of the  special Treasury license.  world's official monetary gold reserves. At the time, the vault gold's value was $11 billion at the official U.S.  Legal gold transactions had to be made at the official  Government price of $42.2222 per troy ounce, or about  U.S. Government price until 1968, when gold regula-  $86 billion at the market price of $319 an ounce. At the  tions again were changed to prevent runs on U.S.  current official U.S. Government price, one of the vault's  Government gold reserves. Under the new system, the  gold bars (approximately 27.4 pounds) is valued at  world's currencies would still be valued in terms of the  about $17,000. At a $319 market price, the same bar is  dollar, but the dollar would no longer be related to gold  worth about $127,000.  reserves. Also, since 1968, licensed dealers have been able to buy and sell gold at market-determined prices.  https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Gold at the Fed rests 80 feet below street level in Manhattan on one of the few foundations capable of supporting the weight of both the vault and its contents.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Foreign governments and official international organiza-  FOREIGN GOLD AT THE FED  tions store their gold at the Federal Reserve Bank of  Foreign-owned gold valued at $26 million (at the official  New York because of their confidence in its safety, the  price at that time of $20.67 a troy ounce) was on deposit  convenient services the Bank offers, and its location in  with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York when the  one of the world's leading financial capitals.  main vault was opened in September 1924. Holdings rose to about $458 million by the end of 1931, then fell sharply  Confidence results from the Bank's being part of the  during the Great Depression. The economic problems of  Federal Reserve System — the nation's central bank and  the United States, a slump in world trade, the lack of con-  an independent governmental entity. The political stabil-  fidence in the international monetary system, and a desire  ity and economic strength of the United States, as well  to provide a boost to their troubled economies prompted  as the physical security provided by the Bank's vault,  many nations to recall their gold. By 1935, foreign gold  also are important factors.  deposits had fallen to about $9 million, even though the official price of gold had been raised to $35 a troy ounce  Convenience comes from the fact that the Federal  by the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.  Reserve Bank of New York, in addition to handling foreign financial transactions for the U.S. Department of  The threat of war in Europe reversed the trend of  the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System, executes  Depression-era withdrawals and brought a virtual flood  many other financial transactions in the United States for  of gold to the New York Fed for safekeeping. More than  foreign central banks.  $1 billion poured in between 1936 and 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. By the end of the war in  The attractiveness of the Bank's geographic location is  1945, foreign gold reserves stored at the Federal Reserve  that gold deposited in the trade and financial capital of  Bank had risen to more than $4 billion.  the world's largest economy enables countries to engage in transactions of all sizes easily, quickly, and  There was a slight outflow of gold from the Bank's  inexpensively.  vault in the two years immediately following World War II. During this period, many nations swapped their gold for the U.S. dollars needed to rebuild their war-ravaged  Gold is stored at the New York Fed because of confidence in its safety, the convenient services the Bank offers, and its location in one of the world's leading financial capitals.  https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  economies. After that, the economies of foreign nations recovered, and their exports to the United States began  to rise. As a result, there was a shift in the U. S. balance  become irrelevant from a transactions perspective.  of payments toward larger deficits.  Today, no nation is willing to sell gold at the official price, which is used by governments only for book-  As nations with trade surpluses with the United States  keeping and reporting purposes.  accumulated more dollars than they needed, they often exchanged their dollars for gold. The gold coffers of  THE BANK STORES GOLD...  these nations in the New York Fed's basement bulged.  The Bank stores gold in the form of bars that resemble  From 1947 to 1971, the year the United States suspend-  construction bricks and stacks them on wooden pallets  ed convertibility of dollars into gold for foreign govern-  like those used in warehouses. To reach the vault, the  ments, about $10 billion more was deposited in the  bullion-laden pallets must be loaded into one of the  vault, bringing the total value of gold holdings stored at  Bank's elevators and sent down five floors below street  the New York Fed to $14 billion at the "official" price of  level to the vault floor. The elevator's movements are  $42.2222. Since 1972, there has been a gradual, but  controlled by an operator who is in a distant room and  steady, net withdrawal of gold from the vault.  communicates by intercom with the armed guards accompanying the shipment.  The value of deposits in the vault also has varied over the years because of changes in the official, as well as the  Once inside the vault, the gold bars become the  market, price of gold. Today, all gold transactions occur at  responsibility of a control group consisting of repre-  the market price of gold, but prior to 1971 gold transac-  sentatives of three Bank divisions: Auditing, Vault  tions between nations were made at an official fixed price.  Services, and Protection. A member of each division  The official U.S. Government price of gold has changed  must be present whenever gold is moved or whenever  only four times during the past 200 years. Since the pas-  anyone enters the vault.  sage of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, which raised the official price of gold to $35 a troy ounce, the price has  All bars brought into the vault are inspected and  been raised twice: to $38 in 1972, and in 1973, to its  weighed. These steps are critical, because the weight  current price of $42.2222 an ounce.  and purity of a bar determine its value and acceptability  Because of the large disparity between the official price and the market price of gold, the official price has  https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Once inside the vault, gold bars become the responsibility of a control group consisting of representatives of three Bank divisions: Auditing, Vault Services, and Protection.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  in international transactions. A modern electronic bal-  Compartments are identified by number, rather than by  ance scale weighs each bar to the nearest 1/1000 of a  the countries that own the gold within them, in order to  troy ounce. The vault control group verifies the weight,  keep each country's gold holdings private. Only a few  serial number, and purity measure stamped on each bar  Bank employees know the identity of the gold owners.  against an accompanying manifest. FROM HERSHEY BARS TO BUTTER BARS  If everything is in order, the gold is either moved to one  An examination of the gold bars stored in the vault can  or more of the vault's 122 compartments assigned to  tell a lot about their origin and history. The shape of a bar  depositing countries and official international organizations  may indicate whether it was cast in the United States or  or placed on shelves in one of the "library" compartments  abroad. Before 1986, bars cast in this country generally  shared by several countries. The bars are stacked one at a  were rectangular bricks: 7 inches long, 3 5/8 inches wide,  time in an overlapping pattern similar to that used to stabi-  and between 1 5/8 inches and 1 3/4 inches thick. In recent  lize a brick wall. Each compartment is secured by a pad-  years, however, gold bars cast in the United States, as well  lock, two combination locks, and an auditor's seal.  as most bars cast overseas, have been trapezoidal.  Although working with gold worth billions of dollars is  A bar's shape also can tell where in the United States  a fascinating job, moving gold is arduous work.  it was cast: bars from the Denver Mint have rounded  Hydraulic lifts and conveyor belts partially relieve the  corners, while those formed at the New York or San  physical strain, but lifting, swinging, and positioning 27-  Francisco Assay Offices have square edges.  pound bars again and again is a laborious task. Teams of "gold stackers" work in shifts that allow them suffi-  Occasionally, visitors see a few bars that are much small-  cient rest periods.  er than others. These bars, nicknamed "Hershey Bars," are formed at the end of the casting process when there  The job also has its hazards. To protect their feet from  is not enough molten gold left in the smelter's crucible to  dropped bars, the stackers wear strong, yet lightweight,  produce a full bar. Because the purity of gold in different  magnesium shoe covers. The Fed does not charge for-  pourings varies, any remaining metal is not added to  eign countries for holding gold, but it does levy a han-  other pourings, but is cast into a separate, smaller bar.  dling fee when gold enters, is moved within, or is shipped out of the vault.  https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Hydraulic lifts and conveyor belts relieve the strain of moving gold, but positioning 27-pound bars has its hazards. Stackers wear strong, yet lightweight, magnesium shoe covers to protect their feet from dropped bars.  1   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  The seal stamped on each bar identifies where the gold  Gold weights, which are calculated in troy ounces, can  was refined, as well as where the bar was cast. Other  be converted to weights in avoirdupois ounces or  numbers identify its melt (the molten gold from which  pounds, with which we are all familiar. The names of  a bar is made) and its purity. None of the bars is 100  both weight systems have French derivations. The troy  percent pure gold. Each has 0.5 percent or less of cop-  system is used to weigh gems and precious metals and  per, silver, and other impurities that are difficult and  is named after Troyes, France. The avoirdupois system,  expensive to remove. To qualify as "good delivery" in  used to weigh just about everything but drugs, gems,  most international transactions, standard bars must be  and precious metals, takes its name from the French  at least 99.5 percent pure gold and weigh between 350  phrase "avoir du pois," meaning goods of weight. It is  and 430 troy ounces. Bars that meet that standard are  based on the same unit of measure, the grain, which  called "fine" bars.  can be used to convert weight from one system to the other. The troy ounce contains 480 grains; the avoirdu-  All bars are gold in color, naturally, but some have  pois ounce is 437.5 grains. A standard 400-troy ounce  tinges that can indicate the type of impurities, however  gold bar weighs 438.8 avoirdupois ounces, or 27.4  modest, in the metal. Traces of silver and platinum give  avoirdupois pounds.  the gold a whitish shade, copper is most often found in reddish bars, and iron produces a greenish hue. One of  POWER AND WORTH  the rarest forms is black gold, which contains traces of  It  bismuth. The butter-yellow bars in the vault usually are  nificant portion of all the monetary gold that has ever  made of newly mined gold.  been mined. Most of the gold in existence today was  is estimated that the gold in the vault represents a sig-  mined during the twentieth century, much of it since Some relatively old bars, originally cast in Europe and  the end of World War II. The International Monetary  scarred from years of handling, can be found in the  Fund reported that world gold reserves totaled about  vault. The imperfections do not affect the value of a bar,  900 million troy ounces in early 1997. The United States  as most scars are dents, rather than chips. Occasionally,  owned approximately 29 percent of this monetary gold.  the edge of a bar may have been notched, with an "A" stamped into it. The cut was made by the owner's assayer to sample the purity of the bar's gold.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Numbers identify the melt and purity of each gold bar.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  The bullion in the New York Fed's vault belonging to  Security also is provided by closed-circuit television  the U.S. Government represents a very small fraction of  monitors and by an electronic surveillance system that  the U.S. gold reserves. A majority of these reserves are  alerts the central guardroom when a vault door is  held in depositories of the Treasury Department at Fort  opened or closed. The alarm system can signal guards  Knox, Kentucky, and West Point, New York. Most of the  to seal all security areas and Bank exits, which can be  remainder is at the Denver and Philadelphia Mints and  closed within seconds.  the San Francisco Assay Office. Totaling about 262 million troy ounces in 1997, the gold reserves of the United  The gold also is secured by the vault's design, which is  States officially are valued at about $11 billion. Valued  a masterpiece of protective engineering. The vault is  at the approximate market price of gold, $319 per  actually the bottom floor of a three-story bunker of  ounce, the U.S. Government's gold reserves are worth  vaults arranged like strongboxes stacked on top of one  $84 billion, or $340 for each U.S. resident.  another. The massive walls surrounding the vault are made of a steel-reinforced structural concrete.  AN INDISPENSABLE SECURITY SYSTEM  Storing almost $86 billion of gold makes extensive securi-  There are no doors into the gold vault. Entry is through  ty measures mandatory at the New York Fed. An impor-  a narrow ten-foot passageway cut in a delicately bal-  tant measure is the background investigation required of  anced, nine-feet-tall, 90-ton steel cylinder that revolves  all Bank employees. Continuous supervision by the vault  vertically in a 140-ton, steel-and-concrete frame. The  control group also prevents problems from arising by  vault is opened and closed by rotating the cylinder 90  ensuring that proper security procedures are followed.  degrees. An airtight and watertight seal is achieved by lowering the slightly tapered cylinder three-eighths of  The Bank and its vaults are guarded by the Bank's own  an inch into the frame, which is similar to pushing a  uniformed protection force. Periodically, each guard  cork down into a bottle. The cylinder is secured in  must qualify with a revolver on the Bank's firing range.  place when two levers insert large bolts, four recessed  Although the minimum requirement is a marksman's  in each side of the frame, into the cylinder. By unlock-  score, most qualify as experts. In addition, the Bank's  ing a series of time and combination locks, Bank per-  guards must be proficient with other weapons.  sonnel can open the vault the next business day. The locks are under "multiple control" — no one individual  Entry into the gold vault is through a ten-foot passageway cut in a 90-ton steel cylinder that revolves vertically in a 140-ton, steel-and-concrete frame.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  has all the combinations necessary to open the vault.  The weight of the gold — just over 27 pounds per bar — makes it difficult to lift or carry and obviates the need to search vault employees and visitors before they leave the vault. Nor do they have to be checked for specks of gold. Gold is relatively soft, but not so soft that particles will stick to clothing or shoes, or can be scraped from the bars. The Bank's security arrangements are so trusted by depositors that few have ever asked to examine their gold.  A PHENOMENAL ASSET  For centuries, gold had an enormous influence on world events. Much of the original gold used for monetary and aesthetic purposes is still in existence today. Regardless of its past, gold often exemplifies well-being, excellence, and wealth. And because of its widespread acceptability, it also functions as a medium of exchange, particularly in areas where currencies are distrusted. Once referred to by John Maynard Keynes as a "barbarous relic" and by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller as "almighty," this precious metal has aroused great passion. It undoubtedly will continue to do so long into the future.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  Referred to as both "almighty" and a "barbarous relic," gold has aroused great passion... and undoubtedly will continue to do so.   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  ABOU'f THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK  The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 11 other Reserve  Districts. Each Reserve Bank provides services to deposito-  Banks,and the Board of Governors in Washington,D.C.,  ry institutions in its District and functions as a fiscal agent  make up the Federal Reserve System,the central bank of  of the U.S. Government.  the United States. The Board of Governors, which serves as The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has several  the System's governing body,consists of seven governors nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.  unique responsibilities within the Federal Reserve System.  One of the Governors is appointed by the President to be  Besides conducting open market operations (the buying  chairman,the highest post in the Federal Reserve. The  and selling of U.S. Government securities in order to  chairman of the Board of Governors also is chairman of  influence bank reserves and the availability of credit in the  the Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC),the group of  economy)to implement monetary policy at the direction  Federal Reserve officials who determine monetary policy.  of the FOMC,the Bank performs important international central banking functions. For example,the New York Fed  The Federal Reserve Bank of New York serves the  engages in foreign exchange intervention on behalf of the  Second Federal Reserve District (each of the 12 Reserve  U.S.Treasury and the Federal Reserve System.It also main-  Banks serves a geographic District in the United States).  tains relations with,and provides financial services for,  The Second District encompasses New York State,the 12  foreign central banks. It is in conjunction with this role  northern counties of New Jersey,and Fairfield County,  that the Fed serves as custodian for the gold reserves of  Connecticut,as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  foreign official and international accounts. Additionally,  The New York Fed and the other Reserve Banks supervise  it invests the dollar reserves of those foreign customers  and regulate state-chartered banks that are members of the  in marketable U.S.Treasury securities. As of mid-1997,  Federal Reserve System,and all bank holding companies  it held in custody over $630 billion of such securities.  and foreign bank branches and agencies based in their   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  20   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  I  U.S.TREASURY LIBRARY  III 1 111 11 1  11 III 10129378  I  1  Federal Reserve Bank of New York Public Information Department 33 Liberty Street New York, NY 10045 1998   https://fraser.stlouisfed.org Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis  I