…the Federal Reserve is making some interesting comments:
How does an economy behave in a historical environment where gold is the international monetary standard? We find that key features of this monetary system are long-run price stability and the nonneutrality of money in the short run.
I have always stated that the US treasury’s gold holdings are like ballast in a ship keeping it upright. The FED does not allow anyone to claim the gold for paper. Wise move. But the ballast is worth more than if it were openly exchanged.
Good job as it would soon be gone 
That’s right. It is not lost on the powers that be. Remember it holds the value of the dollar up in part. The GDP also holds the USD up. The GDP is expanding faster now.
Further down on the same page and by the exact same authors:
Most notably the conclusion (how can a working paper have a conclusion?):
If the world gold stock is scarce, which seems to be the case throughout modern history, the risks associated with adherence to the gold bloc can be too large for the countries at the periphery, which are likely to lag in productivity growth relative to the other countries in the bloc. Our analysis suggests that the gold standard can be sustainable at the core, but its survival at the periphery is unlikely to occur because of the associated risks.
YMMV.
It closed at $2,221! Not the biggest item type in my portfolio but by far the most interesting.
Goldroom Chat is going crazy.