Devalue of the dollar was the solution to the last depression to inflate assets and lower the burden of debt. "the price of gold from the treasury for international transactions was raised to $35 an ounce; the U.S. government thereby devalued the U.S. dollar by 41%." Executive Order 6102 is an Executive Order signed on April 5, 1933 by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt "forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates." It required all persons to deliver on or before May 1, 1933 all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates owned by them to the Federal Reserve. Under the Trading With the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended on March 9, 1933, violation of Executive Order 6102 was punishable by fine up to $10,000 ($166,640 if adjusted for inflation as of 2008) or up to ten years in prison, or both. Because of this forced immediate sale of gold to the Federal Reserve at the government set price of $20.67 per ounce, this Executive Order is often referred to as the Gold Confiscation of 1933. Shortly after this forced sale, the price of gold from the treasury for international transactions was raised to $35 an ounce; the U.S. government thereby devalued the U.S. dollar by 41%.
FDR died a while back if I am not mistaken. Gold is a trade, not an investment. Do you know any rich people who made their money by buying and holding gold? be informed read this and you will see why gold is a terrible investment and only a mediocre trade at best once every 30 years. http://thepoliticsofdebt.com/?p=224 And if you really believe the day is coming that the world is on fire, do you think your shiny gold nugget will buy you food?
Is it possible, that OP refers not to gold specifically but to actions of the gov? And that the gov can do similar acts again? The form may be different. But the essence is the same - violation of previous agreements based on being in position of power. Default, technical default, war - whatever will "work". Fast forward to Nixon and gold corridor. Same deal. What is next? Where is next "surprise, surprise", are we in the middle of it?
Well, my 401K already turned into 201K, and if I take the inflation into account (which is really how governments confiscate financial assets), it might already by 101K.
Here is a good read. There is a chapter on gold confiscation from a constitutional point of view: http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killed-Co...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226665858&sr=8-1