Gold held at $19.39/oz from 1793 to 1834 — fixed by Section 11 of the Coinage Act of 1792, which set the pure gold content of a $10 Eagle coin at 247.5 grains. The Gold Coinage Act of 1834 reduced the gold content, effectively raising the price to $20.67/oz, where it stayed for nearly a century.
The modern era of gold pricing begins on August 15, 1971, when President Nixon suspended the dollar's convertibility to gold. From $35/oz in 1971, gold has risen over 14,000% — driven by inflation, geopolitical crises, central bank buying, and the erosion of purchasing power in fiat currencies.
Why log scale matters: On a linear chart, gold's price from 1793–1970 appears as a flat line near zero because the scale is dominated by modern prices. Toggle the LOG scale above to see proportional moves — a doubling from $20 to $40 is just as visible as a doubling from $2,500 to $5,000.
Key Events in Gold History
Decade-by-Decade Gold Prices
Click any decade to expand. All prices USD per troy ounce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gold closed 1980 at $599.50/oz after hitting an intraday high of $910.60 in January. Driven by 13.5% US inflation, Iran hostage crisis, and Soviet Afghanistan invasion.
March 13, 2008, during the early stages of the global financial crisis. It briefly fell below $700 in October 2008 before resuming its climb to $1,920 by September 2011.
The official US price was $35.00/oz — set by FDR in 1934, maintained through Bretton Woods until August 15, 1971.
From $19.39 to over $5,000 — a gain of over 25,000%. Nearly all of that occurred after 1971 when the price was allowed to float freely.
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