Hi Carl:
Carl Schwamberger wrote:
Probablly very little Cezch gold was actually in the US. Whole sale physical transfers of gold bullion had fallen off gradually from the late 19th Century and the daily 'transfers' to balance accounts were paper transactions with the gold remaining in place, just relabeled. For the most part the bullion sat in the same bank vault and transfers were in the ledgers. The French moving two shiploads of bullion to Toronto Canada in March 1940 was notable by its rarity. That was done to ensure US businesses selling to the French would feel confident their contracts/credits with France were secure.
In the 1920s the paper transaction of gold transfers was made more efficient by the establishment of the 'Bank of International Settlements'. This was located in Switzerland and was a clearing house for gold bullion transactions. Many European nations and banks kept a portion of their bullion in the BIS vaults and depended on the staff there to track daily payments. In the late 1930s the head of the German Reichs Bank was made chief of the BIS, giving the nazis a degree of administrative control. The Cezch gold the nazis accquired in March 1939 included the portion stored in the BIS vaults in Switzerland.
Post war there was a accountants nightmare as the banks & government treasuries tried to sort out the hash the war had made of the global banking system.
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the 'Bank of International Settlements'. That explains a lot regarding a similar notation I had made to myself on the transfer of Czech gold from the Swiss to the Germans. In the regard to Czech gold in the U.S., I located an news article from April 26, 1946 entitled "
Czech Assets Unfrozen" which stated that $ 9,400,000 was unfrozen by the Treasury Department to Czechoslovakia on the 24th.
I also found mention of what appears to be large physical gold transfers to the U.S. prior to the 1940 transfer from France to Canada that you've noted in a April 2, 1939 article, written by Elliott V. Bell, entitled
"Bankers Uphold Huge Gold Stock" It is true, bankers pointed out, that the United States has amassed an enormous stock of gold, and the fact that this concentration of gold constitutes a serious problem, both from the standpoint of domestic economy and also from the standpoint of world monetary affairs, has been recognized. To a considerable extent, however, the gold that has come to the United States is being held in trust by us for other countries. It has come here partly because of our favorable trade balance but also because capital has been in flight from the threat of war in Europe and has been seeking safety in this country.
The extent to which fear of war has sent gold here has been strikingly illustrated in the Munich crisis of last Autumn and in the current scare. Monetary gold stocks of the United States rose $ 520,900,000 in September and $ 562,400,000 in October last year. In the three weeks ended on Wednesday the gold stocks jumped another $ 237,000,000 and it is estimated that about $ 130,000,000 of the metal has arrived in the last three days, including a record-breaking shipment of $ 56,500,000. Gold is pouring out of Europe to this country not because the United States is seeking it but because Europe fears a war.
Best regards,
Gorque.