In our recent video, we talked about the value of gold and why the government decided to construct and guard Fort Knox with unparalleled security.
The top-secret US depository holds more than 147 million troy ounces of gold. Along with this are some of the most important items in our history as Americans. The signed original Constitution of the United States, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation are allegedly kept there.
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, drafts of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Gutenberg Bible, and an exemplified copy of Magna Carta are all stored in Fort Knox.
Fort Knox is not open to the public and has had very few visitors over the years. It is so heavily guarded that only one US president has ever been inside it. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults.
George H. W. Bush, then-Vice President, visited For Knox on April 21, 1987. He never accessed the vault though.
The last time Fort Knox was audited was in 1953 by the US Treasury Department. Around 5% of the gold underwent testing for purity. No outside experts were allowed on the site for the audit, either, providing fodder for all kinds of conspiracy theorists.
Fort Knox is so secure that it can withstand a nuclear bomb. At least that’s what people believe.
The walls and windows of Fort Knox are made of granite and are four feet thick. Many believe the walls are lined with cement, steel, bullet-proof, and fire-proof material.
The front door weighs almost 22 tons and is composed of a blast-proof material. No single person can open the door. Instead, it must be opened in tandem with other people required to dial separate combinations, which are changed daily.
It is surrounded by minefields, electrical fences covered in barbed wire, video surveillance, motion detectors, microphones hidden in undisclosed locations, Thompson submachine guns located at four armed sentinel stations on the ground level, as well as sentinel stations on the upper levels.
And, this also doesn’t include all of the security guards monitoring the surrounding grounds at all times.
It is guarded by the United States Mint Police. The 16th Cavalry Regiment, 19th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Armor School, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team are all within sight. In all, 30,000 soldiers and 300 tanks, and attack helicopters are available to defend the Depository against unwanted intruders.
This is why Fort Knox has been the subject of conspiracy theories.
Some believe that we are keeping aliens there, dead or alive, I don’t know. Some believe that the bodies of some prominent dead people are kept there.
But the one theory that took a life of its own is the speculation that the vaults are empty.
It prompted Fort Knox to allow a select group of journalists and a Congressional delegation to be allowed inside Fort Knox.
September 23, 1974, Fort Knox’ doors were opened to journalists and politicians for the first time
This happened again on August 24, 2017. Then Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and a civilian delegation visited the Fort Knox vaults.
Bevin said it’s like “seeing a leprechaun on a unicorn.”
More importantly, he confirmed that the gold is still there and very much secure.
I would love to visit Fort Knox but I have better chances of visiting Mars.
So, that dream will remain a dream. But one thing I know for sure. The U.S. Treasury appreciates firsthand the value of gold.
Gold cushions our economy. That’s why we are trying to own as much of it as we can.
You should too.
