gold did rise during the Great Depression, but how it rose is important to understand.
📉 What happened during the Great Depression (1929–1939)
1️⃣ Gold’s price was fixed at first
Before 1933, gold was fixed at $20.67 per ounce
So on paper, gold didn’t “move” like it does today
But this does NOT mean gold didn’t gain value.
2️⃣ Stocks collapsed, gold preserved wealth
U.S. stocks fell about –89%
Banks failed, cash was lost
People who held gold did not lose purchasing power
-While everything else collapsed, gold held its value
That alone made gold a winner.
3️⃣ 1933–1934: Gold was officially revalued upward
In 1933, the U.S. government confiscated private gold
In 1934, gold was repriced from $20.67 → $35
That’s a ~69% increase overnight
- Gold holders (and governments) gained massively
- The dollar was devalued, gold was strengthened
So did gold “rise” during the Depression?
In nominal price:
YES, after 1933 (massive revaluation)
In real purchasing power:
YES, strongly
Gold bought more goods, more land, more labor
Stocks & paper assets:
Destroyed
The key lesson (this matters today)
During deflation, debt collapse, or currency stress,
gold doesn’t need to rally — it just needs to survive.
When currencies are later reset or devalued: Gold is repriced higher🍀
That’s exactly what happened in the 1930s.
🔥Gold didn’t crash in the Great Depression — it outlived everything else and was revalued higher🔥
