In Gold / FAQ

A Sound-Money Calculator

Fiat vs gold — frequently asked questions

Every answer carries its numbers. Figures update with live spot.

How much value has the US dollar lost since 1971, measured in gold?

99.0%. In 1971 gold was $40.62/oz; today it is $4,043/oz. It takes 99.5× more dollars to buy the same ounce, so $100 held as gold since 1971 is $9,954 today.

How much gold did $100 buy in 1913?

4.84 oz, at the legal peg of $20.67/oz. Valued at today's spot that weight is $19,561 — while CPI says $100 from 1913 equals only $3,385.

What was the price of gold in 1971?

$40.62/oz as the annual average — the final year of the $35 official peg era, with the free-market price already pulling away before the gold window closed on August 15, 1971.

What is the difference between inflation and debasement?

Inflation is the official story: a price index rising. Debasement is the cause: the currency itself being expanded and losing value. CPI measures a basket of consumer prices; gold measures the currency. The two diverge because the index understates what the printing did.

Why does CPI understate the dollar's loss of value?

Because it measures selected consumer prices, not the currency. Since 1971, CPI says $100 became $827 (8.3×); the money supply grew 34.2×; and gold — the ruler that cannot be printed — moved 99.5×.

What is the gold window?

The Bretton Woods mechanism by which foreign central banks could redeem US dollars for gold at $35/oz. Nixon closed it on August 15, 1971 — announced as temporary, never reopened. It is the single most important date on this site.

Was it illegal for Americans to own gold?

Yes. Executive Order 6102 (1933) outlawed private gold ownership and ordered coin surrendered at $20.67/oz; the following year gold was repriced to $35. Ownership became legal again on December 31, 1974.

When did Australia float its dollar?

December 1983, under the Hawke government with Paul Keating as treasurer. Before that the AUD was pegged and then managed against a trade-weighted basket. From the float onward, the AUD gold price is a daily market verdict on the currency.

How much value has the Australian dollar lost since the 1983 float, measured in gold?

91.8%. A$100 in 1983 bought 0.21 oz of gold; that weight is worth $1,223 at today's A$ gold price of $5,761/oz. Australian CPI admits only $398.

What are M2 and M3, and why show them?

Measures of the money supply — M2 for the US, M3 broad money for Australia. They sit between the official story (CPI) and the honest ruler (gold): the gap from CPI to money supply is inflation understating the money actually created; the gap from money supply to gold is the flight to hard money.

What data does In Gold use?

FRED series CPIAUCNS and M2SL for the US; AUSCPIALLQINMEI, MABMM301AUM189S and DEXUSAL for Australia; the legal gold pegs and MeasuringWorth annual averages for historical gold; GoldAPI for live gold, silver and platinum spot. Full detail on the methodology page.

Are the figures estimates?

No. The engine is a deterministic lookup plus arithmetic — no models, no interpolation, no AI in the number path. Years without source data are simply omitted. Live spot (currently $4,043/oz) refreshes every five minutes.

Go deeper: methodology & sources · glossary · what happened in 1971 · every year in USD · every year in AUD.