How Americans Lost Their Right to Own Gold--and Became Criminals in the Process
![handle is hein.journals/brklr39 and id is 541 raw text is: BROOKLYN
LAW REVIEW
VOLUME 39 Winter, 1973 NUMBER 3
HOW AMERICANS LOST THEIR RIGHT TO
OWN GOLD-AND BECAME CRIMINALS IN
THE PROCESS
Henry Mark Holzer*
INTRODUCTION
For the first time since [James] Bond had known Goldfinger, the
big, bland face, always empty of expression, showed a trace of life
.... Mr. Bond, all my life I have been in love. I have been in
love with gold. I love its colour, its brilliance, its divine heaviness
.. I have worked all my life for gold. . . . I ask you. . . is
there any other substance on earth that so rewards its owner?'
For centuries, most people have shared the fictional Mr. Gold-
finger's attitude about gold, though not necessarily for the same rea-
sons. While gold has been much sought after, both for ornamental
and industrial purposes, modern times-or, more specifically, mod-
ern governments-have taught men to value it for one purpose above
all others: as a hedge against the debasement of paper money. Mone-
tary economist Charles Rist acknowledged this phenomenon when he
wrote: [I]n the absence of governments capable of maintaining sta-
ble money, private individuals seek to assure it for themselves, hoard-
ing a purchasing power [gold] more stable than that of any other
merchandise. . . stable money is one of the last arms that remains
* Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School; B.A., J.D.. New York University'.
The author wishes to thank Erika Holzer, of the New York Bar, for her exceptional
contribution to this article.
The author also wishes to thank Harriet N. Cohen and William T. Schiffman, members
of the Brooklyn Law Review, whose research assistance was invaluable in the article's prepara-
tion.
I. FLEMING, GOLDFINGER (1960).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/brklr39&div=31&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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How Americans Lost Their Right to Own Gold--and Became Criminals in the Process
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