History of Money
The day the dollar lost gold
1944
Bretton Woods
Dollar fixed to gold
1958
System goes live
$35 buys one ounce
Aug 15, 1971
Gold window closed
Dollar floats on policy
On August 15, 1971, the US closed the gold window. Dollars could no longer be swapped for gold.
Since 1971, nothing limits how many dollars get printed.
Source: Federal Reserve History, "Nixon Ends Convertibility of U.S. Dollars to Gold" · Oct 16, 2026
Bit complete · Bit 1 of 14
Next ›Next Bit →