The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Gold Vault Explained

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Gold Vault is a secure storage facility located beneath the bank's headquarters in Manhattan.

It's estimated to be around 80 feet underground.

The vault is used to store gold reserves for the Federal Reserve System.

These reserves are held in the form of gold bars, which are stored in 20-ton containers.

The vault is designed to be a highly secure facility, with multiple layers of protection.

It has a 55-ton door that is made of steel and is one of the most secure doors in the world.

The vault also has a sophisticated alarm system and is staffed by security personnel 24/7.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's gold vault is located in the basement of the 33 Liberty Street building, which opened for business on May 29, 1924. The vault's construction was a complex process, requiring deep basement excavation and taking into account the undulating Manhattan bedrock.

The vault's design is triple-tired, with different levels storing different types of assets. Level C stores securities, level D stores currency, and the lowest vault in basement level E stores gold bars and coins. The vault's hull was constructed from steelcrete, a combination of metal and concrete.

Here's a brief timeline of the vault's location and history:

The main vault of the New York Fed is located in the lowest level of a three-tier vault structure. This structure is built into the very deep basement of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York headquarters building.

The building occupies an entire city block in Manhattan, bordered by Liberty Street, William Street, Maiden Lane, and Nassau Street.

The main vault at the Fed's 33 Liberty Street building has a rich history. The construction project began in 1921 and was completed by 1924.

The construction was complicated by the presence of undulating Manhattan bedrock, which first appeared at a depth of 87 feet. This made it difficult to excavate the basement, which had to be built with a lowest depth of approximately 80 feet.

The basement construction also had to account for the fact that Manhattan is an island and the lowest basement is below tidewater-level. This added an extra layer of complexity to the project.

The hull of the basement was constructed from steelcrete, a combination of metal and concrete. This was a unique solution for the project, which was considered one of the most difficult and exacting pieces of foundation engineering ever undertaken.

The triple-tired vault was lowered into place after the basement excavation was complete.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has a rich history that spans over a century. It was first incorporated in 1914, along with 11 other district banks, as part of the Federal Reserve Act signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.

The bank officially opened for business in 1914, and its main building at 33 Liberty Street in New York City was opened in 1924. This building is now a New York City Landmark, designated in 1965.

The construction of the building and its basement was a complex process, requiring deep excavation to accommodate the vaults. The basement was constructed from steelcrete, a combination of metal and concrete, to ensure its stability.

Here's a brief timeline of the bank's history:

The bank's history is marked by significant events, from its incorporation to its designation as a New York City Landmark.

The main gold vault of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is located in the lowest level of a three-tier vault structure built into the basement of the headquarters building at 33 Liberty Street.

The vault structure consists of three levels: basement levels C, D, and E. The main gold vault is situated at Basement E level.

The main gold vault entrance is secured by a 90-tonne steel cylinder that rotates within a steel and concrete surround, which itself weighs 140 tonnes. This unique entrance system provides an added layer of security.

A four-foot wide corridor runs all the way around the vault, with the outer walls of the corridor being the actual perimeter of the basement hull. Both the vault walls and the outer walls of the corridor are lined with reinforced concrete.

The interior of the gold vault comprises 122 compartments, or cages, that each hold gold bars on behalf of an individual country. These compartments are used to store gold for various countries, providing a secure and organized storage system.

There is also a library compartment that stores gold on different shelves belonging to a number of foreign central banks that do not have enough gold in custody to justify use of an individual compartment.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds only a small fraction of the United States gold reserves, but it does hold the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world. Over 200 million troy ounces of gold, much of it belonging to foreign countries, are currently being held at the bank.

The main vault at the bank first opened with a dramatic display of security, as the Secret Service used 45 armored cars to move the initial deposits of gold through the streets of New York. 150 policemen lined the streets and stood guard at strategic points as the armored cars drove by.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's main gold vault is located at Basement E level and is approximately half the length of a football field. The vault entrance is secured by a 90 tonne steel cylinder that rotates within a steel and concrete surround which itself weighs 140 tonnes.

The interior of the gold vault comprises 122 compartments, or cages, that each hold gold bars on behalf of an individual country. There is also a library compartment which stores gold on different shelves belonging to a number of foreign central banks that do not have enough gold in custody to justify use of an individual compartment.

You can take a guided tour of the main gold vault at the New York Fed, which is a unique experience among large central bank gold vaults.

The tour includes the New York Fed museum and must be reserved in advance, sometimes booking up for months ahead.

The tour does not include the auxiliary vault, and the auxiliary vault is not even mentioned on the gold vault tour.

If you're interested in taking a tour, be prepared to plan ahead as spots can be hard to come by.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Gold Vault is a secure storage facility for gold reserves. It's located beneath the bank's headquarters in Manhattan.

The vault is owned by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a regional branch of the Federal Reserve System. This means the vault is under the control of the Federal Reserve.

The gold stored in the vault is considered to be in the custody of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The New York Fed's vault is a treasure trove of gold, holding a staggering 7,000 tons of glittering gold bars, which is around 5 percent of all the gold ever mined.

It's worth noting that the gold is stored in the vault in the form of bars, each weighing 400 troy ounces or just over 27 pounds apiece.

The value of each bar at recent prices would be approximately $640,000.

These bars are not uniform, with older bars being in the shape of bricks and more recent ones being trapezoidal.

Smaller "Hershey Bars" are also stored in the vault, created using leftover gold from the casting process that's not enough to make a normal bar.

The majority of securities in Federal Reserve custody are owned by households, which make up about 75% of the total.

Households own a significant portion of these securities, with the majority being held by individual investors.

Individual investors are often unaware that their securities are held in custody by the Federal Reserve.

The remaining 25% of securities in Federal Reserve custody are owned by non-financial businesses and government entities.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Gold Vault is a fascinating topic. Located in Manhattan, the vault is a secure storage facility for the US government's gold reserves.

The vault is a significant part of the US financial system, holding a substantial portion of the country's gold reserves. The gold is stored in a secure environment, with multiple layers of protection to prevent theft or tampering.

You can even take a tour of the vault and museum to see the gold up close. The Museum & Gold Vault Tour website provides information on how to book a tour.

The vault has been the subject of several audits and inspections over the years, including a notable audit in 2012. In fact, the article "What’s in your vault? Uncle Sam audits its stash of gold at the New York Fed" provides more information on this process.

The vault has also been involved in international transactions, such as the return of Germany's gold reserves in 2014. This is documented in the article "How Germany got its gold back".