Who Owns the Most Gold ?
| The top ten largest owners of gold in the world are reported to control a total of 24,258.3 tonnes, or over 855 million ounces. At current spot prices, this gold would be worth approximately $804.35 billion and represents about 15.4% of all the gold ever mined. |
612.5 TonnesThe Netherland central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, oversees all of the the Dutch national finances, including the country’s 612.5 tonnes of gold . The Dutch gold is currently worth over $20 billion . |
![]() 765.2 TonnesJapan is ninth largest gold owner in the world, with 765.2 tonnes of gold that accounts for only2.1% of the nation’s total foreign reserves. On the open market, Japan’s gold reserves are worth approximately $25.4 billion and are managed by the Bank of Japan. |
![]() 1040.1 TonnesThe Swiss National Bank oversees the country’s 1,040.1 tonnes of gold. The gold is believed to be stored in huge underground vaults near the federal Parliament building in Berne, however the Swiss National Bank treats the location of the gold reserves as a secret. Switzerland’s stockpile is worth approximately $34.5 billion in today’s gold market. |
![]() 1054 TonnesThe world’s most populous country also has the world’s seventh largest gold reserve. With a population of 1,330,440,055 (A rough estimate as of July 2009), the country holds about $26 worth of gold per person, worth a total of almost $35 billion. |
![]() 1120.6 TonnesOriginally listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004, SPDR Gold Shares is one of the fastest growing ETFs in the world. All of the Trust’s gold is held by the Custodian, HSBC Bank, in their London vault. |
![]() 2450.7 TonnesThe Banque De France is responsible for France’s gold holdings, which have been reported at about 2,450.7 tonnes by the International Monetary Fund. With the fifth largest gold reserve in the world, France’s amount to about $81.3 billion. |
![]() 2451.8 TonnesThe Italian National Bank, Banca D’Italia, manages the country’s large gold holdings, with approximately 2,451.8 tonnes of gold in reserve, Italy’s holdings are very close to France’s and are also worth approximately $81.3 billion at current prices. |
![]() 3217.3 TonnesThe International Monetary Fund oversees the global financial system of its 185 member countries and was formed to stabilize international exchange rates and facilitate development, mainly to poorer countries. |
![]() 3412.6 TonnesThe Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, is one of the most influential member of the European System of Central Banks. With a hefty 3,412.6 tonnes of gold reserves, which are valued at about $113.2 billion at current prices. |
![]() 8133.5TonnesThe United States holds the largest gold reserve in the world. With 8,133.5 tonnes, the US gold holdings are worth approximately $269.67 billion. This massive gold reserve represents about .9436 an ounce for ever person living in the country. The majority of the American gold is reported to be held in the world famous United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky, although no audit has been conducted in over 40 years. |









Most uncirculated 1883-S Morgan Dollars came out of a handful of bags, several of which can be attributed to the LaVere Redfield hoard. Most 1883 Morgans produced in San Francisco found their way into circulation. This is a fairly common date in circulated grades, and is very available in grades up to AU. However, in mint state the 1883-S becomes scarce and in GEM BU (MS-65 and above) it is very rare. 1883-S dollars tend to be very frosty, and for the most part, are well struck. What plagues them, and this is especially true with the Redfield pieces, is a proliferation of bag marks. Finding a mark-free GEM with full, original blazing luster is a rare proposition. Although 1883-S dollars are known to exhibit semi-PL surfaces, and even some one-sided DMPL pieces are known, truly PL and DMPL two-sided pieces are rare. The most amazing example that this author has ever seen was the Clapp-Eliasberg specimen which graded MS-67PL at PCGS, and sold in the Eliasberg sale for $143,000.00. It was a truly GEM specimen, void of any mentionable contact marks and exhibited even satiny PL surfaces on both the obverse and the reverse. Overall, this is a greatly underrated date in GEM BU, and the current greysheet MS-65 price of $16,000.00 does not reflect its true scarcity.
The 1884-S Morgan is one of the great anomalies in the Morgan Dollar series. Coming from a seemingly high mintage of 3.2 million pieces, this date is plentiful in grades up to AU and is downright common in grades of VG-VF. Mint state coins are a whole different matter. From a population standpoint, the 1884-S ranks as the 4th rarest Morgan Dollar in mint state behind only the 1892-S, 1893-S and 1895-O. This is a date which before the advent of third party grading was neither considered rare or particularly desirable. This was due to an abundance of AU and slider coins which got passed off as uncirculated. Today, most of the known truly uncirculated coins fall into the MS-60 through MS-62 grades. Most of these pieces are well struck with nice satiny luster and an abundance of contact marks. There are a few semi-PL pieces also known, which may exhibit minor to major striking weakness. I have never seen a truly cartwheel, frosty 1884-S Morgan. Equally as rare are truly PL and DMPL coins. Choice MS-63 pieces are very scarce. MS-64 pieces are RARE. And any coins meriting MS-65 and above grades are prohibitively rare, surpassed only at this grade level by the 1893-S, 1896-O and 1901-P. The few gems that are known are absolutely magnificent., with the astounding George Bodway-Jack Lee PCGS MS-68 being the finest. These GEM pieces exhibit thick, satiny luster (much like the known GEM 1892-S survivors), with an almost total absence of bag marks. The appearance in the market of a GEM 1884-S Morgan is a rare instance indeed. Furthermore, the Redfield hoard did not yield any of this date.
With the advent of independent third-party certification, many coin buyers and sellers thought all their grading worries were over.
Japan’s money economy began earlier than textbooks have described when archaeologists unveiled 33 bronze coins from the late seventh century unearthed in the village of 















