US Gold Holdings According to US Debt Clock, VS. U.S. Treasury Status Report

So many questions (I know that opening makes it sound like this is a big conspiracy theory thread, it's really not... other than my curiosity about Ford Hood's gold being included in the reports).

I was digging around on the US Debt Clock website today and I stumbled across the Precious Metals page, showing Gold Holdings, Gold Production per Annum. and Precious Metals Reserves for various countries (I am fuzzy on the difference between reserves and holdings if anybody can provide their insights that would be appreciated as well!), found here: US Debt Clock - Gold & Precious Metals According to US Debt Clock, the US holdings stand at roughly 287.5 million ounces.

I also found the Status Report of U.S. Treasury, updated August 31st (so about a month old): Bureau of the Fiscal Reserve There is a slight difference, but nothing too major.

According to the report, as of 8/31/15 the U.S. had 261,498,926.230 troy ounces of gold.

Now for my curiosity that led me to make this thread:

Each country on USDebtClock's Precious Metals page show that their reserves going down. Are the banks buying up all of the government's metals? I also know China and Russia, among others have been buying tons of gold (as have the large banks such as HBSC. If Russia makes a large purchase, would any of their numbers change on this U.S. debt clock number once that transfer has been confirmed (if it is indeed accurate)?

Can anyone enlighten me as to why countries' precious metals reserves are continually going down, the difference between holdings and reserves, and any other thoughts/feedback about this?

Does the "reserves" or "holdings" number also include gold ETFs (not physical gold)?

Also, I know there is a lot of speculation about the gold in Fort Hood. Is that also included in the U.S. numbers?

I know this thread is a bit all over the place - I'm just curious and know there are a lot of ATSrs who are well attuned to this topic. Thank you in advance ATS - respect and appreciation to you all.

a reply to: FamCore

I'm also wondering if "Gold reserves/holdings" also include Platinum? As it is a type of gold, I would assume it would fit into that category BUT I know very little about the details of the treasury, how they report, etc., hence the thread.

a reply to: FamCore

I could be wrong about this… when it comes to gold, holdings are whats declared, reserves is the secret they keep about how much they actually have in the vaults. Not all a nations gold reserves may be in its possession.

a reply to: intrptr
According to this, it sounds like "holdings" mean dollars/gold that could be somewhere off shore.

Based on that, it sounds like reserves are the actual physical amount that can be accessed here and now www.bis.org...

That is my takeaway from the first page of that report by the Bank for International Settlements at least..

a reply to: FamCore

I'm also wondering if "Gold reserves/holdings" also include Platinum?

Yae. Reserves refers to any tangible asset actually held in the form of metal bars or ingots. Other precious metals are retained by Banks as a reserve, in case the current currency fails.

I think they found a bunch of platinum bars in the basement of WTC after 911, didn't they?

I'd link it, but the disinfo surrounding 911 is so deep nowadays, there is no bottom to it. Maybe someone else can link / or not.

a reply to: FamCore

A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended as a store of value and as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, or to secure a currency.

Wiki

The vague part is how much gold is actually there, despite what they say. Like everyone is suspicious about how much gold is in fort Knox, right?

Thats called reserves, but is it really there?

a reply to: intrptr
Nice! I'm glad you brought that up.

I found this source explaining missing gold on 9/11, it sources NYT article, NY Daily News, among others: 911research.wtc7.net...

On Nov. 1, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced that "more than $230 million" worth of gold and silver bars that had been stored in a bomb-proof vault had been recovered

It goes on to say there was really more like $650 million or $1B worth of gold 4 floors beneath Four WTC (who knows though):

Reports describing the contents of the vaults before the attack suggest that nearly $1 billion in precious metals was stored in the vaults. A figure of $650 million in a National Real Estate Investor article published after the attack is apparently based on pre-attack reports. Unknown to most people at the time, $650 million in gold and silver was being kept in a special vault four floors beneath Four World Trade Center.

a reply to: intrptr

Thats called reserves, but is it really there?

My thoughts exactly - for all we know, Fort Hood was looted ages ago but TPTB would never openly admit that. All of it could still be on the books, even though it hasn't been there for decade. And for the Treasury, it beefs up the U.S. rep. and maybe eases the minds of the American Public.

I bet they've been cooking the books and those reserve numbers are inaccurate. Just my 2 cents though

Holdings is supposed to be what you are holding in hand and reserves is what you keep in reserve, just in case. Doesn't this come from poker?

Holdings are chips on the table in front of you an and reserves is what you got in your pocket?

a reply to: intrptr

That does make perfect sense.

Holdings: financial assets in someone's possession

Reserves: a supply of a commodity not needed for immediate use but available if required

They'll lie about both though, so either way we're kind of in the dark about what our gov. is doing in the precious metals markets

a reply to: FamCore

They'll lie about both though, so either way we're kind of in the dark about what our gov. is doing in the precious metals markets

Right you are, remembering too, that the Federal Reserve isn't really the government but a private bank and "money" they issue is paper having no "Intrinsic" value.

The lies are so nested and everyone accepts them so casually.

But they know full well and keep us in the dark generally that the world turns on metal. If it isn't made of metal then it was made in a factory made of metal.

They have all the metal, we get plastic and paper "Promissory Notes".

link to image

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: FamCore

I'm also wondering if "Gold reserves/holdings" also include Platinum? As it is a type of gold, I would assume it would fit into that category BUT I know very little about the details of the treasury, how they report, etc., hence the thread.

Huh? What? No, platinum is most certainly not a "type of gold" anymore than silver is. Gold, platinum, silver, copper, etc are all elemental metals. This is why alchemy always failed and always will. Platinum (or silver or even copper) is added discretely to gold prior to formation of bars or ingots (which is why there's a proof stamp on them saying 99.9% pure, etc) because without the alloy metal, the bars would be too malleable.

I'm not aware of any statement on how much platinum the US holds.

a reply to: burdman30ott6

Wow, I was completely confusing Platinum with other things like "white gold", gold with rhodium plating and alloyed with other metals.

Ahh, thanks you for commenting burdman30ott6