In 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, requiring Americans to surrender most of their privately held gold to the federal government. The controversial move was intended to stabilize the banking system and expand government control over the money supply. Americans received $20.67 per ounce, the official gold price at the time. An estimated 2,265 tonnes of gold were collected, while those who illegally hoarded gold faced penalties of up to 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both. In 1934, the government raised the official gold price to $35 per ounce, effectively devaluing the dollar and increasing the value of federal gold reserves. Nearly a century later, the decision remains a subject of debate over government authority, economic intervention, and private property rights.