Government comes into possession of practically all the gold produced within the country, Although the USS. output is highly diversified, all of it is brought within a system of regulation which directs the entire stream of monetary gold into the ownership of the Federal Government.
The system derives from powers conferred upon the Treasury by the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, a principal Object of which was to vest in the Government the ownership of all monetary gold in the U.S. Control over the marketing of newly produced gold is carried out by means of a licensing system, and licences to deal with gold beyond the fow state are issued only by the Treasury or its agents appointed for the purpose, six official mints and assay offices. Trading in gold in its natural states is, allowed without a licence, while small industrial users are assisted by being allowed to hold up to 35 oz. of fine gold at any one time without having to obtain a licence, In practice, the gold is commonly sold either to private refining companies or direct to the "mint institutions," which also undertake refining. The private refiners, unless within the "35-oz. exemption," must hold a licence from the mint or assay office of the district, and by them the refined gold is sold either to the mints or to trade buyers. Payment is made by the mint institutions, after assay, by cheque, in cash, or even in offs cially stamped gold bars for industrial Purposes. The mints may also make [advance payments of 90 to 98 per cent. of the estimated value of refined gold deposited with them, but this concession is granted only to recognized refiners,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.