Repatriating Polish gold

Poles want their gold back from the vaults of the Bank of England where it has been held since the outbreak of the second world war, when it was smuggled through Eastern Europe and on to Britain in order to keep it safe from Nazi invaders.

Poland joins a growing list of countries wanting their gold back in their homelands. The list also includes Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany which recently agreed to a 7 year shipment schedule (probably because their gold is not in the Federal vault in NYC ready to send, but rather leased out).

The reasons for the repatriation of gold are many. Some countries are looking to have greater symbolic control over their own economies, while some are, like many investors, thinking of gold as a hedge on exchange rates if the world economy takes an unusual turn.

One of the most consistent, albeit usually unofficial, reasons for repatriation is the belief that the Bank of England and other big banks do not have the gold in their vaults that they say they have on paper. If that conjecture was proven, it could lead to even more problems for monetary security in Europe.

Gold was used as currency—or as a base for currency—across the Western world until the 1930s. Several European countries moved off of the system in the wake of the Great Depression, but the idea of gold as the base of currency has not disappeared just yet. People all over the world assume that gold represents a back-up to the currency of their country.

What an empty Vault looks like