Federal Reserve for Free

Beneath the city's subway lies the world's largest source of gold in the world belonging to 36 foreign governments, central banks, and official international organizations. I know it sounds like the plot the latest action movie, but you can actually see this gold on one of the free tours that the Federal Reserve of New York offers.

I admit that I was expecting flashing lights, spinning combinations, and numerous moving doors, but I was a little disappointed; the reality is a rather ordinary elevator that took our tour group down to a corridor that you might find in any office though some of the guys in my group joked that it actually smelled like gold down there. In front area where we left the elevator, there were some informative panels about the vaults and a movie about the history of the Federal Reserve.

When we finally saw the actual gold, it looked just like you'd expect from science book illustrations and cartoons. It didn't sink in to me how heavy the bricks of gold were until the guide pointed out dents in the concrete floor made when gold fell there. We also got to see tools used in in the measuring and loading of the gold.

The tour was a little shorter than I had thought it would be, but we did get a surprise gift at the end, which was fun. I was also able to look at some exhibits on the main floor of the Reserve, sponsored by the American Numismatic Society, which featured interactive displays with videos and quizzes about how checks work, ways to identify counterfeit bills, and historic denominations of money. One of my favorites was a bill from colonial New Jersey that said, "To counterfeit is death." I was surprised to learn that even during this current economic crisis more than 4 million bills totaling more than $105 million are shredded every day after being taken out of circulation. Before shredding machines were invented money was actually burned...something to think about.

Cheap Chick Info: Tours are free, but are offered by reservation only (for more specific information and to make reservations please visit: http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/ny_tours.html) Monday through Friday.
Location Info: 33 Liberty Street, between Nassau and William Streets
Subway: 2,3,4.5,A,C,J,M,Z to Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau