Real Gold or Fool’s Gold?

Giving legitimacy to an Internet conspiracy theory that the gold in Fort Knox is fake, Rep. Ron Paul (R) from Texas has asked adminstration officials to audit the purity of the nation’s 700,000 gold bars held in Fort Knox, according to an internal Treasury document obtained by CNBC. Paul, a presidential candidate who chairs the House’s subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, had previously called for the U.S. gold reserve to be counted and for a return to the gold standard. He now appears to be going a step f urther in his request that representatives from the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Mint testify at a subcommittee hearing on June 23 about the authenticity of the nation’s gold.

The Treasury document says it would cost about $15 million to conduct an audit. The process would take about 30 minutes to verify the gold content of each bar, or 350,000 man hours; to do that would would take 400 people working for six months, according to the document. The Mint is audited annually by the Treasury’s Office of the Inspector General.   Read more here . AP Photo

Is this additional audit to satisfy the subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, i.e. Rep. Ron Paul, worth the time and money involved?  Are you curious about whether or not the gold in Ft. Knox is real?