Federal Reserve Bank of New York
33 Liberty Street | between Nassau and Williams Streets
Downtown | Manhattan
  
  
to Fulton Street
General Information
Contact 212-720-6130 |
Federal Reserve
Bank of New York
Hours
Tours at 9:30A, 10:30A , 11:30A, 1:30P, 2:30P
Highlights
Depending on the market price of gold and exactly how many troy
ounces of the precious metal the Federal Reserve has on hand at any
moment, the value of the gold stored 80 feet under the streets of
New York can be upwards of $100 billion dollars. That's
$100,000,000,000, quite a sum
The Bank's vault is a warren of more than 100 compartments, each
assigned to a country, an organization or a group of countries and
organizations. It's an industrial operation requiring the use of
powerful elevators, conveyors and lifts to move the heavy gold bars
(just over 27 pounds each), into and out of the Bank and among
compartments within the vault. The vault itself is protected by a
90-ton steel door that, when turned to close acts basically the same
as a valve on a kitchen gas line, turning the vaulted portion of the
hallway 90 degrees, blocking access to anyone who has managed to
make down to that level in the first place
Exhibitions listed by
order of closing date
January 16 2002 thru January ?? 2007
Drachmas, Doubloons and Dollars: The History of Money
American Numismatic Society
Hours Monday thru Friday 10:00A to 4:00P
More Information
ANS: Drachmas, Doubloons and Dollars
All about money, its history, its art, its politics, its value. This
is an extensive, comprehensive exhibit containing examples of money
from the past couple of thousand years. It goes beyond money as
coins and paper notes, investigating the use of salt, shells, metal
ingots and forma of jewelry as money
Tours
One hour tours of the Bank are given five times a day, at 9:30A,
10:30A and 11:30A in the morning, then 1:30P and 2:30P in the
afternoon. Tour spaces are limited and reservations must be made in
advance, be sure to allow enough time for tickets to be mailed to
you. Security is, of course, tight, very tight. No packages, no
cameras, no backpacks, no briefcases. Carry as little as you can to
make the security screening process as quick and painless as
possible. Photo identification is required. For complete
requirements and to make reservations see the Fed's
Bank
Tours page
So, once you get through all of that stuff, what are you going to
see? Gold. Maybe not all the gold they have, still probably more
than you've ever seen. And you'll also get to see the 90-ton vault
door that protects it. If you want to read about it before you go,
or in case you miss anything while you're there, the Bank has links
to some very good background material on its
Bank
Exhibits page. Be warned though, the very pretty pictures
included in these PDF files make for long downloads, but they're
worth it
Things change quickly in NYC. Be sure to contact the museum or society for changes to schedules, admission fees, restrictions on children, strollers, backpacks, etc.
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