Fort Knox opened to civilians for first time in 40 years

For the first time in 40 years, the federal government opened the Fort Knox vault to civilians on Monday so they could see the country’s gold reserves.

The civilian delegation was led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who joked in Louisville before making the rare visit, “I assume the gold is still there,” according to AP. The delegation included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Kentucky politicians.

Afterward, Mnuchin sent a reassuring tweet about the stash’s status:

The U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox holds 147.3 million ounces of gold worth about $189 billion at current rates.

No visitors are permitted inside the facility.

Monday’s field trip was initiated by Mnuchin, who told AP it was the first time Fort Knox had opened its vaults to outsiders since 1974.

Texas is in the beginning stages of creating a similar gold depository that aims to rival Fort Knox and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s vault — although it won’t be adjacent to a military base.

The state-run Texas Bullion Depository will be a 60,000-square-foot secure facility on a 10-acre campus in the Austin area within driving distance of the Texas Capitol, according to the government website texasbulliondepository.gov.

Construction on the depository is set to begin in 2018 with a planned opening in 2019. Among those advising the state on design, construction and facility operations are a former director of the U.S. Mint, U.S. military veterans and a former SWAT leader.

When Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill establishing the nation’s first state-run gold depository in 2015, it led to speculation that the state was moving to try and secede, or at least preparing for “fiscal Armageddon.”

It didn’t help that he said that Texas would soon “repatriate $1 billion of gold bullion from the Federal Reserve in New York to Texas.”

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, was the moving force behind the legislation.

This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Fort Knox opened to civilians for first time in 40 years."