THE SHINING "Good As Gold"

Jack Torrance

vs.

FDR

President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he signs the Gold Bill on his 52nd birthday, surrounded by members of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

In 1933, President Roosevelt took the U.S. off the gold standard when he signed an executive order making it illegal for individuals and firms to possess most forms of monetary gold.

People were required to exchange their gold coins, gold bullion and gold certificates for paper money at a set price of $20.67 per ounce.

March 1933. For an entire week in March 1933, all banking transactions were suspended in an effort to stem bank failures and ultimately restore confidence in the financial system.