What changed
Until 1971, foreign central banks could exchange dollars for gold at $35 per ounce. Mounting Vietnam-era deficits and outflows forced suspension. The dollar floated; gold price-discovery returned.
Precious metals intelligence
The Nixon Shock and Gold
On August 15, 1971, Nixon suspended dollar-gold convertibility. The decision ended the Bretton Woods system and unlocked the 1970s gold market.
What followed
Gold ran from $35 in 1971 to over $800 by 1980 as inflation, oil shocks, and currency uncertainty repriced the metal across an entire decade.
Modern relevance
The Nixon decision is the practical start of the modern gold market. Every long-arc gold chart inherits 1971 as the regime break.
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