“We are deceived when we consent to think about the ‘price of gold.’ At the very outset of our thoughts regarding gold, we are wrong, just as astronomers prior to Copernicus were wrong in thinking about the solar system as geo-centric, with the Sun, Moon and planets describing perfect circles around Earth. Gold is ? to follow the astronomical simile ? the center of the monetary universe, and the planets ? the currencies ? circle the Sun, which represents gold. The correct starting point is the price of a currency expressed in terms of gold, and not the other way around.
When the price of the dollar was fixed at $20.67 per ounce of gold, up to the time of FDR, the price of the dollar was $1/20.67 = .0483782 oz. of gold, or 4.84 hundredths of an ounce of gold.
When FDR “raised the price of gold” he actually lowered the price of the dollar: $1/35 = .028574 oz. of gold, or 2.86 hundredths of an ounce.
Thus, FDR lowered the price of the dollar from 4.84 hundredths, to 2.86 hundredths of an ounce.” – Hugo Salinas Price