Federal Reserve

NEW YORK--This may look like enough gold to make up just about anybody's nest egg, but it's actually a very, very small portion of the entire deposit at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The largest collection of gold on Earth, the New York Fed's accumulation belongs to 37 countries, including the United States. The U.S., in fact, owns just a fraction, and the Fed itself is only the custodian of the precious metal. All told, the deposits are worth about $255 billion, at market value.

On Road Trip 2010, CNET reporter Daniel Terdiman visited the U.S. Bureau of Engraving & Printing in Washington, D.C., and saw how the new, next-generation $100 bills are made. He then visited the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, the largest mint in the world, and saw the design process and the production of our coins.

When he reached New York, Terdiman discovered the Fed's gold deposits, and thought a trilogy of stories about visceral and physical representations of money would be a perfect thing to include in the Road Trip package. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to arrange a visit to see the gold, but the Fed did provide information (PDF file) and imagery of the deposits which, as the largest on Earth, are naturally larger than that of the famous collection at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

Click here to read the related story on the New York Fed's gold vault, and click here to check out the entire Road Trip 2010 package.