While the global economy is still fragile, the Bank of England flaunts £156 billion (approx. $245 billion) worth of gold bars, deposited in an underground vault. The sight is breathtaking, even though the 28-lb bars are deposited on simple metal shelves painted blue.
The vault is actually a former underground canteen, but it has bombproof walls and an advanced security system that keeps those shiny 25-carat gold bars safe from any potential harm. Not all the gold (4,600 tons) was deposited here by the British government. Some of it bears other countries’ marks, making their origin easily distinguishable.
One of these images alone shows approximately 15,000 bars or some 210 tones of gold. The pictures must be quite reassuring for those who don’t know where the U.K. stands in terms of money savings. On the walls of the vault there still are some old posters of the 1940s, to remind people of the era when this chamber was used by the bank staff as a shelter during World War II.
