This was a large reason for the infamous Executive Order 6102 , forbidding the private ownership of gold (aside from historically important coins and other items), and giving citizens 25 days to hand it over to the government. They were allowed to keep up to $100 in non-numismatic gold coins. Citizens were reimbursed at the official rate of $20.67 per troy oz. The penalty for hoarding gold as the government defined it, was a fine of up to $10,000 ($191,531.54 in 2018 dollars), a prison term of up to ten years, or both. Businesses that used gold in the regular course of business, such and dentists, jewelers, and watchmakers, could request and buy appropriate amounts of gold from the Federal Reserve banks.

The US Treasury Department was ordered under this same Act to melt down every gold coin in its possession, as well as the gold coins given up by civilians, and send the bars to Ft Knox.

The Federal Reserve was required by law to hold gold reserves equal to 40% of all paper money circulating. Executive Order 6102 allowed the Fed to print millions of more dollars.

Falling outside the "first 100 days", the January 1934 Gold Reserve Act forced the Federal Reserve, and all regional Federal Reserve banks to surrender their gold to the government, but at a rate of $35 per troy oz. Roosevelt had just increased the dollar value of the nation's gold reserves by 69%. This meant the Fed and the Federal Reserve banks now had 69% more paper dollars to release into circulation. The sudden increase in the value of the gold reserves allowed FDR to issue a $2 billion fund to the Treasury Department to defend the value of the (paper) dollar on foreign exchange markets.