Gold trivia     

In 1999 and 2002, then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown ordered the Bank of England to sell about half of the UK's gold reserves, raising £3.5 billion at an average price of $275 per ounce. The decision was made to diversify the UK's reserves, and it has since been widely criticized as a major financial blunder because the price of gold has since risen dramatically, costing the UK billions in lost potential value.

The decision: In 1999, Gordon Brown announced the sale of over half of the UK's gold reserves, a move that surprised the market.

The sale: The Bank of England, acting on behalf of the Treasury, sold 395 tonnes of gold between 1999 and 2002.

The price: The gold was sold at an average price of $275 per ounce, which was at a historical low at the time.

The cost: At today's prices, the gold reserves sold would be worth significantly more, and the decision is considered one of the worst investment decisions in British economic history.

The motivation: The sale was intended to diversify the UK's reserves away from gold and into foreign currencies like the U.S. Dollar and the Euro, which were expected to generate better returns.

The consequence: While the sale raised £3.5 billion, the UK has missed out on trillions of pounds in value due to the subsequent surge in the price of gold.