In 1933, Congress passed a Joint Resolution ("the 1933 Statute")
providing that any obligation containing a gold clause "shall be
discharged upon payment, dollar for dollar, in any coin or currency
which at the time of payment is legal tender for public and private
debts." Ch. 48, 48 Stat. 112, 113 (1933) (formerly codified at
21 U.S.C. § 463). The statute gave the obligor the option of
paying its debts in any form of legal tender, including gold, and
prevented any obligee from enforcing gold clauses in existing or
future obligations. The Gold Reserve Act of 1934, however,
foreclosed the obligor's option of paying in gold by banning the
use of gold as legal tender. See Gold Reserve Act of 1934, ch.
6, 48 Stat. 340 (1934) (repealed). From 1933 forward, the railroads
made the interest payments on their bonds in currency.
In 1977, Congress amended the 1933 Statute by providing that it
did "not apply to obligations issued on or after the date of
enactment of this section." 91 Stat. 1227, 1229 (1977). The 1933
statute and its amendment were then recodified in 1982 as follows:
An obligation issued containing a gold clause or governed by a gold
clause is discharged on payment (dollar for dollar) in United
States coin or currency that is legal tender at the time of payment.
This paragraph does not apply to an obligation issued after October
27, 1977.
31 U.S.C. § 5118(d)(2). In 1985, Congress reauthorized the use of
gold coin as legal tender when it provided for the minting of $50
"Gold Eagle" coins. See Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, Pub.L.
No. 99-185, 99 Stat. 1177 (codified as amended at 31 U.S.C. § 5112
(1994)). --899 F2d 536 Adams v. Csx Transportation Inc