Wyoming’s historic $10 million gold purchase required by 2025 legislation has happened with little fanfare.
There were no public announcements or press releases at the time. There was just a brief mention of the December purchase during a Jan. 9 Joint Appropriations Committee hearing.
Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, asked the Wyoming Treasurer’s office for an update on whether the purchase had been made during the hearings.
Deputy Director Dawn Williams confirmed the Treasurer’s office had indeed purchased the gold on Dec. 19. In all, Williams said the purchase totaled 2,312 ounces of gold, at $4,337.60 per ounce.
That gold is now physically housed at the Wyoming Reserve, Williams added, which is a high-security vault in Casper focused on secure storage of precious metals.
The CEO of the Wyoming Reserve is Josh Phair, who is also CEO of Scottsdale Mint, which fabricates gold and silver coins, bars and bullion for central banks and Fortune 500 companies, as well as other countries and customers.
Wyoming’s newly purchased gold is worth $400,000 more now than when it was acquired a month ago, and State Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, isn’t being quiet about that, at all. To him, that meteoric rise in value is exactly the point behind the Wyoming Gold Act, which he sponsored during last year’s legislative session.
