On this day, 91 years ago, on January 31, 1934 (December 17, 1933 in the lunar calendar), Roosevelt devalued the dollar by 40%. On January 31, 1934, President Roosevelt issued an announcement stating that the value of the dollar had dropped to 59.6 cents, and the government's purchase of gold was set at $35 per ounce. He was acting under recent authorization from Congress. The president said the steps were taken to protect the country's foreign trade from the devaluation of other countries 'currencies. The announcement said the government had ownership of all existing gold at the Federal Reserve Bank. The government will generate a profit of approximately US$2.8 billion for the treasury from the exchange of old and new gold certificates. If necessary,$2 billion of that will be used to stabilize the international convertibility of the U.S. dollar and support the government's bond market.