Black Friday

"The United States abandoned the gold standard during the Civil War. Gold traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of 'greenbacks' to gold. That led to Black Friday in 1869 with a riot as investors dragged bankers out and hung them in the streets. This is what 'Black Friday' really meant. The riot was so bad the government had to send in troops to suppress the chaos when gold hit $162. Adjusted for inflation, that may be far beyond $10,000 today."
Martin Armstrong, It's Just Time, page 22


Note: As of this writing, gold stands at $955/ounce.