The men who tried to corner America's gold market in 1869
Two financiers bought massive quantities of gold and drove the price up 13 percent in a single day before the president intervened.
In 1869, two financiers named Gould and Fisk orchestrated one of the most audacious market manipulations in American history.
The scheme unfolds
Gould and Fisk purchased huge amounts of gold in an attempt to corner the market. Their buying spree had an immediate and dramatic effect on prices. In just one day, they drove the price of gold from $143 to $162.
Presidential intervention
President Grant recognized the threat their scheme posed to the economy and moved quickly to stop their plan. His Treasury Department sold $4 million in gold into the market.
The crash
The government's gold sale had the intended effect. The price crashed, breaking Gould and Fisk's attempted gold corner. The episode became known as the Black Friday Gold Panic, a reminder of how concentrated market manipulation can destabilize prices until authorities step in.
