UPDATE: Officials say found Iraq gold may be worth half a billion dollars

AP | 5/23/03

[Sacajaweau]

The most common bar is 27 lbs or 400 Troy ounces. It can be cast into any size of course. At $300 per ounce, that is $129,600 per bar x 2000 = $259,200,000.00.

That truck is carrying 54,000 lbs???

Wonder if it is the museum melt downs??

[tubebender]

80,000 lbs. is the maximum load that a semi-trailer can carry on an Interstate highway, and often do. Entirely reasonable.

Isn't that a Gross Vehicle Weight including load, truck and trailer?

[Sacajaweau]

Thanks for the information. That takes care of the weight question.

[Molly Pitcher]

FYI!

[RonF]

Isn't that a Gross Vehicle Weight including load, truck and trailer?

Yes. I'm making the observation that a semi-trailer can handle this kind of load. I don't think that whoever was hauling this load was worrying about a few thousand pounds over U.S. regulations. In fact, cops have pulled over trucks loaded up to close to 100,000 pounds. The trucks have safety factors built in that can be abused if you have got to haul more than you should.

[Aquinasfan]

80,000 lbs. is the maximum load that a semi-trailer can carry on an Interstate highway, and often do.

Yowza. I'll get out of their way a little faster from now on...

[Sacajaweau]

Wow, I've been away from looking at gold for a long time. The last I remember it was about $300 and ounce. $370 now!! and they say heading for $390.

[headsonpikes]

I agree. The truck is probablyly carrying 2000 400 oz. standard bars.

A much more reasonable load.

[headsonpikes]

That's 800,000 ounces.

It would be sweet to own that baby!

[RonF]

Yeah, and now that I think about it, let me rephrase that statement:

80,000 lbs. is the maximum total weight that a semi-trailer can legally carry on a Interstate highway, and often do.

A good State Trooper can often spot an overloaded truck by eye alone, however.

[SAJ]

Gold is measured in ounces Troy, not avoirdupois. Only 12 to the pound.

Suggest reducing your estimated valuation by 25%.

[steveegg]

"The occupants told the soldiers that they had been paid a total of 350,000 dinars (or $350 U.S.) to pick up the truck in Baghdad and drive it to an unnamed individual in Al Qaim," U.S. Central Command said. "The two had been told that the bars were bronze."

Heck if those two drivers are smart. Even I know the difference between bronze and gold, and if I'm hauling 40 tons of gold, I sure as a sunrise want more than $350 for doing it.

[Izzy Dunne]

Gold is measured in ounces Troy, not avoirdupois. Only 12 to the pound.

You mean a pound of feathers DOES weigh more than a pound of gold?

[SAJ]

Yep, sure is. So when grandma tells you, 'They're the same, silly'...as mine did me, you can tell her...

One pound Troy is equal to 373.2408 grams. One pound avoirdupois is equal to 453.592 grams.

[Paul Ross]

If 80,000 lbs is the maximum road-allowed weight limit for truck transport, this truck was maxed-out. Which raises the question...maybe there were or are OTHER trucks with more 'excess' load that didn't fit on this one...

[Paul Ross]

You think troops in the field bothered to use Troy ounces? I somehow doubt they would.

[John Doe #1]

This would be a light load for coal trucks in E.KY mountains. It wouldn't even slow them down.

[Sacajaweau]

I'm sure they could care less about the weight of what they found.

Think you can picture the big smile on their faces when they picked up these frito banditos and found their little cache!!!!! Another YES!!!!!!

[SAJ]

Probably they wouldn't, but it's no particular hardship to do so. Easiest approximation is to weigh one bar on a regular old avoirdupois field scale, assume that the bars are all roughly equal in weight, multiply by the number of bars found, and convert the result to grams (divide by .0022). Gold is regularly quoted $/gram (ask your local jeweller, for instance), and they'd have a good approximate value in hand by simply having HQ get London spot off the 'Net. Heck, these days maybe units in the field evencarry 'Net access around with them, I don't know.