The month in financial history.
The Bank of England is one of the world’s oldest financial centres, having overseen the English economy since 1734. Among its many roles, the bank stores the UK’s entire reserve of gold bullion. It has never been robbed, but according to the bank’s own website, it once came close.
In June 1836, the bank’s directors received an anonymous letter in which the author claimed to have direct access to the huge stash of gold in the underground vault. The directors assumed this was a joke and ignored it. Sometime later, they received another letter. This time, the author offered to prove it by meeting them inside the main gold vault at a time of their choosing.
The directors considered it impossible for someone to break into the vault without their knowledge. Nevertheless, they agreed to the meeting and gathered together one evening inside the vault at the agreed time. To their great surprise, a noise was heard beneath the floorboards, and a man popped up underneath their feet.
It turns out he was a sewer worker who had been completing underground repairs close to the bank. While working, he discovered an old drain that led directly underneath the gold vault.
The worker declared he had not taken anything from the vault despite having multiple opportunities to do so. After confirming the inventory was still in place, and as a reward for his honesty, the directors gifted the worker £800. That’s about $150,000 Australian dollars in today’s money.
