Editor’s note: This is one in a series of Coin World Collector Basics posts on facilities under the U.S. Mint’s jurisdiction.

Located approximately 30 miles southwest of Louisville, Ky., the United States Bullion Depository, often simply referred to as just Fort Knox, stores the majority of the monetary gold stocks of the United States in its vaults.

The facility is heavily fortified, with the nearby Army post providing additional security beyond that of the Treasury Department.

The gold in the depository is in the form of standard Mint bars of almost pure gold, or coin gold bars resulting from the melting of gold coins. These bars are slightly smaller than an ordinary building brick. The approximate dimensions are 7 inches by 3.625 inches by 1.75 inches.

Each bar roughly contains 400 troy ounces of gold each — an avoirdupois weight of about 27.5 pounds.