The Alaska Purchase: Paid in Gold Bars, $7.2 Million (1867)

The United States purchased **Russian America (Alaska)** from the Russian Empire for **$7.2 million** — **paid in gold**.

The Transaction

• Treaty Signed: March 30, 1867 (Seward-Stoeckl).
• Price: $7.2 million = **~$0.02/acre** (586,412 sq mi).
• Payment Method: **Gold bullion (bars/coin)** — the international reserve standard.
• Logistics: Gold shipped from **New York Sub-Treasury → San Francisco (by sea, via Panama/isthmus rail) → Sitka (by US Revenue Cutter *Washington*)** to Russian officials.
• Date of Transfer: October 18, 1867 (flag-raising at Sitka).

Why Gold?

• Russia needed **hard currency** (gold) to pay debts, build railways, modernize.
• US **Greenbacks** (paper) were discounted post-Civil War; gold ensured full value.
• International law favored **specie payment** for territorial cessions.

Myths Debunked

• Not "Seward's Folly" — **gold discoveries (1880s–90s), salmon, timber, strategic WWII/Cold War value** returned 1000x+.
• Not a "lease" — **full sovereignty transfer**.
• Payment was **not in paper money, bonds, or goods** — **physical gold**.

The gold bars traveled **~17,000 miles** to complete one of history's greatest real estate deals.