Technically in the US any transaction over $10,000 is supposed to be reported to the IRS (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8300.pdf), but I'm not sure how strict enforcement is on that.
During FDR's presidency, they confiscated all the gold (forced you to sell it at a fixed price to the US gov't) and required an IRS agent to be present when safety deposit boxes were opened. They also imposed price controls, imprisoning people who charged too much or too little for goods and services. There was a lot of bartering going on.