- In 217 BC, to survive the Second Punic War after Cannae, Rome passed the Lex Oppia requiring citizens to surrender gold and jewelry to the state treasury.
- In 1307, to survive debts from the Flemish War, Philip IV of France arrested the Knights Templar and seized their treasury, disrupting credit networks used by merchants and pilgrims.
- In 1536, to survive the Great Matter (his divorce) and break with Rome, Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in order to melt down their gold and silver chalices, crosses, and shrines.
- In 1666, to survive the Second Anglo-Dutch War costs, Charles II "borrowed" gold deposits from London goldsmiths through the Stop of the Exchequer and never returned them.
- In 1797, to survive the French Revolutionary Wars, Pitt the Younger demanded "voluntary" Loyalty Loan gold contributions from British citizens, backed by threat of forced requisition.
- In 1917, to survive WWI and the October Revolution, Lenin's Decree on Gold confiscated all gold coins, bullion, and objects from "non-working classes."
- In 1933, to survive the Great Depression banking crisis, FDR signed Executive Order 6102 requiring all Americans to give up their gold.
- In 1934, to survive monetary reform, the Gold Reserve Act let the US Treasury profit $2.8 billion by revaluing confiscated gold from $20.67 to $35/oz (basically stealing 41% of the value)
- In 1959, to survive the US trade embargo, Castro's Revolutionary Government Law 851 seized all private gold holdings in Cuba, including jewelry and coins.
- In 1966, to survive foreign exchange crisis, India's Gold Control Act under Indira Gandhi banned private gold ownership above tiny amounts, forcing surrender to the state.
It's a wonder of our modern age that this classic form of expropriation is now happening through voluntary means: high paper prices drawing physical gold from millions of small holders into the vaults of institutions, without any guns, goons, or executive orders required.