Filed Pursuant To Rule 433
Registration No. 333-167132
June 24, 2010
Solid as Gold: A Standard for the Ages
The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit. Ralph Waldo
Emerson
CHALLENGE
Among all precious metals, golds appeal is legendary. Since the beginning of time, gold has
propelled the growth of empires, the birth of nations and the evolution of the worlds financial
institutions.
To what can we attribute the enduring influence and intrigue of gold?
SOLUTION
Virtually indestructible, highly malleable, ductile and impervious to tarnishing, gold is among the
most beautiful and useful elements in the world. Gold can be hammered into sheets so thin that
light can pass through, and a single ounce can be drawn into a wire fifty miles long. Gold
artifacts and coins buried thousands of years ago,
when unearthed, look as lustrous as the day they were created. Golds chemical and physical
properties have long made it coveted by artisans and industry alike. But above its utility to
craftsmen and industrialists, gold has been most revered as a form of currency.
BENEFITS
People typically have not sought or owned gold for golds sake, but for what it represents. Above
its aesthetic and monetary worth, gold imparts autonomy. It offers freedom from unpredictability,
from a haunting fear of the unknown. Its value has weathered centuries fraught with political
upheaval, economic turmoil and inconceivable cataclysmic events. Commonly accepted in many parts of
the world as payment, gold is perhaps the most lasting and trustworthy store of financial value
known to man.
GOLD THROUGH THE CENTURIES
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3000 BC
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The Sumer civilization of southern Iraq uses gold to create a wide
range of jewelry, often using sophisticated and varied styles still
worn today. |
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1500 BC
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The immense gold-bearing regions of Nubia make Egypt a
wealthy nation, as gold becomes the recognized standard
medium of exchange for international trade. |
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1091 BC
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Little squares of gold are legalized in China as a form of money. |
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560 BC
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The first coins made purely from gold are minted in Lydia, a
kingdom of Asia Minor. |
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344 BC
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Alexander the Great crosses the Hellespont with 40,000 men,
beginning one of the most extraordinary campaigns in military
history and seizing vast quantities of gold from the Persian
Empire. |
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58 BC
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After a victorious campaign in Gaul, Julius Caesar brings back
enough gold to give 200 coins to each of his soldiers and repay
all of Romes debts. |
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742 814 AD
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Charlemagne overruns the Avars and plunders their vast quantities
of gold, making it possible for him to take control over much of
Western Europe. |
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1284 AD
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Venice introduces the gold Ducat, which soon becomes the
most popular coin in the world and remains so for more than
five centuries. |
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1511 AD
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King Ferdinand of Spain says to explorers, Get gold, humanely if
you can, but all hazards, get gold, launching massive expeditions
to the newly discovered lands of the Western Hemisphere. |
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1717 AD
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Isaac Newton, Master of the London Mint, sets the price of gold
that lasts for 200 years. |
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1848 AD
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The California gold rush begins when James Marshall finds
specks of gold in the water at John Sutters sawmill near the
junction of the American and Sacramento Rivers. |
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1886 AD
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George Harrison, while digging stones to build a house, discovers
gold in South Africa. |
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1900 AD
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The US adopts the gold standard for its currency. |
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1933 AD
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President Franklin D. Roosevelt bans the export of gold, halts the
convertibility of dollar bills into gold, orders US citizens to hand in
all the gold they possess and establishes a daily price for gold. |
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1944 AD
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The Bretton Woods agreement sets an international gold exchange
standard and creates two new international organizations, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Band. The new
standard sets par values for currencies in terms of gold and
obligates member countries to convert foreign official holdings
of their currencies into gold at these par values. |
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1971 AD
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On August 15, U.S. terminates all gold sales or purchases,
thereby ending conversion of foreign officially held dollars into
gold; in December, under the Smithsonian Agreement signed
in Washington, U.S. devalues the dollar by raising the official
dollar price of gold to $38 per fine troy ounce. Two years later,
the US Dollar is removed from gold standard, and gold prices are
allowed to float free. |
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1974 AD
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On December 31, US government ends its ban on individual
ownership of gold. |
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1980 AD
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Gold reaches intra-day historic high price of $870 on January 21
in New York. |
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1997 AD
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Congress passes Taxpayer Relief Act, allowing purchases of gold
bullion coins and bars by US Individual Retirement Accounts,
as long as they are of a fineness equal to, or exceeding, 99.5%
gold. |
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1999 AD
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15 large central banks sign the Central Bank Gold Agreement
(CBGA), limiting their combined gold sales to 400 tons per year. |
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2004 AD
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Central banks renew the 5-year CBGA limiting their gold sales to
500 tons per year. |
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2010 AD
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Gold price (on the London PM fix) reaches a record high of
$1,237.50/oz. on May 12, 2010 as investors continue to seek
diversifying assets during economic uncertainty. |
FOR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC.
Shares (the Shares) of the SPDR® Gold Trust (the Trust) trade like stocks, are
subject to investment risk and will fluctuate in market value. The value of the Shares relates
directly to the value of the gold held by the Trust (less Trust expenses) and fluctuations in the
price of gold could materially adversely affect an investment in the Shares. Investors should be
aware that there is no assurance that gold will maintain its long-term value in terms of purchasing
power in the future. The Trust does not generate any income and as the Trust regularly sells gold
to pay for its ongoing expenses, the amount of gold represented by each Share will decline over
time.
The Trust has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering
to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that
registration statement and other documents the Trust has filed with the SEC for more complete
information about the Trust and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting
EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Trust or any Authorized Participant
will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling 866.320.4053 or contacting
State Street Global Markets, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Attn: SPDR Gold Shares, 30th Floor, Boston,
MA 02111.
The prospectus contains material information about the Trust and its Shares which is material
and/or which may be important to you. You should read the entire prospectus, including Risk
Factors before making an investment decision about the Shares.
Shareholders of the Trust will not have the protections associated with ownership of shares in an
investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or the protections afforded
by the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936. The Trust is not registered as an investment company under
the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is not required to register under such act. Neither the
Sponsor nor the Trustee of the Trust is subject to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission. Shareholders will not have the regulatory protections provided to investors in
Commodity Exchange Act regulated instruments or commodity pools.
SPDR® is a trademark of the Standard & Poors Financial Services, LLC and has been
licensed by use for the Sponsor. The SPDR trademark is used under license from Standard & Poors
Financial Services, LLC (S&P) and the SPDR® Gold Trust is permitted to use the SPDR
trademark pursuant to a sublicense from the Marketing Agent. No financial product offered by
SPDR® Gold Trust, or its affiliates, is sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P.
S&P makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of any financial product
or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in
financial products particularly or the ability of the index on which the financial products are
based to track general stock market performance. S&P is not responsible for and has not
participated in any determination or calculation made with respect to issuance or redemption of
financial products. S&P has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration,
marketing or trading of financial products.
WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL S&P HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL,
PUNITIVE, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS), EVEN IF
NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
The Trust is sponsored by World Gold Trust Services, LLC (the Sponsor), a wholly-owned subsidiary
of the World Gold Council. State Street Global Markets, LLC (the Marketing Agent) is the
marketing agent of the Trust and an affiliate of State Global Advisors. For more information:
State Street Global Markets, LLC, One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA, 02111 866.320.4053 www.spdrgoldshares.com.
Not FDIC Insured No Bank Guarantee May Lose Value
© 2010 State Street Corporation. All Rights Reserved. IBG-1996 Exp. Date: 1/1/2011 IBG.GLD.HIS.0610
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Precise in a world that isntTM.
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FOR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC.
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SPDR® GOLD TRUST has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus)
with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should
read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with
the SEC for more complete information about the Trust and this offering. You may get these
documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Trust
or any Authorized Participant will arrange to send you the prospectus if you request it by calling
toll free at 1-866-320-4053 or contacting State Street Global Markets, LLC, One Lincoln Street,
Attn: SPDR ® Gold Shares, 30th Floor, Boston, MA 02111.