Source: businessinsider: MOST IMPORTANT CHARTS IN THE WORLD Q4 - Business Insider

"That day the U.S. announced that the dollar would be devalued by 10 percent. By switching the yen to a floating exchange rate, the Japanese currency appreciated, and a sufficient realignment in exchange rates was realized. Joint intervention in gold sales to prevent a steep rise in the price of gold, however, was not undertaken. That was a mistake." 
-- Paul Volcker, "Nikkei Weekly" Nov. 15, 2004 (original incident on February 12, 1973) 10/23/13