GOLD HISTORY
Complex & Interesting Facts
Gold history is quite interesting and complex. In the Bible, gold is both the first metal and the first
atomic element to be mentioned.
From its very first discovery it has simbolized great wealth and power.
Primitive man was able to find gold in its free form in riverbeds when obtaining water. Man soon linked gold to the
sun god, who provided him with light, warmth and crops.
Consequently, gold became important for the religious objects
and ceremonies of early civilizations.
Around 700 B.C. gold became a basis for economic life. Gyges of Lydia established the first mint to put the seal of his
kingdom on uniform lumps of gold.
By 550 B.C. the Lydian king Croesus became the first to introduce coins of pure gold.
His royal stamp on the coin was a guarantee as to their weight and purity.
Since then gold coins have been minted by
almost every government.
In gold history ,the largest gold find ever was in 1886 at the Witwatersrand Reef in South Africa.
Since then South Africa has become the
world's largest producer of gold (30%) followed by the USSR, US, Australia and Canada.
The rise of a gold standard was meant to stabilize the global economy, dictating that a nation must limit its issued
currency to the amount of gold it held in reserve.
Great Britain was the first to adopt the gold standard in 1821,
followed, by Europe in 1870.
The system remained in effect until the end of the first world war,
after which the US was the only country still honoring the Gold Standard.
After the war, other countries were allowed to
keep reserves of major currencies instead of gold. The start of the great depression marked the end of the U.S. export
of gold in the 1930s.
By mid 20th century, the US dollar had replaced gold in international trade.
On a worldwide basis, gold has always remained the king of money. It is accepted everywhere as a medium of exchange and
combined with its portability, has made it the most important investment for people.
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