Over 200 million years ago meteors containing gold bombarded Earth, depositing nearly all the gold that is found on our planet. Gold is one of the most malleable metals. A single ounce of gold can be made into thread stretching for five miles, or beaten into a sheet that is 300 square feet. Gold thread is used for embroidery on elaborate robes.
Ancient Civilizations
Gold is found all over the world. Flakes of gold have been found in Paleolithic caves, about 40,000 B.C. About 3,000 B.C., the ancient Egyptians used gold for jewelry. The capstones of pyramids were made from solid gold. They also created the first known currency exchange ratio of one-part gold, to two and a half parts silver. The Kingdom of Lydia in western Turkey is the first known civilization to use gold as currency. Gold found its way into religious ceremonies of the Incans, Aztecs, and many other civilizations. Gold has been displayed in tombs and religious articles, and even on roof tops to reflect the sun.
The Lure of Gold
There is no other metal that has a natural gold color. The best known gold rushes include Cabarrus County, North Carolina, when in 1799 a young boy found a 17-pound gold nugget. The gold rush of California began in 1848, making San Francisco a real boom-town. Alaskan gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896. Gold was discovered in Australia in the 1850s and onward in New South Wales and Victoria, and in Western Australia in the 1890s. The unique yellow luster of gold has fascinated people for thousands of years, and is still highly prized today.
Physical Characteristics of Gold
Because of the super malleability of gold, and its excellent conducting of electricity, it has found many applications in electrical components. One ounce of gold can plate a thread of copper that is 1,000 feet long, or be stretched to form a wire that is 50 miles long. Although gold is a heavy metal, it is non-toxic, and can be eaten in foods or drinks. The unreactive properties of gold prevent degradation by acids, air, moisture, or acidic conditions. It takes a special solution called aqua regia to dissolve gold. Besides electronics, gold is used in dentistry, medicine, radiation shielding, and to color glass.
Gold as Investment
Many people have gold in the form of jewelry, watches, and coins. Gold is easy to sell when cash is needed. You can see advertisements that say we buy gold in Atlanta. Places that buy gold are often jewelry stores, or gold and coin buyers.