The earliest traces of gold were found in Paleolithic caves dating back as far as 40,000 B.C. However, the first recorded use of it among humans has been traced way back to ancient Egypt, the home of most of mankind’s earliest civilization.
Gold was in use as far back as 3000 BC, most notably by the ruling class of Pharaohs and Temple Priests. It was such a symbol of status that the capstones of the pyramids of Giza were made out of solid gold, and gold has remained a source of stature since.
The first recorded use of gold for its other most prominent use, as currency, is traced back to the ancient civilization of Lydia, found in Western Turkey.
The shiny nature of gold, its malleability – allowing it to be easily shaped into ornaments of any shape, statues and many other symbols – and it being impervious to rust, corrosion or any degradation caused by the elements, made it a favorite of kings and queens and any high born in ancient society.
Thus gold served as a status symbol, from ancient Egypt to ancient Greece and Rome, to the Aztecs in South America, down to the proud West African kingdoms of Mali, Songhai and Ghana and all the way down to our very own Ashanti Empire.
Gold inspired massive migrations in different times across history, such as the Californian Gold Rush. One thing was common – everywhere it popped up all agreed that this was one special metal.
Gold was also used as currency at different times in history, with its earliest use traced back to coinage in Asia Minor in the 8th century BCE. The Greek and Roman Empires, as well as the earlier Mycenaean civilization all used gold coinage – although the cheaper to mine silver was more common.
Gold was so powerful as a mineral that for years after man adopted paper currency, it served as a guarantee of that currency. Every currency printedhad to be backed up by similar reserves of that value in gold.
That changed in 1973 when U.S President Richard Nixon severed the dollar’s link to gold simply for the fact that they were printing more currency that they could back up with gold. But gold has still remained a stable reserve of currency to this day, remaining mostly impervious to the vagaries of the world market.
There are few safer means to store your treasure (money) than in gold bars. Humans have taken a liking to gold since it was first discovered and we will always have a great desire and use for it in our society.
Lots has changed over the years since man first set sight on gold, making unimaginable progress in so many ways. Few things remain constant for that long, but gold has – and 100 years from now it’ll still look beautiful to the eye and be as valuable on the world market.
