No other element has exerted such a powerful attraction on mankind as gold. Since the dawn of history, a kaleidoscope of stories and myths has grown up around this precious metal.
No other element has exerted such a powerful attraction on mankind as gold. Since the dawn of history, a kaleidoscope of stories and myths has grown up around this precious metal. Gold has achieved cult status in every leading culture, playing an important role in the most influential religions. Today it remains a much-loved and sought-after substance on all continents, embodying stability and wealth and symbolising power and beauty.
For thousands of years gold has not lost its allure. According to historical records, gold was first fashioned into jewellery and used for barter over 7,000 years ago. Gold’s captivating gleam led to it being considered a gift from the gods and it was quickly incorporated into rituals. In Inca culture, only the king was permitted to wear gold as he was considered a direct descendant of the sun. For the ancient Egyptians, gold was reserved for pharaohs and priests. Throughout ancient history, gold was often referred to as the ‘tears of the sun’ or the ‘flesh and blood of the gods’. Gold is mentioned in the Bible more than 400 times.
The first gold coin was struck during the reign of King Croesus of Lydia in 550 BC. In doing so, he aimed both to earn the trust of his people and trading partners and cement the dominance of the Lydian Empire.
The crucial factor in the cult of gold was its numerous extraordinary physical and chemical characteristics. Number 79 in the periodic table of elements, gold is a soft, shining yellow precious metal that belongs to the group of heavy metals and has an extremely high density. The symbol for gold is AU, which is derived from the Latin word Aurum. The word ‘gold’ comes from the Indo-Germanic ghel, meaning both shining and yellow.
Gold is easy to work and extraordinarily malleable. For example, gold can be hammered to a thickness of one ten thousandth of a millimetre, and a gram of gold can be rolled into a length of wire measuring 150 metres in length. Gold does not rust and is an excellent conductor of electricity. Although silver has superior thermal and electrical qualities, it is quick to corrode and loses its sheen, whereas gold does not lose its gleam and does not tarnish. It can also be combined with other metals to produce a variety of alloys.
Gold is incredibly resistant to both alkalis and acids. Only nitro hydrochloric acid, a mixture of salt and nitric acid, the halogens chlorine, bromide and iodine, and sodium cyanide can dissolve gold. With a melting point of 1,063 degrees centigrade and high chemical stability, gold is virtually indestructible.
Gold is 100 per cent recyclable, so practically all the gold ever mined is still in existence today. This considerably reduces the ecological footprint of gold.
It is estimated that a little more than 210,000 tons of gold have been extracted from the earth throughout the whole of human history. This may sound a lot, but the following comparisons help put this into perspective:
Up until only a few decades ago, practically all the most important national currencies were at least partially backed by gold and their value depended on the price of gold. Even today the central banks of the leading nations use gold as currency reserves. Worldwide, central bank holdings of gold amount to more than 36,000 tons (17 per cent of all the gold mined to date), while some 96,000 tons have been turned into jewellery (45 per cent). Works of art in gold account for around 18,000 tons (8.5 per cent) and the remaining 47,000 tons (22 per cent) are held privately in the form of gold bars and coins minted for investment.
Given gold’s mythical status, mankind has long dreamt of producing it artificially. The Great Work (Magnum opus) is a medieval alchemical term describing the successful transformation of non-precious matter, such as lead, into gold. It was hoped that gold could be produced with the aid of the Philosopher’s Stone, and in this way eternal life could also be achieved. So far, all these attempts to artificially produce gold have failed and it can be assumed that this will remain the case.
The high esteem in which gold has been held since the dawn of civilization is very well documented. For generations, our ancestors valued gold as an object of value and bequeathed it to their descendants. In his masterpiece, Faust, the prince of German-speaking poets, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, describes how everything depends on gold. Like gold itself, these words are everlasting.
Platinum is valued as one of the rarest of precious metals. It is best known for being the premier choice for the finest jewellery.
