The Fascinating History of Gold

The human race has been fascinated with gold for as long as human remembrance. We all love it, and so did everyone before us. Gold has been called the liquid of the gods. There is ample archaeological evidence that humanity has been impressed with gold for a very long time.

Everyone's Gold Cache

When bartering became too difficult people turned to gold as a universally excepted form of payment. History shows us that the first civilization to develop currency as a form of exchange was the Kingdom of Lydia. For the first time there was a standardized form of payment accepted by all with a set value that could be trusted.

The interest in gold persisted through the centuries as can be seen in lot of literature through the ages, you only have to think about the important role gold payed in the lives of the Israelites throughout their history and especially with the building of The Ark in the desert during their 40 year of wanderings.

Everyone loves gold and loved gold and it soon became a symbol class. We only have to think back to all the pictures we see of ancient civilizations with all the important people decked out in gold. Some of those jewelry must have been pretty heavy! Today gold jewelry is much more refined and delicate, though still heavy. If it does not seem heavy for its size it is not gold, that is for sure.

In 1792 the United States adopted the gold standard and in time all the governments followed suit. Now gold and silver coins became legal tender. Later paper money was adopted, but backed by gold.  It was known as the “gold standard” and you could actually go to the bank with your paper note and demand the value in gold. Smaller coins were still made of silver and it remained like that for many years.

During the years there were gold rushes in many countries and many towns mushroomed overnight. In South Africa we can thank our economical heart, Johannesburg, for gold. There were also gold rushes at Baberton and Pilgrims Rest, but they were not sustainable. Johannesburg is truly our “City of Gold” The United Kingdom’s interest in South Africa can mainly be attributed to our gold. The Anglo Boer War can mainly be attributed to gold and mining rights. For a brief history and Time Line of gold in South Africa you can have a look at this page.

Johannesburg very quickly became a city as the population grew rapidly. The rich became very wealthy at the expense of the rest of the population. Gold mining took a toll on the health of many miners as the mines had to go deeper and deeper. For a more detailed article have a look at this page
As you can imagine the interest in gold kept on growing and even today it is considered very valuable. Gold is a very good hedge against inflation that plagues FIAT money (paper money backed only by a promise of value by the Government)