The history of gold: from then to today

Gold, since its discovery, has fascinated people, particularly thanks to its shiny golden color.

This metal, with its particular properties, will be highly coveted throughout the centuries like a priceless treasure.

The origin of gold
The word “gold” comes from the Latin “Aurum”, and has the symbol “Au”. Gold is yellow/golden in color, it
is what we call a precious metal. It is called this because it is malleable, flexible and does not tarnish over time. It is said of him that he is noble because he is almost unalterable.

Scientific research has been carried out to determine the origin of gold. There are two hypotheses regarding its origin.
According to researchers in nuclear physics and geology, its formation dates back several
billions of years before its discovery and exploitation by humans. Which means that gold
well predates the formation of the solar system, and even the Earth. This would either be due to
the explosion of a Supernova or due to a collision or merger of two neutron stars. A digital simulation
carried out in 2011 demonstrates by the abundance of gold nuclei that the theory on the merger of
two neutron stars seems to be the most probable.

In 2016, during the study of a dwarf galaxy called Reticule II, scientists agreed on this same hypothesis. However, the majority of gold on Earth is concentrated in its core. It accumulates where hot fluids from the mantle circulate. However, certain fragments of gold are found within the earth's crust.

According to studies carried out, this would be due to the migration of hot materials to the surface or even
to an asteroid shower that occurred four billion years ago. Gold is therefore rare on the earth's crust and distributed unevenly. If Man was able to find gold well before
exploiting mines, it is thanks to erosion. Erosion degrades the large nuggets of gold buried in the
soil and carries the flakes into the riverbeds.
This is how Man saw fabulous golden stones shining in the water.

The discovery of this golden mineral
Man discovered gold in prehistory. In fact, around 7 thousand years ago, Man
began using this metal to shape objects. The first tangible evidence of the use
of gold dates back to between 4600 and 4200 years BCE. This discovery took place in the
Necropolis of Varna, near the Black Sea, in eastern Bulgaria. We were able to find objects
remarkably well crafted such as jewelry and ornaments (bracelets, belts, etc.) or even
objects intended for worship such as scepters .

The Egyptians also quickly used gold in the creation of jewelry, offerings, cult objects or even for their famous sarcophagi.

Over the years, gold has become much more than a metal used to make goldsmith's pieces
, it has become a currency of exchange. This new use of gold was carried out by the
Phoenicians from 950 BC. J-C to develop trade around the Mediterranean basin. But in 600
BC. BC, King Alyattès changed transactions by giving gold a value established in wheat. His son

Crésus will go further in this approach. It will also give a value to silver in order to have a
correspondence between the two metals. He will therefore have pieces made in silver, similar to the creseids
in gold. We therefore arrive at the era of Bimetallism: one gold coin is worth ten silver coins. The
civilizations that followed, such as the Persians or the Greeks, would maintain the price of gold in relation to silver.

Gold from the Middle Ages to the New World
At this time, gold deposits were rare in Europe, so silver was preferred as
exchange currency. Gold was relayed as a storage value because of its rarity and its higher value than silver. Little by little, gold was reintroduced into the kingdoms thanks to the crusades,
but also thanks to the increase in trade in European territories.

From the 14th to the 15th century, the value of gold continued to increase. The production of gold coins was reduced by 80% because the discovery of new gold mines was rare. Gold coins are therefore becoming rarer on the market, and its price is soaring again.

In 1492, America was discovered. The great powers of the time saw this as an opportunity
to import new raw materials, but also gold within the kingdoms. The first
tribe to pay the price for this greed was the Aztec tribe. Indeed, Spain seeks at all costs to plunder the gold that the indigenous people have amassed.

Hernan Cortés leads the expedition. He sealed the fate of these tribes. In just two years, he managed to conquer an immense territory, stretching from the southern United States, through Mexico, to Central America. He defeated the indigenous peoples and plundered the treasure of the Aztecs. Spain, but also Portugal, France and England, grew rich thanks to the mines formerly exploited by the Aztecs.

The Gold Rush
In 1848, three centuries later, more than 300,000 explorers from around the world set out in search
gold on American lands. Indeed, following the discovery of the first nuggets, on January 22
1848, by James Marshall in California, thousands of explorers tried their luck hoping
make a fortune. This quest will unfortunately not last more than a decade.

Using picks, shovels and pans, they will search the Californian basements, or stay along the waterways hoping to find the famous, coveted vein of gold. Most will only come across gold nuggets or flakes. This very short period will be called the Gold Rush or California Gold Rush in English.

Subsequently, we describe this period as being a myth that makes young and old alike dream.
Despite everything, the coveted veins of gold have indeed been discovered and exploited. Some pioneers of
this quest will enrich themselves considerably. While others found only death or misery. Many of them left poorer than when they arrived.

Gold these days
Today, gold still arouses just as much interest. His reserves do not seem to be
exhausted. In China, 455 tonnes of gold were extracted in 2016, which represents 13% of world production. Today, about half of the gold mined is used to make jewelry. The diversity in the
market of quantity and quality makes these products more accessible to all populations.
We also use gold for a new category of product: electronics.

Indeed, certain components are made of gold in our smartphones, tablets, and computers.

This category represents approximately 10% of global annual production. The rest of the production is owned by banks or by individuals who invest. Notably France which has 2,436 tonnes of gold, which puts it in fourth position in the national stock in the world behind the United States (8,133 tonnes), Germany (3,378 tonnes) and Italy (2 452 tonnes). Today, gold is even listed on the stock market, and its price has continued to increase for twenty years, going from 303 euros in 2000 to 1553
euros in 2020.

Indeed, during the economic crisis of 2008, the price of gold remained solid and continued to rise while stock market values ​​collapsed between 2007 and 2012.

In addition, during the coronavirus crisis, many investors see an economic crisis on the horizon. Many of them therefore turned to purchasing gold in order to diversify their
investments, leading to an increase in the price of gold.

Gold: a never-ending story
As soon as it was discovered, gold fascinated people. This passion for this precious metal has continued
through the centuries, until today. However, its use remains the same. We always make
jewelry or objects of worship and we stock them in quantity in our reserves to enrich ourselves and
to anticipate economic collapses. Modern techniques for extracting gold make its
marketing easier and more accessible.

Nevertheless, the sharp increase in the price of gold
is starting to reverse this trend. Will the possession of gold once again be reserved for an elite ?
Will you be part of it ? To start investing in Gold, come and discover our bars and our coins
in Gold, on sale on our website.

Sources:
http://www.24-carats.fr/histoire.html
https://www.gold.fr/informations-sur-l-or/faq/histoire-et-symbolique-de-lor
https://www.loretlargent.info/histoire-cours-or/