The History of Gold

Gold through history

Gold is the second metal discovered by man after copper. Gold was used in the finery of high dignitaries and for religious ceremonies. In Ancient Egypt, numerous gold amulets were found in tombs. The best-known ancient Egyptian works in gold are certainly the funerary masks of the pharaohs Tutankhamun and Ramses.
However, the quantities of gold available were small. Egyptian pharaohs had gold mined in desert areas or obtained it following military victories.

It was also during Antiquity that the first coins in history were minted by the Lydian kings. These were not pure gold coins, but electrum: a natural alloy of gold and silver. Gold has been used as a currency ever since, until 1973, when it lost its monetary role.

In the Middle Ages, alchemists attempted to make gold from other metals such as lead, using the philosopher's stone.

Man was always on the lookout for gold, so he set out to conquer the American continent. Hernan Cortés set out to conquer the Aztec Empire, sending some of the gold back to Charles V, King of Spain. However, the remainder of this conquered metal was used to finance Spain's various wars.

The California Gold Rush began in the 19th century. This contributed to the Conquest of the American West. The gold rush led to strong demographic and economic growth in California's cities, particularly San Francisco.

Other means have been used to obtain gold. In the 1940s, man artificially created gold by combining mercury and neutrons. This is known as nucleosynthesis. However, this technique was abandoned because the gold isotopes obtained were radioactive and the production cost was higher than the price of gold.