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The Long
History of Gold
Throughout the history of humanity, gold has
always exerted a
sort of magical power on people, probably because of its
extreme
scarcity and its evident beauty. Man’s first contact
with the yellow
metal most likely dates back to remote antiquity, even
though we
cannot pinpoint with precision the date and place. Many
of the
oldest and best-preserved golden antiquities- most of
them used
as adornment objects- originated in Egypt during the times
of the
Pharaohs. One of the most beautifully ornamented and preserved
pieces is the tomb of King Tutankhamen, who died in 1352
BC. It
represents what is undoubtedly one of the greatest treasures
of
the Egyptian goldsmiths’ craft and already shows
the magnificence
of such work even in ancient times.
As a matter of interest gold inspired many other civilisations,
and
was quickly recommended above all other metals. It is
also well-
known that gold was first used for jewellery long before
its use for
monetary purposes. The first use of gold as money was
claimed
by the citizens of the Kingdom of Lydia (today's western
Turkey),
when King Croesus, created a coin emblazoned with his
own
image (from 560 BC). Since then the precious metal has
been
used by every civilized country as currency and has also
become
a symbol of wealth, power, and the basis of economic life.
Apart from the Egyptian Art, gold ornament collections
were also
found in the history of Incas, Aztecs, Chinese, Japanese
and of
course European civilizations. Precisely because of its
rare proper-
ties gold rapidly provoked a real fever but also a cursed
thirst all
around the world. Virgil, the famous Roman poet of Antiquity
described man’s undying lust for gold when he wrote
“Auri Sacra
Fames” (the cursed thirst for gold).
However, it should be noted that gold was abandoned as
a mone-
tary standard in the 1930s when other investment objects,
sub-
stitutes or alternatives appeared. But the famous metal
still plays
a significant role. Like ancient cultures, our modern
society still
recognizes its value and beauty. It continues to adorn
us. Gold is
not only present in jewellery, although this represents
a great part
of the gold market, it is also used in many other applications.
Link: Mineral
Production (Statistics) |
