Gold

By Author: William Pollard
Total Articles: 160
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Gold is the most popular of all precious metals. Its popularity transcends cultures and time. It does not matter what part of the world you are from you will view gold as something special, as a precious commodity.

The History of Gold

It is hard to say when gold was first used, however it has been found as far back as the fourth millennium BC. There are examples of it from central Europe from the second millennium BC. In addition, Egyptian hieroglyphics dated from around 2600 BC also describe gold. Exactly who used it first cannot really be determined now. However, there is little doubt that wherever it was found it was immediately recognised as valuable.

The Romans are probably the first people to have found a way to extract gold in large amounts. They developed hydraulic mining techniques, which they used in Hispania from around 25 BC. They built seven large aqueducts in Leon, Spain to remove the alluvial deposits and reveal the gold. As you can imagine this was a massive engineering project, which clearly demonstrates the regard that the Romans had for gold.

For much of history gold was mainly ...
... used by artistsans to make jewellery. This jewellery had a value, but was rarely used to trade for goods rather it was given as gifts to impress. However, in time, gold was used as a currency and many early coins are made from gold.

Gold in the Modern Era

Once gold began to be used as currency, it took on a completely different kind of value. At this point, gold began to be traded more as a commodity than anything else is and gold is still viewed primarily as a commodity today.

Regardless of economic circumstances gold always has a least some value. As a result, it is viewed by many as a safe investment. Whilst it is true that the value of gold fluctuates is also true that eventually it always rises in value again. In the current economic climate is wise to have at least some of your money held in gold. More and ordinary people are realising this so are buying gold as an investment.

If you want to buy gold as an investment visit Bullion By Post. They sell gold coins and ingots, which are ideal for small and large investors alike.