Gold was one of the first known metals, and is today still considered one of the most valuable. Ancient Egyptians were some of the first miners and users of the precious metal, and were very proficient goldsmiths. It has been recorded that they could hammer gold into leaf so thin that it took 367,000 sheets to make a one inch high pile. Golds value has held throughout history because it is so rare and difficult to get into a pure form. It is a beautiful metal that is soft and easy to work with. It can be drawn into a fine wire, hammered into sheets for decoration or manipulated into jewelry. It also has highly anti-corrosive properties and is an excellent conductor of electricity.

Because of its versatility, gold has many uses. Jewelry is probably the most common use which dates back to ancient times. But more recently the metal has found a place in most electronic equipment due to its excellent conductive ability. Another major use of the yellow metal was currency as it was molded into coins and later used to back paper money printed by governments across the world.

The world has seen many frantic gold rushes that led to the development of frontiers. The largest U.S. gold rush occurred in the 1900s in Nevada. In 1851 Australia followed suit and the Australian gold rush saw the population of Australia triple in nine years. New Zealand experienced a gold rush in 1861 and their population also grew massively. Johannesburg, the current financial hub of Africa, was founded as a result of the 1886 gold rush. South Africa is currently the worlds largest producer of gold.

The gold standard in the last century was the use of gold as the standard value for the money of a country. Citizens could redeem any of their money from the government in gold. Most western countries adhered to the gold standard during the early 1900s. Things have changed dramatically since then though. Today golds role in the worldwide monetary system is small. The gold standard was dropped by Britain in 1931 and by the USA in 1971. Gold is still recognized as a valuable commodity the world over and is still held by governments as a store of wealth. 1971 saw the first time in history when no circulating currency in the world was redeemable in gold and the floating currency system was introduced.

The price of gold now rises and falls based on the economic principles of supply and demand. Even though the worlds monetary systems are no longer based on the value of gold, people are still intrigued by its beauty and impressed with its ever increasing usefulness in our daily lives.