The answer to this question goes back to many years ago. When our ancestors dug the ground and found this valuable, bright and colorful metal. From the same era, gold attracted the eyes of explorers and became something valuable, precious and a source of excellence. Since ancient times, gold has become one of the symbols of aristocratic life. Throughout history, it has been considered as a financial support, investment and making valuable jewelry. Perhaps the first reason that gold is expensive and valuable is that there is always a great demand for its purchase. However, gold is still rare. Gold is a kind of metal that is refined and purified after extraction from the earth. Discovering and extracting gold also requires knowledge, skills and labor. As we know, it is a hard and laborious work.
In 1792, the American Congress approved the minting of coins with gold, which determined the fixed price of gold in dollars. In the continuation of this incident, gold mining increased more and more. But it is still difficult to discover and extract gold. That is why gold is considered a rare material. For example, it may take 10 years for geologists, engineers and chemists to successfully extract gold from the ground. After all, the stones may not contain significant amounts of gold. But interestingly, there is gold in the earth's crust and almost everywhere. This metal has still managed to find its place on our fingers, ears and teeth. Even metal is used in electronic and medical industries. It is true that gold is rare. But its unique and special chemical capabilities have made it so valuable.
Facts about gold and its unique properties
The unique chemical and physical properties of gold have made its nature very different from other metals. Its flexible nature allows it to be stretched without breaking. This metal is chemically inactive and is considered one of the least reactive metals. It means that it is anti-corrosion and is less oxidized when exposed to other elements. Gold can remain unchanged in physical form for thousands of years. Gold is a conductor of heat and electricity and is often used in electronics and technology industries. This metal does not rust or stain. Most importantly, this metal is very beautiful and can be attractive in jewelry making. Different jewelry is made from it in gold workshops using different devices.
Because of its softness and flexibility, gold is often resistant to harder metals such as silver or copper. This is what is known as gold alloy. The purity of gold is measured by karat. 24 carat gold means 100% pure gold without any alloy. Gold has been able to increase its value over time. Gold's lack of correlation to stocks and many other assets makes it a financial safe haven in the market. There are very good reasons to believe that gold will become more expensive and increase in value in the coming years. The supply of gold is limited and currently, scientists and geologists have found most of the world's gold reserves. This means that the global supply of gold is decreasing while the demand for it is increasing.
Gold Standard
Gold has been able to find a special place in world currencies. This metal has taken root among the currencies of different countries of the world. Many countries have made gold the backing of their money. In the 1600s, many English citizens had home mints where gold coins were measured by the percentage of pure gold they contained. However, this practice led to the production and initiation of irregularly shaped coins that destroyed its value as legal tender. With the Great Redemption of 1696, the English government tried to maintain the value of British currency at home and abroad. But this attempt was unsuccessful. However, this led to early debates for paper money. An organized way of doing business that followed until the last days of World War I.
Americans started using paper money before the British. But its value depended on the gold production capacity of the United States. During the gold standard, anyone could go to a bank and trade paper money for a certain amount of gold. The gold standard gave people confidence that the value of their currency depended on their country's ability to pay its debts. However, in the post-World War I era, European governments were disorganized and international alliances began to change. These events caused an economic limbo around the world. Many countries were in debt, and gold production began to decline as larger countries began to profit. The US dollar and the British pound became the reserve currencies of the world.
Gold in the present century
Today, the gold standard is resting and no country uses gold or silver as currency. This precious metal is still ingrained in many aspects of our lives as more and more applications are found for its use in industry and commerce. Nearly 80% of the gold mined is used in home decorations, watches and jewelry, but the remaining 20% has an unlimited number of other uses. Electronics manufacturers use gold to make relay contacts, connection strips, and solder joints because this mineral has high conductivity and anti-corrosion properties. There is gold in your smartphone, GPS, calculator and TV. Also, doctors and dentists use gold for filling teeth, radioactive treatments for cancers and diagnostic procedures.