What is gold and when did it get to be the standard that backed the worlds money?
Is it still the basis that our modern monetary system rests on? First, a little history. Gold is thought to be one of the first known metals. The word “gold” came from an old English word geolo, meaning yellow. The ancient Egyptians were very proficient goldsmiths — hammering gold into leaf so thin that it took 367,000 leaves to make a one inch pile. Gold has been a valuable metal throughout the ages because it is scarce. It is a beautiful metal that has a lovely yellow color and a soft metallic glow. It is soft and easy to work with. It can be drawn into a fine wire, and as the Egyptians discovered, hammered into thin leaf. It is very malleable and can be easily shaped into various forms. It is highly resistant to rust and is corrosion-resistant.
