| Since the dawn of civilization, gold with its radiant sun | | | | flux. For more than 6000 years gold has been |
| yellow texture and metallic luster has fascinated and | | | | considered symbolic of power, wealth and status. In |
| captivated mankind. The unique coloration of gold | | | | 1350 B.C. the Egyptian boy king, Tutankhem, was |
| catches the eye, enabling the seeker to detect tiny | | | | interred in a coffin elaborately cast from 242 pounds |
| grains in an aggregate of other materials. The | | | | of solid gold. Throughout recorded history men and |
| smallest flakes and grains are easily visible. | | | | women have adorned their bodies with gleaming gold. |
| Excavations of Stone Age burial sites indicate that | | | | The ancient Custom of exchanging gold during |
| gold was the earliest element collected and treasured | | | | marriage ceremonies continues today. The nobility of |
| by man. The mysterious metal, gathered in the form | | | | Medieval Europe liberally sprinkled gold in the form of |
| of nuggets, appears to have been highly prized but | | | | dust, flake or leaves on their food to demonstrate |
| was not used in practical applications. Rating 2.5 - 3 | | | | the host's great wealth. Today gold is still often used |
| on Mohs scale of hardness, gold was much too soft | | | | in food and has the E Number 175. However, since |
| to be hammered into functional weapons or tools. | | | | metallic gold is inert to all body chemistry, it adds no |
| Gold was of little use to prehistoric man except to | | | | taste nor has any other nutritional effect and leaves |
| be admired for its rare, intrinsic beauty. However, as | | | | the body unaltered. |
| man developed he soon discovered numerous | | | | Early man believed gold contained a hidden, internal |
| non-ulitarian applications for the revered golden metal. | | | | fire, a gift from the Gods with mysterious healing and |
| The earliest record of gold exploration dates to | | | | magical powers. Numerous cultures of |
| Egypt around 2000 B.C. Ancient records tell of an | | | | sun-worshippers revered gold as the tangible essence |
| enormous alluvial gold deposit in Nubia, between the | | | | of their God; solid sunshine. In modern day Japan |
| Nile River and the Red Sea in southeastern Egypt | | | | believers seek gold's medicinal magic by immersion in |
| that encompassed over one hundred square miles. | | | | a bathtub designed in the form of a phoenix crafted |
| Using the most primitive of tools and working to an | | | | from 400 pounds of pure gold. Health and gold have |
| average depth of less than seven feet, these first | | | | long been entwined in the belief that something so |
| "miners" wrestled an estimated one thousand tons of | | | | rare and beautiful could not be anything but healthy. |
| gold from this rich concentration. Egyptian artisans, | | | | Today modern esotericists and forms of alternative |
| recognizing the extraordinary malleability of gold | | | | medicine embrace the healing properties of gold. |
| fashioned incredible jewelry, ornaments and idols of | | | | Some gold salts have anti-inflammatory properties |
| breathtaking beauty. Throughout the history of man's | | | | and are used as pharmaceuticals in the treatment of |
| involvement with gold, the precious metal has been | | | | arthritis and other similar conditions. However, only |
| cherished not only for its beauty but for gold's ability | | | | salts and radioisotopes of gold are of pharmacological |
| to withstand the rigors of time. No substance that | | | | value, as elemental or metallic gold is inert to all |
| appears commonly in nature will destroy gold. | | | | chemicals it encounters within the body. Gold is a |
| Unaffected by air, moisture, heat or cold, this noble | | | | "storehouse of value", the natural way for man to |
| metal will not tarnish, rust or corrode. Shimmering gold | | | | preserve capital and protect against financial |
| dust, golden nuggets of placer gold and brilliant vein | | | | uncertainty or monetary collapse. In modern times |
| occurrences have survived 4.5 Billion years of | | | | gold has served as a hedge against the threat of |
| cataclysmic geologic and climate changes; volcanic | | | | inflation and as a secure and safe way to secret |
| Eruption, earthquakes, upheavals and deposition. | | | | away assets. The "hoarding" of gold occurs most |
| Treasures of gold jewelry, bullion and coins, buried | | | | frequently during times of war, adverse world |
| for thousands of years beneath land and sea have | | | | conditions and international fears of economic |
| been recovered intact; as brilliant as the day they | | | | uncertainty. Gold has often defeated the attempts |
| were abandoned. A relatively rare native metallic | | | | of governments to inflate the currency of their |
| element, gold ranks fifty-eighth in abundance | | | | country as well as circumventing the aims of those |
| amongst the ninety two natural elements that | | | | holding political power to direct the economy of other |
| compose the earth's crust. Although considered a | | | | nations. Gold, the acknowledged king of metals, is |
| rare element, of all metals Gold is, with the exception | | | | considered the ultimate monetary exchange. Gold is |
| of iron, the most broadly distributed over the planet. | | | | the only currency that isn't someone else's |
| Gold has been located on 90% of the earth's surface | | | | responsibility or liability; it is more that just a paper |
| and is mined in deserts, high mountain ranges, in the | | | | promise to pay upon demand. Gold's worth does not |
| deeply weathered soil of the tropics and in the | | | | rely on the economic viability of any nation, political |
| permanently frozen ground of the Arctic. Gold is | | | | power or financial cartel. Gold has value in and of |
| commercially mined on every continent except | | | | itself. The current world price of gold is set daily by |
| Antarctica. The foremost gold producing area of the | | | | the London Gold Market which trades gold bullion and |
| world is the Witwatersrand District in South Africa. | | | | coins with other financial world centers such as |
| This ultra-rich area has already yielded eighteen | | | | Zurich, Hong Kong , Frankfurt and Paris. The price is |
| thousand tons of gold with no end in sight. Other | | | | based on pure or "fine" gold, so the value of gold |
| main gold bearing areas around the world are Siberia | | | | gleaned in its natural state may vary depending on |
| in the former USSR, the Porcupine District in Ontario, | | | | the impurities it contains. However, raw gold sold as |
| Canada and in the United States the famous | | | | specimens or jewelry will bring a considerably higher |
| California Mother Lode District and the Yukon District | | | | price. Gold nuggets are as distinctively different as |
| of Alaska. In America nature was extremely | | | | snowflakes, although similar, no two nuggets are alike. |
| generous. Thirty-two states have recorded significant | | | | A nugget of unique character and shape will sell for |
| commercial gold production. The highest yield areas | | | | as much as five times its value by weight. Do you |
| are located within the western states, California, | | | | have broken or discarded gold jewelry you not longer |
| Colorado, Alaska, Nevada and South Dakota. Other | | | | wear? Now may be the time to cash in on the |
| abundant locations for prospecting include Georgia, | | | | current gold rush. With the price of gold exceeding |
| Arkansas, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Washington, New | | | | the $1000 an ounce benchmark, an errant earring or |
| Mexico, Wyoming, North and South Carolina, | | | | broken gold chain could add up to a significant sum. |
| Tennessee, Michigan, Vermont and New Hampshire. | | | | To receive the best price for gold you may wish to |
| The recreational gold prospector can find gold in | | | | sell, know the karat count. Because of the softness |
| practically every state of the union. Gold is an ideal | | | | of pure 24k gold, it is usually alloyed with base metals |
| media for craftsmen. It is a metal that can be | | | | for use in jewelry, altering its hardness, color, melting |
| deformed by pounding without crumbling or breaking. | | | | point and ductility. Alloys with lower karatage, |
| Gold, in its pure form is the most malleable of all | | | | typically 22k, 18k, 14k or 10k, contain higher |
| metals. A solitary ounce of gold can be drawn and | | | | percentages of copper, silver or other base metals in |
| stretched into an ultra fine wire over 50 miles in | | | | the alloy. The higher the karat the more you should |
| length without breaking or hammered to the amazing | | | | expect to be paid. If you only have a piece or two |
| thinness of one hundred thousandth of an inch | | | | to sell, try a local jeweler or take a vintage piece to |
| without disintegrating. Gold is easily carved, readily | | | | an antique jeweler. They'll take the artist's |
| buffs to a gleaming polish, can be heated repeatedly | | | | craftsmanship into consideration and you will net a |
| without discoloration and joins to itself or other | | | | much higher price than for just the gold weight. |
| metals by soldering without the need for a bonding | | | | |