Golden Words: Fun Facts About Gold

Gold boasts the title of being one of the most sought-after precious metals of all time. This yellow metal has had wars waged upon it, and been used for jewelry, coinage, art, as well as a symbol of wealth for centuries. An important ingredient in microcircuits, dental pieces, and many other commodities including medicines, the highly-valued precious metal seems to be the center of the universe for many!

Some find it in the coating of astronaut visors while others consider it as pirate’s booty or treasure found at the end of rainbows. Gold is undoubtedly an element that bridges new and old, science and myth, seamlessly. However, there’s more to the shiny metal than meets the eye.

With years of experience in the gold and silver buying industry, experts at Gold to Cash share some interesting facts and myths you probably didn’t know about gold.

The Myth - Gold is Alien

Well, nearly all the gold found on our planet today didn’t originate here. This gold, as we know it today, came from meteorites that barraged the world nearly 200 million years after Earth was formed.

Gold is Indestructible

As a noble metal that doesn’t react, oxidize, or rust easily even when in contact with acids, gold is virtually indestructible. In fact, it’s the only yellow metal because all others have reacted or oxidized. This means most of the gold ever mined still exists in some form because it can be melted down to be re-purified and reused. Chances are, the gold bracelet you’re wearing might have particles from Ancient Rome!

Gold is Tasteless, Odorless, and Malleable

Pure gold is typically very soft and bendable even at normal temperatures. A gram of pure gold can be easily flattened into a sheet that extends over a square meter. It can become so thin that light can pass through it. That’s why it’s often used as a protective film for space suit visors.

Moreover, gold isn’t toxic. Although it’s tasteless and odorless, the flakes can be consumed in drinks and foods.

Gold’s Largest Known Bar Weighs 250kg

Made in 2005 by the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, the largest known gold bar ever created has dimensions of 6 by 9 inches. It’s worth over $15 million but interestingly fits in ordinary shoe boxes! It can be found at Toi Gold Museum in Japan.

Gold Glitters Undiscovered in Oceans

According to research, oceans are a great place to hunt for gold. Ocean waters are packed with gold that’s extremely tough to extract. The depths of the ocean mean deposits are buried many miles underwater. Estimates reveal there are over 20 million tons of precious metals in oceans. But even if one reaches the ocean floor, they’ll discover that the deposits need to be mined as they’re encased in rocks.

Gold Nugget Ounces are Difficult to Find

An ounce of gold nugget is usually more challenging to find than five-carat diamonds. Nuggets of native gold are found in stream beds and soil. They’re usually 60 to 90 percent gold with the remaining being silver. It makes it far rarer than diamonds.

Gold is Used in Medicine

You’d be surprised to learn that gold is commonly used to make dental bridges. Similarly, injections with gold compounds administered intramuscularly help reduce swelling and pain in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Many oncologists have also begun using it to shrink cancerous tumors.

Gold is Used to Make the Nobel Prize Medal

Although Olympic medals are not made with pure gold since the 1912 Summer Games held in Stockholm, the Nobel Prize is still made purely from gold. While modern gold medals are otherwise made from silver or gold alloys, the Nobel Prize medal is still 23-karat coated on an 18-karat core.

Gold is Ideal for Investment

Gold is commonly used as a safe haven in times of geopolitical or economic turmoil. It boasts a vast history of holding its value. It’s still the ideal way of preserving wealth and passing it from one generation to another.

Gold has a weak correlation to movements in the financial markets. It is frequently used as an asset that hedges against inflation. Gold’s high production cost and natural scarcity are the ultimate reasons why gold holds its value. Investing in gold means not relying on banks or any financial institutions.

However, gold is available in different karats. So when metals are added to it during the jewelry-making process, it becomes less fine, reducing the number of karats. For instance, 10-karat gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts metals.

Did you know the word karat comes from carob seeds that were commonly used in Asian bazaars to balance scales used to measure the weight of gold?

Gold Not Pyrite

Pyrite, or fool’s gold is an inferior mineral that tends to mimic the looks of gold. Fool’s gold is very common, tougher in nature, and more brittle than pure gold. It looks blackish-green when crushed to form a powder. Meanwhile pure gold is always saturated yellow.

Pyrite has iron and sulfur as well. It was commonly mined during World War II to produce industrial chemicals like sulfuric acid. Even today pyrite is used in jewelry, appliances, machines, and car batteries.

While pyrite may seem like it’s a disappointing find, it’s more commonly discovered alongside real gold and copper sources. This means a miner is only a fool if they stop digging after finding a piece of pyrite.

Now that you know some interesting facts about gold, we’ve got an interesting offer for you! If you’re looking to sell your gold jewelry online, instead of looking for pawn shops or brick and mortar jewelry shops, order a free appraisal kit now so our team at Gold to Cash can help you sell your gold and silver jewelry online at the best price!

We’re the top-rated online gold and silver buyers in the United States and extremely transparent process in terms of how we evaluate your precious metals. Our team of experienced gemologists appraises all coins, bullion, and jewelry for free and provides a detailed report regarding the precious metals or anything else you need to know before you decide to convert gold to cash.

Check the criteria our experts use on the website, but we encourage customers to connect with us for any questions or concerns concerning the process we use when we buy gold from you.