FACTS OF GOLD PART 1 - I am an investor of BONZ gold and very excited about this wonderful opportunity. I am writing a series of THREE short articles about gold and posting it exclusively to THIS MESSAGE POST. I am new to the site and look forward to posting PART 2 and 3 in the coming days.
FACTS OF GOLD PART 1
What is gold? Why is gold the most sought after precious metal in the world? What is it used for? What is the historical significance of gold?
Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable (meaning shapeable and pliable) and ductile (able to be drawn out into a thin wire or deformed without losing toughness) substance. It's on the periodic table (the element table), with the symbol “Au” and the atomic number “79”. Every element is unique in nature, and every element has a fixed atomic number. 79 is the number for gold. This simply means that there are 79 protons in the nucleus of the atom that makes up gold. This is just a little fact for those who want to know about its chemistry.
The word “gold” is derived from the Old English (some might say Indo-European) word “ghel”, which means “bright and gleaming.” It presents yellowish and is attractive. The beauty of gold maintains without oxidizing (oxidaiton is when electrons are lost from the nucleus of an atom causing the element to cheapen or tarnish). Being one of the least reactive elements solid under standard conditions, it occurs often in free elemental (native) form as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins, and in alluvial deposits (sediment deposited by flowing water).
Gold is highly valuable and sought after worldwide. It is used for wiring and coating for wiring in electronics, contact points in memory cards, coinage, jewelry – such as rings, necklaces and bracelets, the arts, high achievement medals, professional medical and dental fields, certain types of glass, and some critical uses in science, medicine, and medical manufacturing. A small amount of gold is used in nearly every sophisticated electronic device, including global positioning system units and smartphones. Gold is used in hundreds of ways in every space vehicle that space programs launch into space! The conditions of outer space regarding temperatures and elements can be extreme (to us) and gold is one element that can withstand extremely harsh environments. In many ways, space programs rely on gold's extreme standard of quality in order to manufacture key components in space vehicles; allowing the program to accomplish multi-billion dollar missions. Not surprisingly, the uses of gold are still being discovered today. As time progresses, we will learn of new ways gold will be used, perhaps in ways beyond what any of us could have dreamed or imagined.
In early history gold was used in unique ways. Artisans of ancient human history used gold lavishly to decorate tombs and “cover” the bodies of the pharoh's. Gold was believed to be the substance used to “form the skin of the gods” and was commonly buried with the pharoh's, their relatives, and those of prominent rank in the royal palaces. With each dynasty came more gold, extracted from the mountains, river beds, and surrounding lands. Egyptian rulers filled their extravagant kingdom halls with gold décor while slaves toiled year round to mine it from the earth. It was BIG business. By around 600-500 BC, gold was beginning to be used as a currency to purchase goods and services. The Lydians were responsible for gold's inception as a market currency in 560BC before being overthrown by the Persians. In Part 2 I will discuss how gold eventually caused the collapse of a great empire about 800 years after the Lydians began using it as currency. Gold remains a coveted rare earth element.
Gold is extremely valuable and is truly THE most sought after earth element. Amid recession fears in 2008, gold topped $1,000 per ounce for the first time in history. Today, gold has a market value (as of January 1, 2013) of $1,676 per troy ounce and climbing. The word “troy” is simply a system of weights for precious metals. It is estimated that gold could top $10,000 or more per ounce in time. The potential for sky-rocketing value of gold is not an unreasonable speculation given the historical rising price of gold and the ever growing need for gold in medical science, sophisticated electronics, and aerospace technology. It may eventually be worth far more than $10,000 per ounce. We think $10,000 is ridiculous for an ounce of gold now but in 10 years it might not seem as unprofound. For those who invest in gold and gold mining today, ten years can mean the difference between financial mediocrity vs. financial freedom.
PART 2 IS COMING NEXT... STAY TUNED!