History of Gold (continued)
By
about 1350, the Babylonians, again in Iraq, were using the fire assay method to
test for the purity of gold. This is still the most accurate way to assay gold
and the standard against which other methods are measured.
In 1200 BC, the Egyptians had
discovered how to take advantage of the extreme malleability of the metal, by
beating it into leaf. The high degree of malleability is one of the truly
amazing qualities of gold. It is possible to hammer one ounce of gold into a
sheet 100 feet square and five-millionths of an inch thick! In addition, around
this time, on the shore of the Black Sea, un-shorn sheepskin was used to sluice
gold dust from the watery sands. The skins were then dried and shaken to
dislodge the gold particles – the real life version of the Golden Fleece.
In about 550 BC, the first pure gold coins were minted in Lydia – now western
Turkey – whose area included Troy.
By about 300 BC, the Greeks and Jews of Alexandria in Africa had
begun to realize that gold was indeed a rare and much desired commodity. They
decided to try to manufacture it. The practice, called 'alchemy', was the quest
to turn a base metal – such as lead – into gold. They were not successful, but
this undoubtedly contributed to the foundation for what became the science of
chemistry.
Next:
Gold as
Commodity
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14K Solid White Gold Curb
Bracelet
14K Solid White Gold Mariner
Bracelet
Related Article:
Rising Price
of Gold and Retail Jewelry
Pricing Gold
Chains
