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