Why do we like gold?

Many of us like gold rings, gold and gold bars, because of its safe reputation.

That is, we say to ourselves, that gold has a strong value that can withstand the turbulent fluctuations of financial life, can overcome an abnormal up and down storm of money and can land. Extremely safe with intact value. But, don't bet on gold. If you think you are buying real money, forget it. It was just yesterday's story.

According to the Telegraph, long ago, gold is money. When gold coinage was standardized in Asia Minor in 635 BC, the metal was completely "molted". Gold has become a must-have asset. The standard of gold is escalating, from gold is a form of exchange of goods, to gold has a stable role in currency. The popularity of gold swept into the Mediterranean world, the symbol of wealth and the foundation of modern trade.

When gold coinage was standardized in Asia Minor in 635 BC, the metal was completely "molted".

Historical stamp

Back to the Middle Ages. Europe's largest gold supplier is an African ruler named Mansa Musa (this story is almost tinged with myth). He ruled that the Mali empire was rich in gold, an amazing urban civilization along the Niger River. Mansa Musa built mosques and palaces in cities like Timbuktu and Djenné. In the imperial capital, Niani, he specialized in receiving tribute from vassals in a large hall with windows framed in gold.

Sometimes called the Lord of the gold mines , Mansa Musa sparkles in European imagination. A Catalan statue in the 1380s described him as the heart of Africa, a black king in gold clothes, showing off a golden lump in a raised hand.

In 1324, the golden king made a pilgrimage of pious Muslims to Mecca. Arab historians recorded that his entourage had 60,000 soldiers and 12,000 slaves. A ship with 80 camels dragged heavily through the desert, carrying heavy blocks of precious metals. When passing through Cairo, the emperor's entourage poured a lot of gold into the market, so much so that he caused the price of gold in the Mediterranean to decline for a decade.

However, around this time, the decline in European gold mine production triggered a coin crisis on the mainland, and in the following century, explorers tried to find new gold source. The Portuguese traveled across the coast of Africa, seeking to immigrate to the empire Mansa Musa. Meanwhile, the Spaniards sailed west - the search and conquest of gold was extremely cruel and bizarre. Armed with weapons of mass destruction, in the 16th century, a small number of Spaniards were massacred, killed, and laid down the two largest civilizations in history: the Aztec and the Inca.

Gold can surpass an abnormal up and down currency storm and can land extremely safe with intact value.

The image of Atahualpa , the king of the Incas, sits on a strong throne. Gold and emerald necklace twinkles on the chest and braids. On his forehead was the bright red tassel of the Incas. The angels surrounded him. Eight thousand entourage went with the Incas. The rest of the army - about 70,000 powerful soldiers and experienced combatants are camping heavily.

But when the Spaniards opened fire, swung their swords, the Spaniards easily defeated the native army. Atahualpa is destroyed. Along the royal road from Cuzco, the capital of the Incas, is full of golden trophies, jars, small gold monuments, including a statue like a golden fountain. There is also an altar made of gold, weighing half a ton.

The Spanish possessed all gold. The booty weighs 5 tons of gold. But in a blink of an eye, they turned all the glamorous gold works of Inca culture into cash - the greatest value of gold for them. In a single month, Spaniards cast 1,326,539 gold pesos, equivalent to more than $ 250 million today. That's why museums have very few Inca gold: Spaniards have possessed and cooked into cash. Who knows, buying a piece of gold from the Royal Mint nowadays, you can get a little bit of gold from the remaining Incas in it.

As a metallic element, gold has not changed. Gold is not tarnish or corroded. Despite being dug out of the ground after centuries, gold is still shiny, fresh as the newly minted coin. And in the 500 years since the fall of Atahualpa, gold has not lost its appeal in the West. Gold shines brightly in the minds of economists, many countries support gold, watching gold as currency.

The story of modern times .

Since the Second World War, the United States owns 70% of the gold currency (gold is considered currency, not counting gold jewelry) of the world. At this time, many currencies are considered to be inferior to the dollar, and only USD can convert into gold. In this system, people who own large amounts of dollars can convert money into gold at the rate of 35 USD / ounce of gold.

After World War II, the US owned 70% of the world's gold currency.

The regime lasted until Richard Nixon became US President. At this time, the US trade deficit increased day by day, Americans bought foreign goods but foreigners refused to buy American goods. Without USD, foreign central banks started using cash. Gold immediately flooded the US Treasury's warehouse in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Like a stubborn child who disliked the way the games were going, Nixon changed the rules, and on a live television show on the night of Sunday, August 1971, he ended the rule convert USD into gold.

Without government control, the price of gold went up and down freely. Traders call gold "metal emotions ", which often frightens them because of the unusual fluctuation of gold. That's what happened in the 2008 banking crisis. Frightened by the disintegration of money, investors lowered the price of gold tremendously. And now, after a long time of decline, the price of gold has increased and regained its value.

Like a great movie star, gold is always waiting for a suitable script. We don't know what that scenario will look like until it appears. It could be a horrible catastrophe, war or horrible scenario. And then, gold suddenly once again strides on the red carpet! And we feel a lack of gold again, we need more gold.