100 Facts About Gold You Should Know

Gold is arguably history’s most sought-after precious metal – take a look at these 100 interesting facts about gold, and learn more about how to start investing in gold today for a bright future!

1. Gold electroplating is used to in the electrical connectors of hundreds of everyday devices, from mobile phones to washing machines.
2. One thousand tons of rock generally contains just 5 grams of gold…which equals serious scarcity!
3. The current market value of all available gold in the world is $8 trillion in U.S. dollars.
4. Gold leaf measures just 100 nanometers thick, or 1,000 thinner than a sheet of paper.
5. 1,960 tons of gold is used each year for jewelry production.
6. The equivalent of 50 million gold coins are used in gold investing each year.
7. Just under 50% of all gold ever mined has come from Witwatersrand in South Africa.
8. Aurophobia is the term for a fear of gold.
9. Olympic medals were made from 100% real gold up until 1912 – they are now just 1.34% gold.
10. The average human has about 0.2 milligrams of gold in our bloodstream.
11. Today, Fort Knox holds about 150 million ounces of gold, or about 4,687 tons.
12. All the gold ever mined from the earth would fit in a cube with 68’ sides.
13. Gold has been found on all seven continents.
14. The total amount of gold mined in recorded human history is about 161,000 tons.
15. Every cubic mile of seawater contains an average of 25 tons of gold.
16. The gold standard was the basis for Western economies until 1961.
17. More steel is produced per hour worldwide than there has been gold mined throughout history.
18. It is estimated that just 20% of the Earth’s gold has been mined.
19. The word “gold” comes from the Old English word “geolu,” which means yellow.
20. Switzerland was on the gold standard until 1999 – the last country to stick to this method.
21. The most expensive gold coin ever sold is the 1933 Double Eagle – sold in 2002 for $7.59 million.
22. Gold is the 58^th rarest naturally-occurring element in the Earth’s crust of 92 different types.
23. Pure gold is so soft it can be bent and molded with bare hands.
24. Gold melts at 2,063 degrees Fahrenheit.
25. Elvis Presley owned three Stutz motorcars and had all chrome parts re-plated in real gold.
26. A standard gold bar measures 7” x 3 5/8” x 1 ¾”.
27. One ounce of gold can be pounded into a sheet measuring 10’ x 10’.
28. Gold is an incredibly effective conductor of electricity.
29. The largest gold nugget in existence today is on display at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas – it was mined in Australia in 1980.
30. India is the world’s largest consumer of gold today – much of it in jewelry.
31. Gold nuggets can be worth more than the real value of the gold contained within due to scarcity of naturally occurring chunks.
32. Alaska and California both rank gold as their state metal.
33. Nevada and South Dakota are the US’ two largest producers of gold.
34. Gold is believed to have been mined and used as long ago as 5,000 B.C.
35. Scientists believe gold can be found on Venus, Mercury and Mars.
36. Pure gold is hypoallergenic.
37. Gold is sometimes injected into the joints of people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
38. Astronaut helmets feature gold-plated (.000002 inches thick) visors to cut down on heat and glare.
39. 90% of the world’s gold mining has taken place since 1848 (the Sutter’s Mill discovery).
40. South Asian gold jewelry is generally 22 carats, rather than the more common 14 carats.
41. Gold is the most ductile (able to be drawn into a wire shape) material known to man.
42. Gold neither rusts or tarnishes, and will look the same for thousands of years.
43. The largest gold bullion coin is produced by Royal Canadian Mint. It is 99.999% pure gold. Weighs 100 kg. with a face value of $1,000,000.
44. Gold is rarer than diamonds, much rarer.
45. The US holds more than 8,100 tons of gold in strategic reserves.
46. The Mponeng Mine in South Africa goes 2.5 miles underground!
47. 46 tons of gold is used annually for dental fillings.
48. 60 tons of gold could make a wire that would stretch from the Earth to the Sun.
49. Using the entire world’s supply of gold, you could cover all of Switzerland with gold leaf.
50. All the gold ever mined would fit in 120 standard shipping containers.
51. Gold has increased in value by about 500% over the past 15 years.
52. The world’s oceans are estimated to hold about 20 million tons of gold.
53. Gold is so pliable that it can be made thin enough to be transparent.
54. Nearly all of the gold on Earth came from meteorites that bombarded the planet over 200 million years after it formed.
55. The human body contains approximately 0.2 milligrams of gold, mostly in our blood.
56. Gold is used in window glass and astronaut helmets to reflect infrared rays while letting in sunlight.
57. The term “gold” is derived from the Proto-Indo-European base word *‘ghel’ / *‘ghol’ meaning ‘yellow,’ ‘green,’ or possibly ‘bright.’
58. Gold leaf, used for gilding, is typically beaten thin enough to become semi-transparent.
59. The world’s largest gold bar weighs 250 kg (551 lb).
60. Gold is edible and is used in foods as a decoration, known as gold leaf.
61. In some cultures, gold is eaten for medicinal purposes.
62. Gold is chemically inert, which also means it will not corrode or tarnish.
63. The amount of gold in a human body is worth about $1.
64. Most of the Earth’s gold lies at its core, the metal’s high density having made it sink there in the planet’s youth.
65. Gold nanoparticles are used in a variety of medical applications, including cancer treatments.
66. Nearly 50% of all gold ever mined has been extracted since 1960.
67. The first gold coins were minted in Lydia around 600 BC.
68. Gold is so rare that the world pours more steel in an hour than it has poured gold since the beginning of recorded history.
69. The largest single piece of native gold ever found weighed 2316 troy ounces, called the “Welcome Stranger.”
70. Gold can be recycled, and most of the gold available today has been mined and recycled for hundreds of years.
71. Gold is used in the connectors of the most common electronics, like computers and smartphones, due to its excellent conductivity.
72. The melting point of gold is 1,064 degrees Celsius.
73. The highest gold reserves in the world are located in the United States, Germany, Italy, France, and Russia.
74. Gold is often found in its pure form, unlike many other metals.
75. In 2005, Russia surpassed South Africa as the world’s largest gold producer.
76. Gold is measured in karats, with 24 karats being pure gold.
77. The Incas referred to gold as the “tears of the Sun.”
78. The total amount of gold mined in human history would only fill about 3 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
79. Gold is the only metal that is yellow or “golden.” Other metals may develop a yellowish color, but only after they have
80. oxidized or reacted with other chemicals.
81. Nearly 80% of the gold mined each year is used for jewelry.
82. Gold is so heavy that one cubic foot of it weighs half a ton.
83. The largest accumulation of gold can be found five miles south of Johannesburg, in the world’s deepest mines.
84. Gold is often alloyed with other metals to change its hardness and ductility, its color, and its melting point.
85. Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history.
86. The color of pure gold is bright golden yellow, but the greater the silver content, the whiter its color is.
87. Much of the gold mined is from large mining operations where the gold is smeltered for commercial use.
88. India is one of the largest markets for gold jewelry, constituting around 30% of the total world gold demand.
89. Gold has been used for coinage throughout the centuries and is currently accepted internationally as a standard value.
90. The 14th-century king of Mali, Mansa Musa, is considered the richest person in history due to his extensive gold reserves.
91. Gold’s high malleability, ductility, resistance to corrosion, and most other chemical reactions, and conductivity of electricity have led to its continued use in corrosion-resistant electrical connectors in all types of computerized devices.
92. The “Gold Standard” was a system for determining the value of a country’s currency and involved fixing a country’s currency value to a specified amount of gold.
93. Gold played a role in western culture as a cause of desire and conflict since the Age of Discovery, particularly when Europeans discovered the vast sources of gold in the New World.
94. Approximately 75% of the newly mined gold is used in jewelry.
95. Gold has been used throughout history as money and has been a relative standard for currency equivalents specific to economic regions or countries.
96. South Africa discovered the world’s largest gold reserves in the Witwatersrand Basin in 1886, transforming the country into a leading gold producer.
97. The purity of gold is stated in terms of karats, with 24 karats being pure gold, and lower karat numbers proportionally less.
98. Gold is frequently used as gold leaf for decoration and gilding, with the most notable use being on domes of religious buildings and other important structures.
99. Gold coins were commonly used in transactions up through the early 1900s when paper currency became a more common form of exchange.
100. Gold’s high density, malleability, and resistance to corrosion have made it useful for a wide range of applications

These gold facts are fun to read, but the most important fact to consider is that the IRS allows smart investors to include gold and other precious metals-based IRAs in virtually any standard retirement portfolio. For more information about adding gold to your individual retirement account, contact American Bullion today.

Whether you are new to gold investing or have been a collector for years, it is essential to research and work with a reputable dealer. American Bullion is a trusted resource for those looking to invest in gold IRAs, offering a wide selection of gold coins from around the world and expert guidance on which gold bars or gold coins are the best investment for you.

So why wait? Invest in gold coins today and start building a brighter financial future.