A Timeline of Gold History

timeline-gold-history

A Timeline of Gold History

January 4, 2012 302 view(s)

Gold has been a sign of wealth for centuries. It has encouraged people to cover great distances in search of it and was a long-time standard of currency. Today, it continues to be of great value, and people everywhere are interested in collecting gold coins and investing in gold stock. Gold is not only valuable and beautiful, but its history is varied and interesting.


2600 B.C.


Ancient Egyptians have tombs made of gold as early as this date. Many people agree that gold was used even before this time, but this is when it begins to appear in hieroglyphs.


Early 1500's A.D.


The Spanish explorer, Hernan Cortes, leads a group to Mexico and conquers the Aztec people. Historians are unable to calculate exactly how much gold was removed from Mexico and taken back to Spain, but it is believed to have been an extraordinary amount.


1799 A.D.


A 17-pound gold nugget is found in a North Carolina creek. According to North Carolina History.org, the family did not know the nuggets worth for some time and used it as a doorstop before learning its value. This find led to the antebellum gold mining movement that lasted until the mid 19th century.


1848 A.D.


A builder near Sacramento, California, named James Marshall finds a few gold nuggets and serves as the kick-off to the largest gold rush in history - The California Gold Rush.


Today


In the United States, Nevada is the number one mining location for gold. However, in the world, the largest gold mine is the Grasberg Complex located in Indonesia.


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