Since prehistoric man first stumbled upon a nugget, raw gold with its radiant sun yellow coloration and metallic luster has captivated and fascinated mankind. The unique gleam of gold attracts the eye, enabling the seeker to detect the smallest of grains in an aggregate of many other materials. The tiniest flakes are easily detected.

Reserach of Stone Age burial sites shows that gold was the first element collected and prized by man. This unique metal, gathered in the form of nuggets, seems to have been highly prized but was not used in practical applications. Listed 2.5 ? 3 on Mohs scale of hardness, gold was much too mallable to be pounded into workable tools or weapons. Gold carried little value for prehistoric man except to be admired and treasured for its rare, intrinsic beauty.

However, as man developed he soon found numerous applications for the mysterious golden metal. The earliest record of gold exploration dates to Egypt around 2000 B.C. Ancient records tell of an enormous alluvial gold deposit in Nubia, between the Nile River and the Red Sea in southeastern Egypt. This amazing discovery encompassed in excess of one hundred square miles. Using the most primitive of tools and excavating to an average depth of less than six feet, the laborers pried an approximately one thousand tons of gold from this rich discovery. Egyptian craftsmen, recognizing the extraordinary malleability of gold fashioned incredible jewelry, statues and idols of breathtaking beauty.

Gold, the valued metal has been cherished not only for its beauty but for golds ability to withstand the rigors of time. No substance that appears commonly in nature will destroy gold. Unaffected by air, moisture, heat or cold, this revered metal will not tarnish, corrode or rust. Shining gold flakes, golden nuggets of placer gold and brilliant vein occurrences have survived 4.5 billion years of cataclysmic geologic and climate changes; volcanic eruption, earthquakes, upheavals and deposition. Hordes of gold jewelry, bullion and coins, buried for thousands of years beneath land and sea have been found intact; as brilliant as the day they were abandoned. A relatively rare native metallic element, gold ranks fifty-eighth in abundance amongst the ninety two natural elements that make up the earths crust. Although considered a rare element, of all metals gold is, with the exception of iron, the most widely dispersed over the planet. Gold has been located on 90 per cent of the globes surface and is excavated in high mountain ranges, in the deeply weathered soil of the tropics, burning deserts and in the permanently frozen ground of the Arctic.

Gold is mined on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. The largest gold producing area of the world is the Witwatersrand District of South Africa. This mega rich area has yielded over eighteen thousand tons of gold with no stoppage projected. Notable gold bearing areas around the world are Siberia in the former USSR, the Porcupine District in Ontario, Canada and in the United States the Yukon District of Alaska and the celebrated Mother Lode District in California.

Within the United States nature was extremely generous. Thirty-two states have recorded substantial gold production. The highest volume areas are located within the western states, California, Colorado, Alaska, Nevada and South Dakota. Other abundant locations for prospecting include New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Wyoming, New Mexico, Washington, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Georgia and Arkansas. A gold prospector can find gold in his pan in practically every state of the union.

Gold is a prized media for artisans. It is a metal that can be deformed by pounding without breaking or crumbling. Gold, in its purest form is the most malleable or workable of all metals. One single ounce of gold can be drawn and stretched into an ultra fine wire over 50 miles in length without breaking or pounded to the incredible thinness of one hundred thousandth of an inch without disintegrating. Gold is easily reformed, readily polishes to a lustrous gleam, can be heated repeatedly without discoloration and joins to itself or other metals by soldering without the need for a bonding flux.

For over 6000 years gold has been considered a symbol of wealth, status and power. In 1350 B.C. the Egyptian boy king, Tutankhem, was incased in a coffin elaborately cast from 242 pounds of ppure gold. Throughout history women and men have dcorated their bodies with gleaming gold. The ancient custom of exchanging gold during marriage ceremonies continues today.

The royalty of Medieval Europe generously sprinkled gold in the form of dust, flake or leaves on their food to demonstrate the the wealth of the host. Today gold is still used in food and has the E Number 175. Metallic gold is inert to all body chemistry, it adds no taste nor has any other nutritional effect and departs the body unaltered.

Early man believed gold held a hidden, internal fire, a gift from the Gods with mysterious healing and magical powers. Numerous cultures of sun worshippers revered gold as the tangible essence of their God; solid sunshine. In modern day Japan believers seek golds medicinal magic by submersion in a bath tub designed in the form of a phoenix crafted from 400 pounds of pure gold. Health and gold have been entwined in the wondrous belief that something so beautiful and rare could not be anything but healthy and healing and magical.

Today modern esotericists and several forms of alternative medicine embrace the healing qualities of gold. Gold salts have anti inflammatory properties and are used as pharmaceuticals in the treatment of arthritis and other varied conditions. Only salts and radioisotopes of gold are of pharmacological value. Elemental gold is inert to all chemicals it encounters within the body.

Gold is a storehouse of value, the natural way for man to preserve capital and protect against financial uncertainty or monetary collapse. In modern times gold has served as a hedge against the threat of inflation and as a secure and safe way to secret away assets. The hoarding of gold occurs most frequently during times of war, adverse world conditions and international fears of economic instability. Gold has often defeated the attempts of governments to inflate the currency of their country as well as circumventing the aims of those holding political power to direct the economy of other nations.

Throughout recorded time, gold, the king of metals, has been called the ultimate monetary exchange. Gold is the only tender that isnt someone elses responsibility or liability; it is more that just a sometimes worthless paper promise to pay upon demand. Gold does not rely on the economic stability of any country, financial cartel or political power. Gold finds its value in and of itself.

The current world price of gold is established daily by the London Gold Market which trades gold bullion and coins with other financial world centers such as Zurich, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Paris. The price is based on pure or fine gold, therefore the value of gold gleaned in its natural state may vary depending on the impurities it contains. However, raw gold sold as specimens or jewelry will always bring a considerably higher price. Gold nuggets are as distinctively different as snowflakes, although similar, no two nuggets are alike. A nugget of unique character and shape may sell for as much as five times its value by weight.

Do you have gold jewelry you no longer wear? Now may be the time to cash in. With the price of gold exceeding the $1000 an ounce mark, an errant earring or broken gold chain could add up to a significant amount.

To receive the best price for gold you may wish to sell, know the karat count. Because of the softness of pure 24k gold, it is usually alloyed with base metals for use in jewelry, altering its hardness, color, melting point and ductility. Alloys with lower karatage, typically 22k, 18k, 14k or 10k, contain higher percentages of silver, copper or other base metals in the alloy. The higher the karat the more you should expect to be paid.

If you only have a few items to sell, try a local jeweler or take a vintage piece to an antique jeweler. They will take the artists skill into consideration and you will net a much larger price than for just the gold weight alone.