Gold Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Monetary use == {{Further|History of money}} [[File:Two 20kr gold coins.png|thumb|right|Two golden 20 kr coins from the [[Scandinavian Monetary Union]], which was based on a [[gold standard]]. The coin to the left is [[Sweden|Swedish]] and the right one is [[Denmark|Danish]].]] Gold has been [[History of money|widely used]] throughout the world as [[money]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hx-AU99lho4C&pg=PA192 |title=Man, Economy, and State, Scholar's Edition |last=Rothbard |first=Murray N. |date=2009 |publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute |isbn=978-1-933550-99-2}}</ref> for efficient indirect exchange (versus [[barter]]), and to store wealth in [[hoard]]s. For exchange purposes, [[Mint (coin)|mints]] produce standardized [[bullion|gold bullion]] [[coins]], [[gold bar|bars]] and [[Good delivery|other units]] of fixed weight and purity. The first known coins containing gold were struck in Lydia, Asia Minor, around 600 BC.<ref name="lion">{{cite web |url=http://rg.ancients.info/lion/article.html |title=A Case for the World's Oldest Coin: Lydian Lion |publisher=Rg.ancients.info |date=2 October 2003 |access-date=27 October 2013}}</ref> The ''[[talent (measurement)|talent]]'' coin of gold in use during the periods of Grecian history both before and during the time of the life of Homer weighed between 8.42 and 8.75 grams.<ref>{{cite book |last=Seltman |first=C. T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uas8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA116 |title=Athens, Its History and Coinage Before the Persian Invasion |access-date=4 June 2012 |isbn=978-0-87184-308-1 |date=1924}}</ref> From an earlier preference in using silver, European economies re-established the minting of gold as coinage during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.<ref name="Postan & Miller">{{cite book |last1=Postan |first1=M. M. |last2=Miller |first2=E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wSia_4PpeqQC&pg=PR1 |title=The Cambridge Economic History of Europe: Trade and industry in the Middle Ages |publisher=Cambridge University Press, 28 August 1987 |isbn=978-0-521-08709-4 |date=1967}}</ref> [[Real bills doctrine|Bills]] (that mature into gold coin) and [[gold certificates]] (convertible into gold coin at the issuing bank) added to the circulating stock of [[gold standard]] money in most 19th century industrial economies. In preparation for [[World War I]] the warring nations moved to fractional gold standards, inflating their currencies to finance the war effort. Post-war, the victorious countries, most notably Britain, gradually restored gold-convertibility, but international flows of gold via bills of exchange remained embargoed; international shipments were made exclusively for bilateral trades or to pay war reparations. After [[World War II]] gold was replaced by a system of nominally [[convertible currency|convertible currencies]] related by fixed exchange rates following the [[Bretton Woods system]]. [[Gold standard]]s and the direct convertibility of currencies to gold have been abandoned by world governments, led in 1971 by the United States' refusal to redeem its dollars in gold. [[Fiat currency]] now fills most monetary roles. [[Switzerland]] was the last country to tie its currency to gold; this was ended by a referendum in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/19/world/swiss-narrowly-vote-to-drop-gold-standard.html |work=The New York Times |title=Swiss Narrowly Vote to Drop Gold Standard |date=19 April 1999 |access-date=1 July 2022}}</ref> Central banks continue to keep a portion of their liquid reserves as gold in some form, and metals exchanges such as the [[London Bullion Market Association]] still clear transactions denominated in gold, including future delivery contracts. Today, [[gold mining]] output is declining.<ref>{{cite web |last=King |first=Byron |url=http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gold_mine_production_072020092 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515213855/http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/gold_mine_production_072020092 |archive-date=15 May 2016 |title=Gold mining decline |publisher=BullionVault.com |date=20 July 2009 |access-date=23 November 2009}}</ref> With the sharp growth of economies in the 20th century, and increasing foreign exchange, the world's [[gold reserve]]s and their trading market have become a small fraction of all markets and fixed exchange rates of currencies to gold have been replaced by floating prices for gold and gold [[Futures contract|future contract]]. Though the gold stock grows by only 1% or 2% per year, very little metal is irretrievably consumed. Inventory above ground would satisfy many decades of industrial and even artisan uses at current prices. The gold proportion ([[fineness]]) of alloys is measured by [[fineness#karat|karat]] (k). Pure gold (commercially termed ''fine'' gold) is designated as 24 karat, abbreviated 24k. English gold coins intended for circulation from 1526 into the 1930s were typically a standard 22k alloy called [[crown gold]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Thomas Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tu86AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA103 |page=103 |title=The Mint: A Day-book of the R.A.F. Depot Between August and December 1922, with Later Notes |date=1948}}</ref> for hardness (American gold coins for circulation after 1837 contain an alloy of 0.900 fine gold, or 21.6 kt).<ref>{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=George |url=https://archive.org/details/theorymoneyandb00tuckgoog |title=The theory of money and banks investigated |publisher=C. C. Little and J. Brown |date=1839}}</ref> Although the prices of some [[platinum]] group metals can be much higher, gold has long been considered the most desirable of [[precious metal]]s, and its value has been used as the standard for many [[currency|currencies]]. Gold has been used as a symbol for purity, value, royalty, and particularly roles that combine these properties. Gold as a sign of wealth and prestige was ridiculed by [[Thomas More]] in his treatise ''[[Utopia (More book)|Utopia]]''. On that imaginary island, gold is so abundant that it is used to make chains for slaves, tableware, and lavatory seats. When ambassadors from other countries arrive, dressed in ostentatious gold jewels and badges, the Utopians mistake them for menial servants, paying homage instead to the most modestly dressed of their party. The [[ISO 4217]] currency code of gold is XAU.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/currency_codes.htm |title=Currency codes β ISO 4217 |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> Many holders of gold store it in form of [[bullion]] coins or [[gold bar|bars]] as a hedge against [[inflation]] or other economic disruptions, though its efficacy as such has been questioned; historically, it has not proven itself reliable as a hedging instrument.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://medium.com/hedgehound/hedgehound-fridayfinance-on-hedging-inflation-with-gold-375f3ce09cfe |title=On hedging inflation with gold |last=Valenta |first=Philip |date=22 June 2018 |website=Medium|access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref> Modern [[bullion coin]]s for investment or collector purposes do not require good mechanical wear properties; they are typically fine gold at 24k, although the [[American Gold Eagle]] and the British [[Sovereign (British coin)|gold sovereign]] continue to be minted in 22k (0.92) metal in historical tradition, and the South African [[Krugerrand]], first released in 1967, is also 22k (0.92).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americansilvereagletoday.com/the-ever-popular-krugerrand |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203024339/http://www.americansilvereagletoday.com/the-ever-popular-krugerrand/ |archive-date=3 February 2011 |title=The Ever Popular Krugerrand |date=2010 |website=americansilvereagletoday.com |access-date=30 August 2011}}</ref> The ''special issue'' [[Canadian Gold Maple Leaf]] coin contains the highest purity gold of any [[bullion coin]], at 99.999% or 0.99999, while the ''popular issue'' Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin has a purity of 99.99%. In 2006, the [[United States Mint]] began producing the [[American Buffalo (coin)|American Buffalo]] gold bullion coin with a purity of 99.99%. The [[Australia]]n Gold Kangaroos were first coined in 1986 as the [[Australian Gold Nugget]] but changed the reverse design in 1989. Other modern coins include the [[Austria]]n [[Vienna Philharmonic (coin)|Vienna Philharmonic]] bullion coin and the [[Chinese Gold Panda]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goldsilver.com/blog/what-are-the-different-purities-of-sovereign-gold-coins/ |title=What Are the Different Purities of Sovereign Gold Coins? |website=goldsilver.com |access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref> === Price === {{further|Gold as an investment}} [[File:Gold price in USD.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Gold price history in 1960β2020.]] Like other precious metals, gold is measured by [[troy weight]] and by grams. The proportion of gold in the alloy is measured by ''[[fineness#karat|karat]]'' (k), with 24 karat (24k) being pure gold (100%), and lower karat numbers proportionally less (18k = 75%). The purity of a [[gold bar]] or coin can also be expressed as a decimal figure ranging from 0 to 1, known as the [[fineness#millesimal_fineness|millesimal fineness]], such as 0.995 being nearly pure. The price of gold is determined through trading in the gold and [[derivative (finance)|derivatives]] markets, but a procedure known as the [[Gold Fixing]] in [[London]], originating in September 1919, provides a daily benchmark price to the industry. The afternoon fixing was introduced in 1968 to provide a price when US markets are open.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Warwick-Ching |first1=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrQQxVrtJ3sC&pg=PA26 |page=26 |title=The International Gold Trade |isbn=978-1-85573-072-4 |date=28 February 1993|publisher=Woodhead }}</ref> {{as of|2017|September|}}, gold was valued at around $42 per gram ($1,300 per troy ounce). === History === Historically gold [[Mint (coin)|coinage]] was widely used as currency; when [[paper money]] was introduced, it typically was a [[receipt]] redeemable for gold coin or [[bullion]]. In a [[monetary]] system known as the [[gold standard]], a certain [[weight]] of gold was given the name of a unit of currency. For a long period, the United States government set the value of the US dollar so that one [[troy ounce]] was equal to $20.67 ($0.665 per gram), but in 1934 the dollar was devalued to $35.00 per troy ounce ($0.889/g). By 1961, it was becoming hard to maintain this price, and [[London Gold Pool|a pool of US and European banks]] agreed to manipulate the market to prevent further [[devaluation|currency devaluation]] against increased gold demand.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elwell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztHyT2ew3QUC&pg=PA11 |pages=11β13 |title=Brief History of the Gold Standard (GS) in the United States |isbn=978-1-4379-8889-5 |first1=Craig K. |date=2011| publisher=DIANE }}</ref> The largest gold depository in the world is that of the [[Federal Reserve System|U.S. Federal Reserve Bank]] in [[New York City|New York]], which holds about 3%<ref name='ISAMPE 2006-11-22'>{{cite web |first2=Christian |last2=Perwass |url=http://sinai.apphy.u-fukui.ac.jp/gcj/publications/gold/gold.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127152357/http://sinai.apphy.u-fukui.ac.jp/gcj/publications/gold/gold.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2012 |title=The hidden beauty of gold |access-date=10 May 2011 |last1=Hitzer |first1=Eckhard |date=22 November 2006 |website=Proceedings of the International Symposium on Advanced Mechanical and Power Engineering 2007 (ISAMPE 2007) between Pukyong National University (Korea), University of Fukui (Japan) and University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (China), 22β25 November 2006, hosted by the University of Fukui (Japan), pp. 157β167. (Figs 15,16,17,23 revised.)}}</ref> of the gold known to exist and accounted for today, as does the similarly laden [[United States Bullion Depository|U.S. Bullion Depository]] at [[Fort Knox]]. In 2005 the [[World Gold Council]] estimated total global gold supply to be 3,859 tonnes and demand to be 3,754 tonnes, giving a surplus of 105 tonnes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gold.org/value/stats/statistics/gold_demand/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719111349/http://www.gold.org/value/stats/statistics/gold_demand/index.html |archive-date=19 July 2006 |title=World Gold Council > value > research & statistics > statistics > supply and demand statistics |access-date=22 July 2006}}</ref> After 15 August 1971 [[Nixon shock]], the price began to greatly increase,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=kitco |url=http://www.kitco.com/charts/historicalgold.html |title=historical charts:gold β 1833β1999 yearly averages |access-date=30 June 2012}}</ref> and between 1968 and 2000 the price of gold ranged widely, from a high of $850 per troy ounce ($27.33/g) on 21 January 1980, to a low of $252.90 per troy ounce ($8.13/g) on 21 June 1999 (London Gold Fixing).<ref>[http://kitco.com/LFgif/au75-pres.gif Kitco.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714081628/http://www.kitco.com/LFgif/au75-pres.gif |date=14 July 2018 }}, Gold β London PM Fix 1975 β present (GIF), Retrieved 22 July 2006.</ref> Prices increased rapidly from 2001, but the 1980 high was not exceeded until 3 January 2008, when a new maximum of $865.35 per [[troy weight|troy ounce]] was set.<ref name="LBMA statistics">{{cite web |url=http://www.lbma.org.uk/2008dailygold.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210035134/http://lbma.org.uk/2008dailygold.htm |archive-date=10 February 2009 |title=LBMA statistics |publisher=Lbma.org.uk |date=31 December 2008 |access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> Another record price was set on 17 March 2008, at $1023.50 per troy ounce ($32.91/g).<ref name="LBMA statistics" /> On 2 December 2009, gold reached a new high closing at $1,217.23.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8390779.stm |title=Gold hits yet another record high |work=BBC News |date=2 December 2009 |access-date=6 December 2009}}</ref> Gold further rallied hitting new highs in May 2010 after the European Union debt crisis prompted further purchase of gold as a safe asset.<ref>{{Cite news |title=PRECIOUS METALS: Comex Gold Hits All-Time High |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=11 May 2012 |url=https://www.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100511-717954.html |access-date=4 August 2010}} {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-prices-resume-rise-as-eu-plan-pondered-2010-05-11 |title=Gold futures hit closing record as investors fret rescue deal |last1=Gibson |first1=Kate |last2=Chang |first2=Sue |date=11 May 2010 |website=[[MarketWatch]] |access-date=4 August 2010}}</ref> On 1 March 2011, gold hit a new all-time high of $1432.57, based on [[Gold as an investment|investor]] concerns regarding ongoing [[Arab Spring|unrest]] in [[North Africa]] as well as in the [[Middle East]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/markets-global-idUSN0115419520110301 |title=Gold hits record, oil jumps with Libya unrest |work=Reuters |date=1 March 2011 |access-date=1 March 2011 |first=Caroline |last=Valetkevitch |archive-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015231151/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/markets-global-idUSN0115419520110301 |url-status=live }}</ref> From April 2001 to August 2011, spot gold prices more than quintupled in value against the US dollar, hitting a new all-time high of $1,913.50 on 23 August 2011,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/cash-gold-may-advance-after-dropping-most-in-18-months-as-shares-rebound.html |title=Gold Extends Biggest Decline in 18 Months After CME Raises Futures Margins |publisher=Bloomberg |date=23 August 2011 |access-date=24 February 2021 |first=Glenys |last=Sim |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110002029/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-25/cash-gold-may-advance-after-dropping-most-in-18-months-as-shares-rebound.html |archive-date=10 January 2014}}</ref> prompting speculation that the long [[secular bear market]] had ended and a [[bull market]] had returned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ameinfo.com/75511.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421094351/http://www.ameinfo.com/75511.html |archive-date=21 April 2009 |title=Financial Planning{{!}}Gold starts 2006 well, but this is not a 25-year high! |publisher=Ameinfo.com|access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> However, the price then began a slow decline towards $1200 per troy ounce in late 2014 and 2015. In August 2020, the gold price picked up to US$2060 per ounce after a total growth of 59% from August 2018 to October 2020, a period during which it outplaced the Nasdaq total return of 54%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.efgbank.com/it/coronavirus/14-October-2020.html|date=14 October 2020 |title=Gold, monetary policy and the US dollar|first=GianLuigi |last=Mandruzzato|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106083115/https://www.efgbank.com/it/coronavirus/14-October-2020.html|archive-date=6 November 2020 }}</ref> Gold futures are traded on the COMEX exchange.<ref name="PortaraCQG">{{Cite web |title=Historical Gold Intraday Futures Data (GCA) |url=https://portaracqg.com/historical-futures-data/gold-intraday-data-gca/ |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=PortaraCQG |language=en-US}}</ref> These contacts are priced in USD per troy ounce (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Troy Ounce |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/troyounce.asp |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}</ref> Below are the [[CQG]] contract specifications outlining the futures contracts: {| class="wikitable" |+Contract Specifications<ref name="PortaraCQG" /> !Gold (GCA) ! |- |Exchange: |COMEX |- |Sector: |Metal |- |Tick Size: |0.1 |- |Tick Value: |10 USD |- |BPV: |100 |- |Denomination: |USD |- |Decimal Place: |1 |} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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