31 Incredible Facts About Gold

No metal can claim a legacy comparable to gold.

Gold has been used to show affectionate love, but it has also represented power, status, and riches for the greatest kings of antiquity. Gold’s history is truly legendary, ripe with colorful tales and anecdotes from people ranging from William Shakespeare to Christopher Columbus.

But gold doesn’t just “talk the talk”.

Gold also walks the walk, because its grandeur is backed up by impressive chemical properties and uses. As we documented in our extensive Gold Series, it’s been used as a monetary metal for thousands of years by ancient civilizations such as the Lydians, Greeks, Chinese, and Romans. It’s the most malleable and ductile metal, and it doesn’t tarnish or corrode. Over time, these properties have helped people to associate gold with concepts such as immortality or royalty.

Even today, people are still finding new uses for gold that are impressive in their own right. For example, scientists recently discovered a gold alloy that is four times tougher than titanium.

Without further ado, here are 31 incredible facts about gold.

Here is another incredible fact about the gold market. While gold is up 25% year to date in 2016, gold mining stocks are up over 120%! Mining stocks are offering leverage of nearly 5X the advance in the gold price. If you invested $100,000 in gold at the start of the year, you would have $125,000 today. If you invested the same $100,000 in mining stocks, you would have $225,000 today. While we advocate holding physical gold in your possession, the leverage of mining stocks is hard to ignore. Furthermore, you can always convert the leveraged gains from mining stocks into significantly more gold than you would otherwise have accumulated.