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The History of Gold Coins
Historians have not been able to reach a consensus regarding the first use of gold coins but there is a lot that we know about them. The archaeological evidences cannot point out the first traces of gold coins accurately but sources suggest that gold was used in Egypt and Iraq (Sumer) for trade and decoration purposes before the sixth century. This article gives a brief insight into the evolution of gold coins.
The beginnings
Early civilizations weighed blocks of silver and gold and cut them into chunks. These gold and silver chunks became the mode of paying taxes to the temples and rulers. Circulation of gold as currency came at a much later stage.
Invention of coins
The Turkish merchants are credited with using the coins commercially for the first time. Coins made of natural gold and silver alloy were found in the rivers of western Turkey. The coins had approximately 63 percent gold and 27 percent silver. The image of Croesus, the Lydian king of 561 B.C was found in these coins. Later the mining and stamping processes improved and coins with the images of bulls, rams and lions were made.
Influence of Greece and Rome
Coinage came into existence in the Greek city states in around 359 to 336 B.C during the rule of King Philip II of Macedon. When Alexander consolidated the Greek and the Persian empires, he secured the gold coins for Greece and limited the gold access for Afghanistan. Both Alexander and Philip II used gold coins for paying the military forces.
With the spread of trade routes, gold coins became the prime mode of paying the army, traders and administrators. The coins had the image of the emperor of the particular period. These coins are found all over Europe, especially in Great Britain.
Europe
By 1200 A.D, the Islamic and European worlds were joined by the Venetian rulers. Gold had become the accepted currency by this time and Venice became the largest gold market by 1284.
There were new gold discoveries around 1338 AD in Hungary which added to the prosperity of Europe. France minted about ten tons of gold coins - or approximately 350,000 troy ounces. In the year 1344, places like London, Bruges, Venice, and Genoa together coined around 5 tons of gold. In 1489, the first ever sovereign gold coin was minted by King Henry VII of England.
Gold coins beyond Europe
The demand for gold coins kept increasing and the Europeans went about searching for gold in places like America and Australia. The 1800s saw tremendous rushes for gold and the minting of coins increased by three fold. By 1900, the entire world switched to a single gold standard.
Fall of the gold coins
Unlike the other countries where there was a drastic drop in the gold standard after some centuries, the United States continued to value gold coins. But during the great depression, the country was forced to recall all gold coins and the dollar currency came into existence.
Krugerrand of South Africa
Krugerrand is a South African gold coin named after the South African president, Paul Kruger. This coin is the first variety to have exactly 1 oz of gold. Other varieties of pure gold coins have been minted after Krugerrand. The coin was designed by the artist Otto Shultz to honor Paul Kruger. The founding of the coin was done by Transvaal chamber of mines which has become the largest gold refinery of the world since then. The year 2005, saw about 80 percent of South African gold mined from the Transvaal Chamber of mines.
Today Krugerrand is popularly acquired as a means to have private ownership of gold. During the economic depression of 2008-2009, when many of the International banks crashed and the Private retirement funds of the United States also dried up, investors found Krugerrand and other gold bullion options as a great alternative to the volatile stock market.
Gold has long held a very special position in history as a symbol of wealth. Buying gold is considered one of the best forms of investment even today as the value of gold keeps increasing with time.
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