The History of Gold; The History of Platinum
For the website of a precious metals and rare coin dealer that claimed to have traded over a billion dollars in coins. I was hired to upgrade their writing and make theirs the kind of website clients would want to read.
1) The History of Gold
The Egyptians called it flesh of the gods; the Inca the sweat of the sun; even its chemical symbol, Au, is from the Latin for shining dawn.
The Bible decrees it as a creation of God and an asset of great significance and value; astrophysicists know that this exalted metal is only created through the collision of neutron stars — stars so dense that a teaspoon of their material would weigh 10 million tons — and at that it’s a rare event: Such collisions in the universe only happen once every 10,000 years.
This treasure from the gods is gold – nothing else like it in Heaven or Earth.
For Earthlings and investors alike, it’s gold’s value as an asset that makes it truly unlike anything else. Beyond its glitter, gold’s value has remained nearly constant throughout history. In King Nebuchadnezzar’s time (600 BCE), an ounce of gold could buy 350 loaves of bread. The fact is still true today (bread at $2.50/loaf) all over the world. Gold was the accepted form of wealth long before the first coins were minted, and as it will continue to be so for the many generations that will follow us.
Nations, currencies, and fortunes may come and go but gold’s value does not bend. This is why, for many cultures, gold was the symbol of immortality. Gold’s value goes way beyond the practical. It’s aesthetic qualities and physical properties, like ductility and malleability, made it suitable for exalting all things holy and regal: Gold jewelry manufacturing can be traced back 5,000 years to Egypt – the pharaohs were buried with it — and ancient Columbian kings were known to dust themselves in a powder made of it (such is the legend of El Dorado). Gold was the stuff of monumental political and religious objects like crowns, scepters, symbolic statues, libation vessels, and votive offerings. Shrines, temples, tombs, sarcophagi, statues, ornamental weapons and armor were decorated with it. Nothing on Earth was deemed better for the holy or the high-born.
Humanity’s – and particularly Spain’s – lust for gold would drive the conquest of the New World. But long before Spain set sail, the Romans, Chinese, Egyptians, and Incans coveted the precious metal for glorious vanities – the capstones of the great pyramids of Gaza were of solid gold. And even well before that, gold flakes have been found in Paleolithic caves dating back 40,000 years. Though the Chinese were the first to develop currencies, it was the kingdom of Lydia (now modern Turkey) that first minted coins in gold in 700 BCE. Once gold became the currency, the economies of the world would never be the same.
Currency would transform the barter economy: Though parties might trade mammoth meat and stone hammers for bearskins and salt, bartering transactions took time and were usually limited to familiar parties. Currency – and then gold – made the process faster, more efficient, and broadened the user’s trading base. Barters involved a loss in marketability: some goods had more marketable value than others which created a loss – food was more marketable than footwear; salt more than food, and gold most of all. Gold insured exchanges without this loss. And because of its optimum marketable value, gold made for the best money. Gold coins gave rise to the concept of money itself: It was a tradable asset that was portable, private, and permanent in ways bartering could never be.
As civilization moved into the 20th century, most countries relied on gold to back their paper currency (including the United States). The century would see extreme episodes of hyperinflation — notably post-World War 1 Germany: By 1923 German citizens would need wheelbarrows full of Marks (their paper currency) to buy just a loaf of bread. This fate did not, however, befall German citizens holding gold coins. They would have no trouble buying goods and necessities at reasonable exchanges.
The U.S. began backing its currency with gold in 1900 and at the time had a reserve over 10 times that of any other country. As a result, the U.S. Dollar quickly became seen as the world’s most stable currency. Even for a nation holding the largest gold reserves in the world, the Gold Standard required that the government be limited to printing money in accordance to its gold resources. In 1717, the price of gold was set at $20 a Troy ounce by the British Mint. The following centuries would see that price hold steady until the height of the Great Depression in 1933 — the year it became illegal to own gold in the U.S.
By ending the Gold Standard, President Roosevelt was free to pump money into the economy and lower interest rates. In retrospect, economists overwhelmingly agree that by breaking with gold, the U.S. was able to find a way out of the Depression. Foreign governments were allowed to continue to exchange dollars for gold until 1971, when the practice was abruptly ended to prevent the depletion of U.S. gold reserves. In 1975 private citizens were once again allowed to buy and trade gold freely without restrictions.
Today, savvy investors know that gold is more than an investment — it’s also the best a way to preserve wealth and purchasing power against the unpredictability of world economies and government fiats.
Owning and collecting gold in the form of coins of Bullion, Bullion Plus, Investment Grade, and Rare Coins allows investors to reap as much as a 1000% gain on their investments. Even larger gains have been made with many Investment Grade and Rare Coins.
2) The History of Platinum
It’s extremely rare – all of the metal ever mined could fit in the living room of an average home – it’s more dense and ductile than gold, coins made from it can be purer because of its hardness, it’s difficult to find (97% is supplied by only five countries), it’s been called the rich man’s gold, and – a claim no other metal can make – it cures cancer.
Platinum is far sexier than you thought.
Humanity and platinum have a long history together, going back to at least 700 BCE – the metal has been found in jewelry and artifacts in the famous Casket of Thebes in Egypt. Decorative platinum was also discovered in use in pre-Columbian Ecuador around the first century BCE. Over 2,000 years later Louis XV of France was so enamored with the metal that he’d decree platinum as the only metal fit for a king.
Despite the King’s endorsement, platinum would struggle to gain popularity in Europe at the time. Because of its high melting temperature (65% higher than gold) and a hardness greater than gold, platinum proved to be very difficult to work with given the contemporary technology. It was also labor-intensive: Even today a single ounce of platinum requires the mining of 10 tons of raw ore. Then, in 1786 the chemist for King Charles III of Spain discovered a method for making platinum more easily malleable. The King decreed that the discovery be kept secret and so began the Platinum Age in Spain. For the next 22 years, Spain would enjoy a profitable monopoly on the world’s platinum production. This all came to an end with the Napoleonic Wars in 1808.
Because of its hardness, platinum is ideal for jewelry — it doesn’t wear down with use or polishing and it won’t bend like gold. It’s more resistant to scratches and because it doesn’t oxidize (tarnish), it’ll stay the same color forever. It’s also hypoallergenic. Platinum is also popular for a variety of industrial and medical uses. It’s used in electrical contacts, electrodes, and magnets. It’s also used in medications — the drug cisplatin has had success curing testicular cancer — as well as medical equipment like thermometers and pacemakers. Over one-third of all Platinum mined and processed each year is used in catalytic converters for automobiles. As automobile emission standards around the world increase, more and more platinum will be needed.
The future of platinum may hold even greater prospects. Platinum is integral in the manufacture of promising new cancer drugs, fuel cells, new generation liquid crystal displays (LCD) and other electronics. Other emerging new technologies will assure platinum’s continued industrial growth. Estimates are that one-fifth of everything we use either contains platinum or requires platinum in its manufacture. Such widespread and diverse use only assures platinum’s permanent place as a reliable growth investment.
Owning and collecting platinum in the form of coins of Bullion, Bullion Plus, Investment Grade, and Rare Coins allows investors to preserve wealth, purchasing power, and when invested strategically, high gains on their investments. Even larger gains have been made with many Investment Grade and Rare Coins.
