Early prehistoric use of gold is for religious purposes, ornament or decor. In 1500 BCE, Thutmose of Egypt decrees gold to be used for commerce and financial transactions. Gold becomes a sign of wealth and suddenly everyone wants it.
The earliest example of gold work and plating comes from the cemetery or Necropolis of Varna dated c. 4550 - 4450 BC. Varna is on the western shore of the Black Sea in Bulgaria.
The Varna Necropolis, or city of the dead, contains 294 graves. The oldest gold treasure and jewelry in the world is discovered at Varna, dating to c. 4600 - 4200 BCE. Finds in grave sites show a detailed understanding of metallurgy through copper and gold ornaments.
Above, the gold looks new while copper objects are covered in green verdigris. In the ancient centuries, gold is valued for its beauty and sunny gleam. Resistant to tarnish, it's considered a noble metal.
Gold is as ancient as the Gods. It's produced in supernova nucleosynthesis, or the creation of new atomic nuclei, and from neutron star collisions. This alluring metal is already present in the dust which forms the solar system c. 4.5 billion years ago.
The Proto-Indo-European world for gold comes from h₂é-h₂us-o-, meaning "to glow'. It's the same root as the word for Dawn. Gold is associated with the Sun and sunlight, daytime, positive forward energy, power, wealth, warmth, honor and greatness.
In 1500 BCE, Pharaoh Thutmose of Egypt declares gold to be valuable commercially. He has a direct line through Nubia to vast quantities. Gold is among the seven Metals of Antiquity. The first minted gold coins come from Lydia c. 600 BCE in today's Turkey.
Too soft for making tools or blades, 24k gold has a Mohs hardness of 2.5. Glass is about 6. Gold is malleable at room temperature. It's easy to hammer into thin flat sheets or gold leaf, used to seal or decorate other wares.
In some cases silver is mixed with the gold, occurring in nature as electrum. Gold is normally smelted to remove silver. Advances in alchemy and metallurgy in ancient Varna include gold paint used as coating for pottery.
Gold often occurs in its native state as nuggets or grains. It's also found in rocks, veins and alluvial deposits. Pyrite or fool's gold may be found nearby.
Gold forms natural alloys with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as in pyrite. On Earth, gold is found in rock ores of the Precambrian time on. In natural state gold usually has silver content of 8-10%. Electrum is more than 20% silver.
Black sands like those of Iceland are famous for harboring gold. Placer deposits are often found near black sands. Black sand indicates mineral rich deposits, not always gold. Due to superheated volcanic activity gems such as sapphire, ruby and garnet sometimes form.
A human being contains about 0.2 mg of gold. It's essential for joint health and conveying electric pulses. In alchemy, chrysopoeia (lit. gold-smithing) is applied to the process of turning base metals like lead into gold.
Resistant to most acids, gold dissolves in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid). Nitric acid alone won't affect gold, though it destroys silver and other metals.
Due to rampant forgery especially in France, the Avignon Pope John XXII bans falsification of gold in 1317 AD. Henry IV of England follows in 1404 by banning multiplication of real gold, and the creation of gold from lead or anything else, including thin air.
Multiplication often involves adding other metals to the gold. This comes from Alexandrian alchemy in the 1st and later centuries AD, in which a metal is considered to be "doubled" (diplosis) if the end product assumes the look and feel of the original metal.
In need of war funds, Henry of England's successor, Henry VI, begins to issue special licenses to alchemists. This is meant to differentiate legitimate alchemy from fraud as well as enrich the coffers.
In modern times lead has been turned to gold, with use of particle accelerator. A massive amount of material is needed to gain a tiny amount of gold.
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