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The most expensive gold coin in the world
One of the world's rarest and most sought after collector coins, the 1933 Double Eagle, was sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York in 2002, for the record sum of $7.59 million. The coin led an eventful life, escaping a big gold meltdown in the US, falling into the hands of an Egyptian King and then being discovered by undercover secret service agents in New York!
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Recycling gold
Ever since it was first discovered, gold has always been recycled thanks to its inherent high value. So that means your modern jewellery or dental crown could contain gold that was mined in prehistoric times, and might have even been part of some priceless item belonging to ancient royalty! Today, at least 15% of annual gold consumption is recycled each year.
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Spread the wealth
Fine gold is so malleable that it can be beaten down to a thickness of 1112µ (.0001112 mm) into translucent gold leaf, so that one ounce (31.1 gr.) of it will cover about 16 square metres!
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Carats and carobs
The word carat (the measurement for gold purity) comes from carob; carob seeds were originally used to balance scales in Oriental bazaars. Pure gold is designated 24 carat, which compares with the fineness by which bar gold is defined.
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Since the 1880s South Africa has been the source for a large proportion of the world's gold supply. Production in 1970 accounted for 79% of the world supply, producing about 1,000 tonnes, however production in 2004 was 342 tonnes. This decline was due to the increasing difficulty of extraction and changing economic factors effecting the industry in South Africa.
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During the 19th century, gold rushes occurred whenever large gold deposits were discovered, including the California, Colorado, Otago, Australia, Witwatersrand, Black Hills, and Klondike gold rushes. Because of its historically high value, much of the gold mined throughout history is still in circulation in one form or another.
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Legend has it, that the method of raising flags to fix the price of gold began in the following way. There was a man named Amshel who collected coins and lived in the ghettos of Frankfurt in the late 1700s. Owing to his specialised knowledge, Amshel became the seeker of old coins for William IX of Hesse-Kassel. In 1805, impressed with the financial insight of Amshels son, Nathan, William IX entrusted him with a large portion of his wealth. Rather than buying and selling coins as his father had done, Nathan decided to buy and sell gold bullion. Nathan allegedly commented that the only two people who understood the true value of gold were one of the directors of the Bank of England and an obscure clerk in the vault of the Banque de Paris and unfortunately they disagreed! Soon Nathan was receiving advance information from France through a series of carefully arranged flag signals from across the Channel. As he was receiving his information much more quickly than other traders, he soon amassed a great fortune and a few years later he was dubbed a Baron by Francis I of Austria. That is why representatives from each of the five major bullion houses meet twice a day to raise and lower flags, as they fix the price of gold. This takes place at the offices of NM Rothschild, which was founded by Baron Nathan Mayer de Rothschild.
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