Gold has had such a long and fascinating history, and has so many unique properties, that it’s hardly surprising there are quite a few startling facts about it.

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!

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

 

Wood gilding

The slow and careful process of gilding wood requires no less than 22 operations – all manual! The sheets are 1/110,000th of a millimetre-thick, and are laid on a ‘gilding cushion’ (the skin of a stillborn calf) before being cut to the desired size. The gilder, using a silk brush charged with static electricity, plucks up the gold leaf and delicately lays it on the suitably scraped wood.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Some people go to great lengths to use gold as much as possible. Here are some of the more extreme examples…

 

 

Gold leaf cakes

The ‘Palets d'Or de Moulins et des operas’ were made by Lenotre, the famous French pastry cook. Gold leaf is laid on the chocolate while it is still not quite solid.

 

 

 

Elvis’s golden car

The specific model is a Stutz, about 20 of which are made a year, and the King had three! In the cars, everything normally in chrome – such as the steering wheel, pedal surrounds, ashtray and cigarette lighter – is in gold instead.

 

 

 

 

Gold hand basin

This washbasin and its gold taps are on sale for an undisclosed price in a New York shop specialising in deluxe bathrooms.

 

 

 

 

 

Gold coffee pot

The pot has a permanent gold filter that preserves the coffee's flavour. It consists of an extremely slender mesh cover with a fine layer of 23-carat gold.

 

 

 

 

 

Gold shower curtain

Dennis Kozlowski, disgraced former CEO of Tyco International, is said to have enjoyed gold-threaded shower curtains costing $6,000!