30 Things You Didn’t Know About Gold

1. Gold is so rare that the world pours more steel in a single hour than all of the gold that has ever been poured during recorded history.
2. Gold melts at 1064.43 degrees Centigrade. The metal can conduct both heat and electricity.
3. It is estimated that 80 percent of the planet’s gold is still in the ground.
4. A cubic foot of gold weighs 1000 pounds.
5. Gold never rusts and does not easily become affected by chemicals. This is why gold can remain in the ground for thousands of years and still shine when coming out.
6. The term “Troy ounce” comes from the French town of Troyes.
7. Gold has a boiling point of 5084.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed executive order 6102, which made it illegal for one to hoard gold.
9. Gold’s purity is measured in carat weight.
10. Gold is chemically inert, and therefore does not cause skin irritation to wearers of gold jewelry. If one wears gold and develops a rash or irritation, one can bet that their jewelry is not composed of pure gold but rather a mix of gold and some other type of metal.
11. The term gold comes from the Proto-Indo-European base ghol or ghel meaning “yellow, green or even bright.”
12. Gold has an atomic number of 79 and its symbol is AU. The element has an atomic mass of 196.96655 amu. Gold is classified as a transition metal.
13. Three quarters of the gold in circulation has been extracted since 1910.
14. The world’s largest stockpile of gold is located beneath the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Approximately 25 percent of the world’s gold reserve is located here, and most of it belongs to foreign governments.
15. Most governments have replaced the gold standard with fiat currencies.
16. Gold is very ductile. In fact, an ounce of gold could be stretched into a thread that would be five miles long.
17. Gold is generally considered non-toxic. In fact, gold flakes are sometimes found in food or drink.
18. Besides its monetary and symbolic value, gold is also used in industries such as medicine, electronics, radiation protection, dentistry and glass coloring.
19. Highly pure gold is odorless and tasteless.
20. Gold is very soft. In fact, gold is the most malleable element. Gold is so soft that one single ounce of gold could be flattened into a gold sheet covering 300 square feet.
21. It is estimated that the world’s oceans hold 10 billion tons of gold. In other words, every cubic mile of seawater may hold 25 tons of gold.
22. The most expensive gold coin in the ever transacted was a 1933 double eagle which in 2002 sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $7.59 million.
23. May 2010 brought the world its first gold vending machine in Abu Dhabi. The vending machine itself is also plated in gold.
24. Gold may be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
25. Astronauts’ visors are covered in a micro layer of gold to reduce glare and heat from the sun.
26. The gold belonging to the Government of the United States that is held in Fort Knox is valued by the government at $44.22 per ounce.
27. Gold has been found on all seven continents.
28. In 1934 Franklin Roosevelt raised the price of gold from $20.67 to $35 per ounce. Upon this price increase, the dollar’s value fell by 40 percent.
29. Pure gold is 24k.
30. As of January 2023, the United States has over 8100 tons of gold in reserves.

If you’re interested in talking to an IRA advisor about how to rollover your 401(k) into a Gold IRA by opening a self-directed IRA account, contact us or call us at 800-341-8584 today.