Psychology of Gold

Human beings' fascination with gold is as old as history itself. Gold has always had an irresistible appeal. Empires have flourished by possessing gold, they have fallen to ruin for it's failure to exist. Uncountable wars have been fought to control regions harboring it. Countless have died in pursuit of it.

Oxus chariot

The Aztecs described gold as the "excrement of the gods" while the Incas thought of it as the "sweat of the sun." In ancient Egypt, gold was considered the "flesh of the gods." Across human cultures, it was sacred. In ancient Rome and medieval Europe, laws prohibited people from wearing too much gold -- or wearing it at all unless they were from noble stock. In many cultures, the word for money derives from the word for gold. Gold debuted as a recognized exchange standard for international trade around 1500 BC. In China, the ideogram for money is the ideogram for gold. Gold continues to feature heavily in religion and religious rituals worldwide.