The history of gold trading

Since its discovery in ancient times, gold was considered the most precious metal and was mainly used for coinage and jewelry and as investment. The shiny soft metal was very rare and difficult to mine so it was considered a sign of wealth and power.

Gold can be found as nuggets, veins and alluvial deposits in rocks. Gold is also the most malleable and ductile pure metal currently known. Another highly appreciated feature of this precious metal is that gold does not oxidize in air or water maintaining its shiny yellow color forever.

Since the beginning of recorded history gold was used in economy for monetary exchange and as a long time investment. The gold’s value was the steadiest of all metals so it was the best choice for investing fortunes.

In modern times gold was used as an economical standard known as the gold standard. In the late 19th century many national currencies were pegged to the gold standard of the USA and UK by a fixed rate. In 1925 the gold specie standard was replaced by the gold bullion standard which enforced the authorities to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price while the gold species were withdrawn from circulation. The gold bullion standard lasted until 1931.

After the World War II gold was used as standard in the Bretton Woods system adopted by 44 countries back in 1944. Members of the agreement were required to set a fix rate in gold for their currency and then to maintain it by buying and selling foreign money. The dollar was set as the reserve currency, so the dollar eventually replaced gold standard in the international financial system.

Today gold is traded on the forex market like any other currency. All main online forex brokers such as Etoro, Finexo and Ava FX, allow you to trade gold with just one click from your personal computer or your mobile phone.