Properties that matter
Gold does not rust or corrode, it can be divided and re-melted without losing value, it is dense enough to store a lot of value in a small space, and it is scarce — all the gold ever mined would fit in a cube roughly 22 metres per side.
These traits made gold a practical medium of exchange long before paper money. Many societies arrived at gold independently, which is part of why it carries such broad cultural trust.
From money to reserve asset
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, currencies were linked to gold under the . That link ended for the in 1971, but central banks still hold gold as part of their reserves.
History explains why people value gold. It does not guarantee what gold will do next.
Key takeaways
- Durability, divisibility, density, and scarcity made gold useful as money.
- Central banks still hold gold as a reserve asset.
- Long history is context, not a forecast.
Knowledge check
Which of these is NOT a reason gold became money?
Key terms · hover or tap for a definition