Questions tagged [gold]
The gold tag has no usage guidance.
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Did ancient peoples ever hide their treasure behind puzzles?
I just saw the film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, in which there is a somewhat meta running commentary over whether so-called "jungle puzzles", intellectual challenges typically requiring explorers ...
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When was Silver ever more valuable than Gold?
These days we pretty much take it as a given that gold is more valuable than silver. The obvious example is the Olympics and other such competitions that give "gold" medals for first place and "silver"...
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Why was gold so popular and valuable back when it did not have many real world uses?
I'm talking about back when it was first starting to get discovered, like 2000 B.C. (roughly). Gold was being used for coins, jewellery and more. It was a very well known commodity and accepted ...
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In the first half of 20th century, how was gold inspected for authenticity?
Let's say this for the years 1900 - 1950, before we had modern analysis tools. When trade payments were made in gold, how was the gold inspected for quality? How did they assess the purity of gold, ...
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Did the treasure ship Cortes first sent from Mexico ever arrive in Spain?
When Cortes first arrived in Mexico in 1519, some of his men threatened mutiny, saying they'd return to Cuba instead of fighting Indians. To prevent this, Cortes committed one of the most daring acts ...
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In the 18th c., did/would China accept gold from Europe as trade payment? Why / why not?
In reading about the historical Opium situation in China, the silver trade is mentioned again and again. I get the impression that China only accepted silver, even though I have never seen gold ...
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Inflation rates in Spain and Portugal during the 16th century
What were the monthly or yearly inflation rates in Spain and Portugal during the 16th century?
Is there data for the amount of silver or gold possessed by the crowns during that period? How much did ...
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Were there any Russians in the 1849 Gold Rush?
A gold rush always brings new arrivals from many directions. Had any of the miners and businesspeople of the 1849 California Gold Rush come from Russia?
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Are the quantities of gold that the Roman Empire looted and mined known?
I am having trouble finding information on the quantities of looted and mined gold by the Roman Empire.
How much did they loot from the Dacians?
How much did they loot from the Jews?
And how much ...
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Did Woodland period Native Americans seek/value gold prior to European Colonization?
Did Native Americans actively or passively seek out and/or value gold prior to the arrival of Europeans?
Presumably they were not actively mining for gold. But did they seek it out (perhaps in river ...
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Why did Franklin D. Roosevelt confiscate gold from the American people during the Great Depression?
FDR outlawed ownership of gold in 1934 with the Gold Reserve Act. It was a very courageous act by a democratic government because nobody will elect a government which takes money from them. Gold was ...
- 4,546
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How did the conquistadors imagine the "lake of gold" to be like?
According to this article "Archaeology and Legend- How Old Is Acoma?", and a high school history textbook, some Spanish sent out expeditions to look for a "lake of gold". I've found scarce information ...
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Who was the Irishman that betrayed Coronel's gold claim?
Antonio Coronel was a Mexican Californio who like many other Spanish speakers was ejected by Anglos from his claim in the Gold Rush, about April, 1849. Quoting from the published translation of his ...
- 27.6k
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What were the largest European treasuries, in gold and silver, at the end of the Seven Years War?
From a related question, I'm now looking to compare the size of European treasuries as they existed at the end of the Seven Years War (1763).
I'm only interested in gold and silver that existed in ...
- 17.3k
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How much gold did humans possess by century starting with Neolithic?
Where can I find an approximate chart of total mass of metallic gold in possession of humans by centuries starting with Neolithic?
I also would like to see this detailed by civilization/culture.
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Could a Hellenistic era smith discover the composition of an alloy? [closed]
Assuming a smith from the Hellenistic era of ancient Greece was given a lump of metal (specifically a gold alloy) and asked to produce more of the same kind of alloy, what methods would they have ...
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Where is Havillah, the land of gold, described in Genesis?
Genesis 2:11-12 describes a land called Havillah, where there is very good gold.
Were there historical attempts made to locate this land, and what do we know about such expeditions if they did exist?
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How and when did gold achieve its cultural role? [duplicate]
How and when did gold achieve its cultural role? My assumption is that before some point there is no evidence for a human affinity for gold— and then there is. What happened?
Do any other species ...
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Has a book ever secretly been written with gold ink?
I heard a story that goes as follows:
A prospector struck gold and didn't want to share. So this man was trying to hide his gold from all of his other partners. The story says that he melted the gold ...
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Gold coin vs Silver coin exchange rate fluctuations in antiquity
Commodity prices fluctuate based on many factors (mostly use and availability).
How much the exchange rate between gold and silver coins may fluctuate in a month or a year?
Place: Judea & Bavel.
...
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Did temples in ancient Greece contain treasure? [closed]
Was it common for temples in ancient Greece to contain treasure like gold and silver?
Did any famous temples contain treasure rooms?
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Was there a trade link between the medieval Hungarian Kingdom and the Mali Empire?
This is very much a cold question as I have found no writings on any link. However, I do know that there was West African and European trade links long before colonialism and quite a bit of Mali gold ...
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Was Mansa Musa's gold as serious an inflationary problem in Mamluk Egypt as is portrayed, and, if so, how did the Mamluks recover from it?
There are numerous sources claiming that Mansa Musa, King of Mali, was one of the richest people alive (#1, #2). Essentially, these claim that Musa was one of the richest people in the history of the ...
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Why did towns became ghost towns after the mines dried up?
It seems that the gold rushes on every country produced a number of ghost mining towns, when the mines that supported said towns produced no more ore, or it was too expensive to continue mining.
My ...
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Can anyone provide any details on the model, history and value of my grandfather's watch?
After my grandfather passed away in 2010, a lot of his belongings were split between his daughters. My mother recently gave me a watch that belonged to my grandfather, but I cannot find any details ...
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Exactly how much of what did General Benjamin Butler seize from the Netherlands Consulate in New Orleans on May 10th, 1862? [closed]
There seems to be some conflicting reports over whether or not the amount was cash or specie, and exactly how much of it was seized.
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