Because of the unique properties of gold, it can be used in different ways. It is one of the most malleable metals and can be shaped into thin flakes. Gold can also resist corrosion and does not react with any substance in the body, so it is not harmful when ingested. Gold is not absorbed in the digestive system, but passes through the body unchanged.

Gold leaf, gold flakes, and gold powder can be used in food and drink. It is mostly used for decorative purposes to make dishes and drinks look more luxurious and exclusive. Gold has a long history of being used to adorn the food of people who could afford it.

In ancient Egypt it was believed that immortality could be attained by eating powdered gold. In medieval Europe, the aristocracy used gold leaf to decorate food and drink. They used it partly as a status symbol, but also because they believed that it had positive effects on one’s health. Roast meat dishes were wrapped in thin gold leaf as a display of wealth. Alchemists used edible gold for medicinal purposes. In the 1600s, Italian nobles decorated dishes with gold leaf.  The Japanese have added gold to sake for centuries.

Whereas edible gold used to be mostly reserved for the wealthy, nowadays you can easily obtain gold leaf in gourmet food shops. Since it hardly weighs anything, you can use it in food or drink. You can also buy gourmet dishes with added gold. Here are some examples of luxurious gold food and drinks:

• Gold popcorn
• Marmalade with gold particles
• Chocolate with gold leaf
• Cakes and cookies topped with gold powder
• Caviar and oysters with gold flakes
• Exclusive and expensive drinks such as champagne with gold leaf, or Gold Water (Goldwasser as it is known in Germany and Poland, where it originally originates), which is a herbal liqueur containing gold flake.

Even though gold flake is easier to come by these days, it can still be expensive if you have a taste for edible gold.  For a little bit of budget luxury, you can buy a ‘Gold Lix Lollipop’ at Harvey Nichols in London.  It is a champagne-flavoured lollipop with gold flakes that costs £4.95.  If you have a lot more spending money, there are more expensive gold edibles.  Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in Windermere sells a chocolate pudding that resembles a Faberge egg. The pudding is decorated with gold leaf and topped with a 2-carat diamond. In December 2011, the dessert was bought by a man named Carl Weininger who wished to celebrate his 60^th birthday. The cost? A modest £22,000.

1. The South African Krugerrand

The Krugerrand bullion was minted in 1967 in order to market South Africa’s gold.  It was intended to circulate as currency, and because of this it was alloyed with copper to make it more durable.  In order to boycott apartheid, it was illegal to import Krugerrands into most Western countries.  However since apartheid ended in 1994, the krugerrand has become a sought after bullion.

The Krugerrand features  Paul Kruger, who served four terms as state leader in the Republic of South Africa.  The reverse side features the springbok, which is one of the South African national symbols.

The Krugerrand

2. The British Sovereign

The Sovereign was first minted in 1817.  It has occasionally been minted in many former British colonies, namely Australia, Canada, South Africa, Australia and India.  However in the UK, the Sovereign was produced from 1817 to 1917, in 1925 and from 1957 onwards.  About one billion Sovereigns have been produced in total, although this includes coins that were melted and re-minted when they wore out (a common practice in Victorian times).

The sovereign features Queen Elizabeth II on one side, and the Saint George slaying a dragon on the reverse side.

3. The American Gold Eagle

This bullion was first produced in 1986.  It features the Lady of Liberty as rendered by the artist Augustus Saint Gaudens.  The reverse side features Miley Busiek’s rendition of a male eagle carrying an olive branch over a nest with a female eagle and her hatchlings.

Gold Eagle Bullion

4. The Canadian Maple Leaf

At 24 carats, the Maple Leaf is one of the purest gold coins in the world.  It was first produced in 1979, when the only other bullion coin being produced was the Krugerrand (although it was not widely circulated due to apartheid, as mentioned above).

As the name suggests, the Maple Leaf features a maple leaf on the reverse – it is Canada’s national symbol.  The obverse features Queen Elizabeth II.  The coin is made of pure gold from Canadian mines and contains virtually no other metals.  Although it is a beautiful coin, it’s purity leads to it easily showing marks of handling – due to gold being a softer and more malleable metal than most.

5. The Chinese Gold Panda

The Gold Panda has been minted since 1982.  Like the Maple Leaf, the Panda is 24 carats.  One side depicts the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, while the reverse depicts a portrait of a Panda.  With only one exception from 2001 to 2002, the design of the panda has changed every year.

There is a higher premium on Pandas than on other coins, so it is less attractive to investors.  However, it is a beautiful coin and sought-after by many collectors.

Do you have any gold bullion that you would like to trade for cash? If so, head over to the Postal Gold website!

We at Postal Gold are all in agreement that gold is one of the most amazing and precious metals in existence. Not only does it symbolise luxury but has a host of interesting properties that make it extremely practical for both decorative and industrial use.

Here are five interesting facts about gold:

• It is estimated that the amount of gold that has ever been mined is about 150,000 tonnes. If all the gold that we have mined were put together in one place, it would fill a cube that measures nineteen meters on each side. It is estimated that 75% of all of the gold we have was mined since 1910. Of all the gold that exists, governments and organisations own about a third. The US owns the most gold – about 8000 tons, followed by the IMF and Germany. Of all privately owned gold, households in India own the most, around 20,000 tonnes.

• The chemical symbol for gold is Au. This comes from the latin word for gold, aurum, which in turn comes from the word aurora, which was the latin word for dawn, and also the roman goddess of dawn. She was a goddess who renewed herself every morning and flew across the sky in order to announce the coming of the sun.

• You can eat gold in small quantities. When purchased as gold flakes and added to food, it is tasteless and passes through the system without harming you. Gold is used in expensive cocktails and drinks like Goldschlager. The Japanese believe that drinking sake with gold flakes brings them good luck. In some fancy restaurants, gold flake is sprinkled on food.

• In Ancient Egypt, gold was associated with divinity. The Ancient Egyptians called gold ‘the flesh of the gods’, and believed that it had magical properties, because it did not tarnish or degenerate. Because it was such an important metal, it was reserved for the use of royalty. Gold leaf was used to cover statues depicting gods, and for furniture in the pharaohs tombs. One of the most famous artefacts made of gold is the death mask of Tutankhamun, an impressive work of art consisting of 10.23 kilograms of gold.

• There isn’t much left gold available for us to mine. Although there is still much gold left in the earth’s crust, we have mined most of the accessible gold. It is estimated that there is anywhere between 20,000 tonnes and 50,000 tonnes of gold left to be mined. Most mining processes use dangerous chemicals like cyanide, which lead to health hazards and pollution. It is important to keep what gold we have left in circulation, to cut down on gold mining. Luckily, there are many gold buyers, like Postal Gold, who do exactly this. Visit the Postal Gold website to find out more!

Recently, scientists have discovered that certain bacteria have the ability to ‘absorb’ dissolved gold and turn it into solid, 24 carat gold.  Researchers have been reporting the presence of bacteria on gold surfaces.  Normally, gold is highly toxic to micro-organisms, as other heavy metals are.  However, the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans (formerly known as Ralstonia metallidurans) is able to withstand living in surroundings that have high concentrations of heavy metals.

This discovery was first made in Australia, where the C. metallidurans was found on gold grains from two different sites in Australia which were 3500 kilometres apart.  The fact that the bacteria were able to live in soil that contained high concentrations of gold alerted the researchers.  The researchers were determined to find out why the bacteria would live in an environment that had high levels of gold.  They isolated the bacteria in a lab and put them in a solution that contained gold.  They found that the solution induced gold toxicity in the bacteria, which made them activate certain genetic clusters in order to withstand the gold toxicity.  The bacteria basically detoxified the gold solution in order to survive, transforming the dissolved gold into solid, metallic gold.

It is now thought that many of the gold deposits in the world owe their existence to C. metallidurans.  It has also been identified in other sites apart from Australia, including one of the biggest gold deposits in the world, the Witwaterstrand deposit in South Africa.  The discovery of this bacterial mechanism has led to more understanding of how gold moves around in the environment and how certain gold deposits form.

Two scientists, Frank Reith and Gregor Grass, have developed a genetically modified version of C. metallidurans which produces a signal when the gold detoxification genes are in use.  They do this by flashing a light which can be detected using a hand-held photometer.  This would mean that gold prospectors would be able to take soil samples and test for gold content by adding these genetically modified bacteria to the sample.

Replacing traditional mining techniques with bacteria may not happen for a while, because the bacteria produce only small amounts of gold.  But considering that gold mining is a strain on the environment because of the use of dangerous and toxic chemicals such as cyanide, there is still more research being done on C. metallidurans and its remarkable Midas effect.  For now, we’ll have to stick to traditional goldmines and the recycling of scrap gold for our gold needs.

In Wadsworth, Illinois, an hour’s drive north of Chicago, lies what is believed to be the largest 24 carat gold plated object in the USA.  The Gold Pyramid House, built by Linda and Jim Onan in 1977, is a six-story pyramid-shaped building of 17,000 square feet, modelled after the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Google maps

Mr Onan, who had accumulated a fortune from selling garages, had an interest in Egyptology, and was inspired to build the pyramid after reading a study published by the University of Wisconsin that suggested that pyramids were capable of generating energy.

The belief that pyramids have supernatural properties is a central aspect of the ‘pyramid power’ cult which originated in the seventies.  Members of the cult believe that pyramid-shaped objects are capable of improving health, incubating thought-forms, preserving food, and sharpening objects such as razor blades.  According to Patrick Flanagan, an American inventor who wrote several books on the topic, the pyramids act as resonators of polarised microwave signals, which is what gives them their unique powers.

The Onans describe their unusual home in five words: ‘power, gold, mystery, exotic and impressive’.  The building is located on an island which is surrounded by a moat, and the area it is built on also houses a tall statue of King Tut (which is larger than the original ancient Egyptian statue that it is modelled on) and a driveway lined with 80 sphinxes.  The walls inside the pyramid are decorated with hand-painted Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Image by Chuck Falzone

The first two stories of the pyramid are open to the public during organised tours.  The tour includes a viewing of the replica of King Tut’s tomb and a presentation on pyramid power and the history of pyramids.  The Onans also offer a conference room and event space which can hold up to 150 people.  Rocko Onan, the director of operations at Gold Pyramid House, says that he wants to hold events every weekend, ideally turning the grounds into a small festival with music concerts and a fairground.

Linda Onan now runs an online Egyptian gift shop, where Jim Onan used to sell his home-brewed beer, Pharaoh’s Gold II.  However, he has taken it off the market until the economy improves. This is understandable, as the beer costs an extravagant $250 per bottle – approximately £160!

If you ever find yourself in Wadsworth, Illinois, the Gold Pyramid House is worth checking out.  We at Postal Gold have heard that it’s an ‘unforgettable’ experience, which we can definitely believe!

Image by Print North East

You may have jewellery lying around that you don’t use anymore.  A broken necklace, a lonely earring  that has lost its other half, perhaps a wedding band for a marriage that doesn’t exist anymore…?  You may have decided to get rid of it once and for all, and you’ll be pleased to know that selling your scrap gold for money doesn’t need to be a time-consuming hassle.  With Postal Gold, you can trade in your old gold items for a good sum of money – quickly, securely, and hassle-free! So if you are looking for gold buyers, be sure to visit our website.

Yellow gold, red gold, white gold – whatever you have lying around.  On our website, you can request a free and insured gold kit to be sent home to you.  Once you receive the kit, fill out the form and send us your gold items in the special delivery envelope supplied.  It’s free and insured for up to £500. Once we receive your items, our laboratory team will assess the gold, and you will be sent a payment within 24 hours of us receiving your items.

It couldn’t be simpler, especially with our 100% satisfaction or gold-back guarantee.  No need to look any further for gold buyers!

We at Postal Gold are passionate about all subjects related to gold, so it’s no wonder that the elegant and exotic-looking goldfish is one of our favourite animals. It can be argued that they are more orange than gold… But who cares!  They still make for amazing eye candy.

A Brief History

The goldfish was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and owes its orange-reddish hue to genetic mutations enhanced by years of breeding.  It is a member of the carp family, and it descends from (and is a sub-species of) the gibel carp, Carassius auratus, which inhabits waters in southeast Asia and can grow up to 30 cm in length.  The gibel carp is a less colourful version of the goldfish, usually silvery-white, but it varies in colour depending on the environment it is raised in.  Fish of this species are pale in dimly lit waters, but brighter when they are raised in bright surroundings with lots of light.

Image by perpetualplum

Raising goldfish in captivity became popular during the Tang dynasty in China (618-907 AD).  A natural genetic mutation caused some of the carp to assume a yellow-orange rather than silver colour, and they began to be bred in order to produce the common goldfish with its distinctive colouration.  Some of the carp developed a yellow hue, but yellow was considered to be an imperial colour, and non-royals were forbidden to keep fish of this colour.  This is why goldfish today are more often orange than yellow, although yellow goldfish are easier to breed.

Goldfish were first raised in ponds, but later on, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), they were raised indoors, where it became possible to breed other types of goldfish than the common goldfish.  This has led to the many different types of goldfish that exist today.

Image by úlfhams víkingur

Did You Know?

Postal Gold brings you four interesting facts about goldfish:

1. When goldfish are left in the dark for a long time, they lose all colour and turn gray.  Their bright colour is due to a light-sensitive pigment similar to melanin, the pigment that tans our skin when we are exposed to the sun.
2. Everyone has heard the phrase “memory like a goldfish”, coined from the belief that goldfish have a memory span of three seconds.  But this was disproved by Mythbusters, the Discovery Channel show that proved that goldfish have at least a three-month memory span, deduced from experiments that involved training goldfish to memorise the correct path out of a maze.
3. Goldfish produce large amounts of waste from their excrement and their gills – for this reason, it’s important that they have a lot of space to move around and aquatic plants to clean their water.  The typical ‘goldfish bowl’ makes a poor home for these beautiful swimmers.
4. Goldfish often learn to recognise the people that feed them.  Due to their good eyesight and hearing they can differentiate between individual people.  Many owners of goldfish attest that their fish may shy away from strangers, but will swim towards their owners, eagerly waiting to be fed.

We hope that this article has piqued your interest in goldfish.  If Postal Gold had a totem animal, it would probably be a goldfish.  Or perhaps a golden scarab beetle… Or a golden lion tamarind… But those are subjects for another post!

Photo by digitalmoneyworld

By now, most people are somewhat familiar with ‘cash for gold’ services.  Perhaps you have even been tempted to make a little bit of extra money by selling your unused or broken gold items.  Everyone loves a bit of extra cash, but did you know that by using cash for gold services, you are also doing an amazing thing for the environment?

Most gold is extracted through the process of open pit mining.  The most traditional method of mining involves digging deep underground tunnels and sending miners down to extract the minerals from the ore.  But in many cases, this is impractical, and presents a safety hazard for miners.  Open pit mining involves excavating at the very surface of the mine and removing waste rock in order to get to the ore containing the minerals.

In 1783, a Swedish chemist called Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered that it was possible to dissolve gold in cyanide.  These days, sodium cyanide is mixed with ground ore, and then extracted as a gold cyanide solution.  Unfortunately, this process produces large amounts of toxic waste.  Cyanide is a poisonous substance.  It can be fatal to humans, especially in its gaseous state as hydrogen cyanide.  The cyanide-containing waste products from gold mines also present an extreme hazard to the environment.  If cyanide solutions leach into soil, the toxic levels of cyanide would affect local ecosystems and potentially destroy them.

Photo by orinoko42

The cyanide spill in 2000 from a gold mine near Baia Mare in Romania has been called the worst environmental disaster in Europe since Chernobyl.  The effects reached as far as Hungary and Romania, killing off large numbers of fish and wiping out entire ecosystems.

Even if such disasters can be avoided in the future, the slurry, or waste products produced from mining still present a dilemma.  The use of cyanide in gold mining is considered controversial, but it is still used in approximately 90% of gold extraction and production processes.  Recycling gold, or cash for gold, mean that less gold needs to be mined, which will benefit us all in the long run.

As well impacting the environment, gold mining also has humanitarian implications.  The conditions for miners can be far from humane, particularly in some developing countries.  Miners are subject to health hazards and often work long hours in gruelling conditions.  The use of cyanide in mines also has an impact on the health of the miners.  In addition to all of this, many gold mines lie in poverty-afflicted areas, and the clashes of interest between big mining companies and artisan miners can lead to more conflict in areas that are already unstable.  Even though there are people striving to lessen the impact of mining on the environment, and to improve the conditions of gold miners, there is still a long way to go.

But there is good news.  In the past few years, there has been an increase in the practice of recycling gold.  If you have any scrap gold at home – jewellery that is broken or that you no longer wear, gold coins or trinkets – then they can be sent to a cash for gold company that will evaluate the value of your gold and send you money for it.  On top of that, your gold will then be recycled, and you will have helped lessen the harmful effects of gold mining on our planet.

Today gold sovereigns are being used because many people fear that Greece may leave the euro zone. If this happened, the Euro would crumble and many other States would go bankrupt. Security is worth it apparently!