Gold has been the most sought-after chemical element ever since its discovery, during the first centuries before Christ when people realized the value it holds and started extracting it.
Thus gold mining began and continued developing until nowadays. Be it in the form of bullion bars, coins or jewellery, the yellow metal will always be the safest investment in times of recession.
Economists have long explained the dependency between currency values and the price of precious metals. Gold is, therefore, the basis for the newly introduced European currency – the Euro.
Reserves of gold in Europe are valued, for they can increase the value of the Euro as reserve currency and thus ensure its supremacy in its rivalry with the American dollar. The proof is that large stocks of gold in the form of bullion, coinage and jewellery are still held by banks, investors and speculators in Europe.Thus gold mining began and continued developing until nowadays. Be it in the form of bullion bars, coins or jewellery, the yellow metal will always be the safest investment in times of recession.
Economists have long explained the dependency between currency values and the price of precious metals. Gold is, therefore, the basis for the newly introduced European currency – the Euro.
Statistics show that Europe holds reserves of gold of more than 10,000 tons. Europe’s Gold Reserve is worth about $150 billion and the European currency is backed up by gold by as much as 30%. Among the European states that hold important gold reserves we can mention Turkey, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France and Poland.
The northern part of Europe, particularly Sweden and Finland, has proven to be an area with an important potential for gold mining . Major gold companies in the world invested in gold exploration in these countries and new mines are to be set up in the near future in Sweden and Finland.
But the history of mining in Europe is long and dates ever since the primitive ages. Pagan peoples like the Avars, Czechs and Saxons started mining gold in Bohemia, Transylvania, and the Carpathians. The Saxons and other Germanic peoples revived this process, which bloomed during the High and Late Middle Ages, particularly in central Germany (Harz Mountains and Bohemia), France, Italy, and Britain.
During this period, miners emancipated from slavery and became free workers, highly sought-after from Transylvania to England and important advances in the technology of mining and metallurgy were also attained. The same happened with the expansion of capitalism and investment in central Europe.
After numerous periods of crisis that gold has experienced, a gold standard was adopted during the XVIIth and XIXth centuries in England, which ensued the adhesion, one by one, of other European states to this convention. Its main advantage was that it aimed to establish a certain price stability and low rates of the inflation.
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