History of Gold Timeline

The exploitation of gold in Colonial Brazil began at the end of the 17th century, especially in Minas Gerais, producing major economic, social, and administrative transformations.

Historians estimate that between 800 and 1,000 tons of gold were extracted in Brazil during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

British efforts to secure control of West African gold deposits helped drive the Anglo-Ashanti wars of the late 19th century, culminating in the annexation of the Ashanti Empire by Britain.

Image source: Anglo-Ashanti wars

For a long period, the United States government set the dollar’s value so that one troy ounce of gold equaled $20.67.

Image source: Gold standard

Seventy-five percent of the gold presently accounted for has been extracted since 1910, illustrating the enormous expansion of modern gold mining.

Image source: Gold mining

In 1934, the United States devalued the dollar’s official gold price from $20.67 to $35.00 per troy ounce.

Image source: Gold Reserve Act

Approximately two-thirds of the gold presently accounted for was extracted since 1950, reflecting the scale of postwar mining and industrial production.

By 1961, maintaining the official gold price had become difficult. A pool of United States and European banks agreed to intervene in the market to prevent further currency devaluation amid rising gold demand.

Image source: London Gold Pool

After the 15 August 1971 Nixon shock, the price of gold began to rise sharply as the postwar monetary system moved away from the dollar’s direct convertibility into gold.

Image source: Nixon shock

Gold reached a high of $850 per troy ounce on 21 January 1980, within the broad price range recorded between 1968 and 2000.

Gold fell to a low of $252.90 per troy ounce on 21 June 1999, the low point of the 1968–2000 price range.

Gold prices began increasing rapidly from 2001, initiating a long advance that eventually surpassed the previous 1980 high.

Image source: Gold as an investment

The World Gold Council estimated global gold supply at 3,859 tonnes in 2005, compared with demand of 3,754 tonnes, producing a surplus of 105 tonnes.

On 3 January 2008, gold reached $865.35 per troy ounce, exceeding the nominal high established in 1980.

Gold set another record on 17 March 2008, reaching $1,023.50 per troy ounce.

On 2 December 2009, gold reached a new high, closing at $1,217.23 per troy ounce.

Gold rallied to new highs in May 2010 as the European Union debt crisis prompted additional purchases of gold as a safe asset.

Image source: European debt crisis

Gold reached an all-time high of $1,432.57 per troy ounce on 1 March 2011, amid investor concerns about unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

From April 2001 to August 2011, spot gold prices more than quintupled against the US dollar. On 23 August 2011, gold reached another record at $1,913.50 per troy ounce, prompting speculation that a long secular bear market had ended.

After the 2011 peak, gold prices began a slow decline toward $1,200 per troy ounce in late 2014 and 2015.

Gold gained 59% from August 2018 to October 2020, outperforming the Nasdaq total return, which rose 54% over the same period.

Analysis of the exceptionally rare Yavne collection of 425 gold coins indicated that the coins came from the late 9th century.

In August 2020, the gold price rose to approximately US$2,060 per ounce after its substantial two-year advance.

On 24 August 2020, Israeli archaeologists discovered a trove of early Islamic gold coins near the central Israeli city of Yavne.