When you think of the history of buying gold coins, how far do you think back? Do you think about the white haired, bib-overalls wearing, one toothed gold miners from 1848? Do you think farther back to the dirty pirates who roamed the oceans looking for boats to ransack and steal the gold coins from? Actually, buying gold coins goes back even farther.
Gold had already been used in several European countries and in the Roman Empire for decades. Its popularity had started to wane, however, because new veins of gold weren’t being located quickly. That all changed in 1690, when big gold mines were discovered in Brazil.
Gold coins became the new standard and silver was phased out as the accepted bartering and trading method. Brazilian gold was transported to many countries for them to make new gold coins. The biggest receiver of gold was Britain, who took the gold already made into coins, remelted them, and formed them into their guineas.
Britain imported so much gold, historians believe they made over 31 tons of gold nuggets in to guineas just between 1713 to 1716.
Buying gold coins wasn’t the hobby it is now, it was a way of life. That’s how people made purchases or bartered for items to survive on. Sometimes one gold piece went so far as to buy food, clothing supplies and even household items for one month or more! Gold was much easier to get the higher up in the class system you were. Peasants and servants rarely ever got gold. Instead, they were paid in monies made of less valuable metals.
Gold became very valuable in Britain and silver lost favor fast. Britain found a way to make their silver profitable, as other countries such as China still put a high value on it. British traders sold their silver coins to India and China and made great profits off the coins they once thought were going to be worthless.
Britain minted guineas by the millions and completely quit making silver coins. Gold prices continued to rise and the rich got richer holding it and the poor got poorer waiting to receive some of it.
To make the gold coin official, officials passed the Coinage Act of 1816 that made the Sovereign the official gold standard. Guineas were no longer being made or used as currency.