Particulate gold as money and currency material

Abstract

In ancient times, alluvial placer gold deposits were an important source from which particulate gold was derived by panning, and such naturally occurring gold has been widely used as currency throughout the world. Examples, from ancient to pre-modern times, from Western Africa, the USA and Asia are presented. The Ghana administration was unique in becoming so committed to particulate gold currency that by the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, existing solid gold currency was being converted into particulate gold. As is discussed, particulate gold was preferred to counter the practice of embedding base metal inside the solid gold currency.