[Sharing Lights]

As people always try to get the best and what gives them an advantage, silver, and gold, as well as, once discovered, platinum, became treasured and formed the base of the strength of many groups and societies.

For obvious reasons, as trade and barter were essential, the people began trading and bartering silver and gold to each other and to other nations.

As you could guess, other nations discovered the value of silver and gold about the same time.

Those who did not discover; yet, were given samples by the travelers and those who searched for new territories.
Once, one Nation has something, the knowledge of that spreads abroad eventually.

Silver and gold became almost universal.

Once again, not for their pretty look only but, mainly, for the superior qualities they offered: strong, durable, and, yes, beautiful.

3) Its brief, history tied up to its reason for existence?

As societies advanced, it was not convenient to exchange cattle or honey or anything that was not uniformed as the growth of societies and more interactions between them demanded some uniformed medium of exchange.

Some common value had to be introduced and that had to be not too large so that it could be carried, as distances/travel was more and more accessible locally and abroad.

“I need your bread’s supply for a month; I can give you my goat in return,” could work with some neighbors but become ineffective for too many people, as groups grew larger and interacted with other groups more often.

Traveling with a goat using it as value or barter far wasn’t always convenient as well.

If people could come up with something that they could all carry and then use it for anything based on same value, then it could be easier for all.

As there were too many opinions of many different folks, the wise men said, “let’s use what all or almost all recognize as being useful and that, which is of high quality as not all want a goat and not all want the bread.

Some love fruits and vegetable and some cannot stand goat’s milk but only want that of a cow."

Wise men were wise indeed.



Silver and gold could be preserved for, practically, eternity and could be broken into small peaces that all could carry if had to.

Cattle, milk, eggs, and honey are, on the contrary are perishable goods i.e. they get spoiled fast or livestock can, just, die suddenly.

Non-perishable, easy to carry, small, lightweight, and durable items are much more convenient, then, to all.



Since same pieces of silver and gold were so convenient to all and recognized by most as of common value, eventually, silver and gold tokens or coins became what we could call - of value to many people.

Silver and gold became long lasting and non-perishable “means of payment or exchange for something valuable.”

We must add platinum too but is was harder to obtain and was rarer than gold and silver.

Gold became more precious than silver and platinum more precious than gold.

Why?

Because their qualities-properties were higher or more precious from the point of view of their physical qualities to the people – not, just, appearance.


By the way, silver appeals to me more than cold just by the feeling I get from comparing two.

Gold is more precious, yet, silver possesses certain qualities which gold does not and is even a better conductor of electromagnetism to my understanding.
Silver some has unique healing properties too and is usually contained in the water-based sources that are considered to have miraculous, healing powers.

Society places much more value on gold; yet, I go by other qualities and, still, prefer the energy of silver than that of gold.


Soceity places much more value on gold; yet, I go by other qualities and, still, prefer the energy of silver than that of gold.

Silver:

(Symbol Ag) A lustrous white, ductile, malleable metallic element, occurring both uncombined and in ores such as argentite, having the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals. It is highly valued for jewelry, tableware, and other ornamental use and is widely used in coinage, photography, dental and soldering alloys, electrical contacts, and printed circuits. Atomic number 47; atomic weight 107.87; melting point 960.8°C; boiling point 2,212°C; specific gravity 10.50; valence 1, 2.


Gold:

(Symbol Au) A soft, yellow, corrosion-resistant element, the most malleable and ductile metal, occurring in veins and alluvial deposits and recovered by mining or by panning or sluicing. A good thermal and electrical conductor, gold is generally alloyed to increase its strength, and it is used as an international monetary standard, in jewelry, for decoration, and as a plated coating on a wide variety of electrical and mechanical components. Atomic number 79; atomic weight 196.967; melting point 1,063.0°C; boiling point 2,966.0°C; specific gravity 19.32; valence 1, 3.


Platinum:

(Symbol Pt) A silver-white metallic element occurring worldwide, usually mixed with other metals such as iridium, osmium, or nickel. It is ductile and malleable, does not oxidize in air, and is used as a catalyst and in electrical components, jewelry, dentistry, and electroplating. Atomic number 78; atomic weight 195.08; melting point 1,772°C; boiling point 3,827°C; specific gravity 21.45; valence 2, 3, 4.


ps.

Duc·til·i·ty:

n.
[Cf. F. ductilité.]


1. The property of a metal which allows it to be drawn into wires or filaments.


2. Tractableness; pliableness.

ductility, ability of a metal to plastically deform without breaking or fracturing, with the cohesion between the molecules remaining sufficient to hold them together (see adhesion and cohesion).
Ductility is important in wire drawing and sheet stamping. The metal must neither break nor be scraped off during these processes.
Platinum, steel, copper, and tungsten have high ductility.

Ductility is a focus of rheology, the study of how materials deform and flow in response to force.

Malleability:

property of a metal describing the ease with which it can be hammered, forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets. Metals vary in this respect; pure gold is the most malleable. Silver, copper, aluminum, lead, tin, zinc, and iron are also very malleable. Some heating usually increases malleability. Zinc, for example, at ordinary temperatures is very brittle, but is malleable in the temperature range from about 120°C. to 150°C. Impurities adversely affect the malleability of metals.


to be continued