Top 5 Strangest Ways Gold is Used

 

Beyond Investing: 5 Strange Uses For Gold

According to most historians, gold was first discovered around 4,475 years ago in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians may not have known it at the time, but their mining operations kickstarted one of humanity’s greatest obsessions. Our fascination with this precious metal has been present in nearly every civilization since its discovery, and humankind’s interest in gold has hardly waned at all over the course of 4,475 years.

After the death of the gold standard and the advent of fiat paper currencies, gold has been primarily seen as an investment. Even today, most consumers view gold as an investment before anything else. Gold also enjoys hefty international demand in the jewelry sector, and the precious metal is used in a wide range of technology and manufacturing products.

But the subject of today’s article isn’t gold’s popular, well-known uses. On this page, we’re discussing five of the strangest ways mankind has managed to make use of the shiny, yellow metal that baffled and captivated Ancient Egyptian miners nearly 4,500 years ago. 

The Many Ways To Use Gold

In 2024, the global mining industry produced around 124 million ounces of gold. The lion’s share of global gold production goes to the jewelry industry, which makes up an estimated 46% of global demand for the precious metal. Banking uses (23%), gold bars (16%), gold coins and medals (9%), and electronics (5%) round out the top-five list of gold’s most common uses.

But if we zoom out from the metal’s most common uses, the versatility of gold becomes even clearer. This precious metal has been used as currency, in luxury products, and in a wide range of industries. Its conductivity makes it a useful component in the production of electronics and other consumer-grade products, and even the semiconductor industry consumes a large amount of gold annually. 

To find gold’s strangest uses, though, we’ll need to dig even deeper.

Top 5 Strangest Gold Uses

Now that we have the background out of the way, it’s time to take a look at our picks for the top five strangest uses for gold ever conceived by mankind. Some of the uses on our list may seem familiar (ahem, gold teeth?), but you’ll also read about a couple of others you may have never heard about. 

So aside from jewelry and investing, what has gold been used for? Let’s check out gold’s top five strangest uses.

5. Gold in Medicine

Starting off our list of the top five strangest uses of gold is in medicine. That’s right – gold is sometimes used as an ingredient in pharmaceuticals! Although you might assume that gold found its way into early and primitive forms of medicine, research into the use of the precious metal in modern medicine actually began rather recently, in the 1930s. 

Medical researchers in 1935 sought to explore the effects of gold on the human body, particularly when it came to inflammation reduction and treating rheumatoid arthritis. They found that certain drugs containing gold may be able to noticeably reduce the presence of inflammation when injected inside of the muscles. 

The use of gold in medicine declined starting in the 1980s as researchers began to note the side effects and general ineffectiveness of medicines containing the precious metal. Today, gold-containing medicines are only rarely used in medical treatments, since modern medicines are often both more effective and less prone to side effects than gold compounds.

4. Gold in Glassware

This strange use of gold is far older than gold-containing medicines. Dating back as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries BC, gold glassware was a luxury decoration often purchased by wealthy people to display their status. Using specialized techniques, gold glassware manufacturers created ornate plates, bowls, and religious mosaics out of a combination of gold and traditional glass.

Gold glassware was most popular during the Hellenistic period, which refers to a period of around 300 years between the deaths of Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. Although the popularity of gold glassware waned after the end of the Hellenistic period, examples of gold glassware with religious symbolism have been dated to as late as the 12th century. 

Today, you can still find glassware containing gold available at many major retailers. Don’t get too excited – the gold flake featured in most modern gold glassware weighs so little that it’s nearly worthless. Modern gold glassware also lacks the artistic and heavily religious symbolism you’d find on the gold plates of antiquity. 

3. Gold in Alcohol

This one may seem familiar to you. Gold has also been used in alcohol! The most notable example of gold-containing alcohol is Goldschläger, a Swiss cinnamon schnapps with actual flakes of edible gold. Like we mentioned above, it’s important to understand that gold flake weighs very little and is not worth much money. Each bottle of Goldschläger contains approximately .20 grains of pure gold. Given today’s gold spot price, the gold contained in a bottle of Goldschläger is worth around $1.38. 

Goldschläger isn’t the only alcohol that contains gold, though. In fact, Goldschläger is believed to have been inspired by a Polish gold liqueur called “Goldwasser,” which was invented all the way back in 1606. Because of the novelty of drinking gold, gold-infused liquors and other alcoholic drinks are still popular today.

In case you’re wondering, yes – it is safe to “drink” gold. The gold you’ll find in edible gold foods and drinks has been cut so finely that it poses little or no damage to your body upon ingestion. That being said, we don’t recommend trying to chow down on your 1 oz American Gold Eagle Coin!

2. Gold in Cosmetics

Gold has also been used in cosmetics, including creams, lotions, eye creams, and other skin care products. These cosmetic products are often considered luxury goods, although dermatologists and beauty experts have challenged the efficacy of adding gold to beauty creams, serums, and other cosmetic topical treatments. The good news is that gold skincare products are safe to use, even if gold doesn’t add much to the effectiveness of your skincare routine. 

Even some large brand names have hopped onto the gold skincare routine. L’Oreal Paris introduced a series of gold-filled products with its “24k Collection.” You can also take advantage of a “gold facial” at some spa centers!

1. Gold Teeth

The number one strangest use of gold is one that you’re almost certainly familiar with. We’re talking, of course, about the classic gold tooth. What you might not know is that gold teeth are not a modern invention! In fact, the use of gold in dentistry is the oldest strange application of gold on our list. 

Archeologists say that one of the earliest uses of gold in dental care dates back to 630 BCE in Italy. There, the precious metal was used to replace missing teeth and in dental bridges. Gold’s malleability makes it easy to form over the teeth or in a cavity, which helped it gain popularity thousands of years ago among some of humanity’s earliest dentists. Gold is even recommended as the ideal cavity filling in Artzney Buchlein, which historians consider the first book printed on the subject of dentistry. 

The popularity of gold teeth has waxed and waned over the past thousand years or so. In America, gold teeth and “grills” are common examples of hip hop fashion. Many popular rappers and hip hop artists like to show off their gold teeth or full gold grills.

Gold’s Biggest Demand Drivers

Of course, these five strange uses of gold only account for a miniscule portion of the world’s annual global demand for the precious metal. The top five uses of gold annually include: 

1. Jewelry (46%)
2. Banking Uses (23%)
3. Gold Bars (16%)
4. Gold Coins and Medals (9%)
5. Electronics (5%)

Final Thoughts: Exploring Gold’s Strangest Applications

When the Ancient Egyptians began mining a strange, yellowish, malleable metal in Nubia thousands of years ago, they likely never could have imagined the wide range of uses that it would eventually find. Our readers mostly know gold as a time-tested safe haven asset that can help you better prepare your investment portfolio for any possibility. 

But gold has been used for all sorts of things, including medicine, glassware, alcohol, cosmetics, and, of course, gold teeth. These uses of gold only account for a very small portion of the precious metal’s annual demand, but they all help to demonstrate this precious metal’s unique properties. 

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