Early Sources of Gold:

Gold has been found in the nugget (placer) form as well as through vein mining as early as the 4th millennium B.C. Several countries including India, Asia Minor, the Balkans, Africa, Arabia and Persia were a major source of gold. The gold gathered from all these countries combined paled in comparison to the gold obtained though the Nubian mines run by the Egyptians. Over 100 of these mines have been discovered in the Nubian Desert. The gold that was produced from these minds was a directly linked to the power of the successive rulers of Egypt. Egypt was the first country to retain a monopoly over gold mining.

Early gold objects contained multiple impurities especially silver. The king of Lydia, in Western Asia was the first to issue gold coins that were made through developed refining techniques in the 7th century B.C. These coins were guaranteed as to weight and purity and contained the royal stamp indicating their authenticity. By making gold into coins, the ancient world enhanced the value of gold even further. Gold has since become synonymous with purity and richness.

During these early centuries, there probably wasn't a rush of would-be miners who acted as there own free agents as a response to the gold discoveries. The many miners of the time were slaves, serfs and convicts.