# What is the entire value of all gold ever mined in the history of the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116 "2012-06-24T01:28:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/21 "2012-06-26T01:57:21Z")
One more thing: if every single person on the Earth got up tomorrow morning and agreed that the value of all the gold ever mined was $3, they would be correct. Conversely, if every single person on the Earth got up tomorrow morning and agreed that the value of all the gold ever mined was $10 quadrillion trillion, they would be correct, as well. Value is a **concept**. And birds go tweet. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/22 "2012-06-27T00:09:50Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > One more thing: if every single person on the Earth got up tomorrow morning and agreed that the value of all the gold ever mined was $3, they would be correct. Conversely, if every single person on the Earth got up tomorrow morning and agreed that the value of all the gold ever mined was $10 quadrillion trillion, they would be correct, as well. Value is a **concept**. > > And birds go tweet. This is only true in the most superficial sense. It’s like saying that we could all decide houses were worth $3, or that oil was only worth $3. There are lots of uses for gold both in industrial and aesthetic applications, ranging from jewelry to electronics. So even if you convinced people that gold was ugly and bad for investment/currency purposes, it would still be both rare and useful. If gold went to $3, it would be cost-effective in many more applications than it is right now. There wouldn’t be enough gold to go around. Price would go up until you reached an equilibrium between supply and demand. ---
**Author:** ![supery00n](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@supery00n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supery00n)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/23 "2012-06-27T00:36:25Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > That’s about what I get, too. Specifically, we have about 3.8\*10^9 troy ounces - for anybody else doing the calculation, remember to convert to troy ounces, not avoirdupois - approx 14.6 troy oz / lb. I did a quick back of the envelope calculation…rather interesting factoid. IIRC the amount of gold mined in 11 years between 1848 and 1859 in the CA gold rush was 28.4 million troy ounces, meaning that almost 1% of all of the gold ever mined since people have mined gold up to now was mined in 11 years in a relatively small area. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/24 "2012-06-27T00:44:23Z")
As an aside, IIRC the volume of diamonds large enough to be of interest for other than industrial uses isnt exactly big either. Something like house sized. But don’t quote me on that. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/25 "2012-06-28T13:40:07Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > As an aside, IIRC the volume of diamonds large enough to be of interest for other than industrial uses isnt exactly big either. Something like house sized. But don’t quote me on that. Diamonds aren’t quite the same thing. Diamonds, even gem quality stones, can be manufactured. The scarcity value of diamonds will eventually disappear. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/26 "2012-06-29T01:41:37Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Value is a **concept** Yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116/27 "2012-06-29T01:45:32Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The total value of all gold ever mined would exceed US$10.1 trillion at that valuation. > > Is it just me, or does that NOT seem to be such a huge value? Don’t get me wrong, I certainly wouldn’t kick it out of bed, but for something that has ruled mankind’s entire existence, that amount seems almost trivial–try putting 15 more zeroes after that $10.1 trillion. NOW you’re talkin’. > > Totally subjective, meaningless thought. Not meaningless at all. It’s the **amount** of gold that is in question - not just it’s **value**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-entire-value-of-all-gold-ever-mined-in-the-history-of-the-world/626116.md?page=1)