Good as gold

Posted by ESC on November 11, 2003

In Reply to: Good as gold posted by al on November 11, 2003

:
: what does as good as gold mean and what are its origins?

"An education is 'good as gold.'" Meaning if you have an education it's as good as having gold in your pocket. I believe "good as gold" relates to the gold standard. Having gold, as opposed to paper money, meant you could exchange it for goods and services anywhere.

Main Entry: gold standard
Function: noun
Date: 1831
: a monetary standard under which the basic unit of currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold and which is usually characterized by the coinage and circulation of gold, unrestricted convertibility of other money into gold, and the free export and import of gold for the settlement of international obligations. From Merriam-Webster online

"The phrase 'gold standard' is defined as the use of gold as the standard value for the money of a country. If a country will redeem any of its money in gold it is said to be using the gold standard. The U.S. and many other Western countries adhered to the gold standard during the early 1900's. Today, however, gold's role in the worldwide monetary system is negligible. Britain abandoned the gold standard 1931; the USA abandoned it 1971. Holdings of gold are still retained because it is an internationally recognized commodity, which cannot be legislated upon or manipulated by interested countries." From tx.essortment.com/ goldstandards_rgvh.htm Accessed November 11, 2003.