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A precious metal which is highly sought after and in demand for use in economic transactions of all kinds and for its jewellery value. Twenty times denser than water, it dissolves in mercury, and is inert except in the presence of highly reactive halogen ions, as in AquaRegia[1], (and probably Aqua Quirmis *) and cyanide....

OK then, how long could YOU sing about it? It's yellow, it goes ching, and you can buy things with it. About five seconds, I'd think.

Then you're evidently not a dwarf, a race who can make a good old favourite last up to five hours.

Gold is said to be so boringly commonplace on the Counterweight continent that it is cheaper than lead and fulfills many of the functions there for which lead is commonly used in the hubward Circle Sea regions.

A discussion of the economic importance of gold, and the reasons why everyone thinks it's important for the banks to have some in the cellar - when it can be proven that this doesn't really matter a damn - happens in Making Money, where the concept of the Gold Standard is practically tested and found wanting.

...* Aqua Regia is a 1:3 mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid which is capable of dissolving gold. Aqua Quirmis, as described by Cheery Littlebottom, is quite possibly the Disc's equivalent of this potent brew which well deserves its Alchemists' Guild subtitle of Kysse Thyyne Eyebrowes Fare-thee-well - as well as any other inadvertently exposed tissue...