| The phrase "As good as gold" has been in use in | | | | could also be used for purchasing products and |
| the English language for many years. If we | | | | services but it still limited the purchase between |
| consider the origin of the simile, it was used for | | | | countries. Hence, it was gold that was a standard |
| the first time in the year 1845 in The Lost Heir | | | | and was acceptable everywhere. |
| written by Thomas Hood. While this form of simile | | | | When paper money was first introduced and the |
| is used to compare a thing or a person with the | | | | times were still new for banknotes, their use was |
| property or attribute of something, this is not | | | | still limited. While these banknotes were used as |
| entirely applicable to the phrase when it is about | | | | promissory notes, it was gold that was still the |
| good and gold. | | | | standard and had the intrinsic value. |
| The phrase "As good as gold" has more of an | | | | When we consider the phrase "As good as gold" |
| economic meaning to it when used. In the saying, | | | | in the meaning of gold standard, it represents the |
| the word good depicts non-counterfeit and | | | | use of gold to be the standard for measuring the |
| genuine. This is true for gold and has been for | | | | value of the money in the country. In the past, |
| many years. This is because of the fact that gold | | | | when barter trade was a common practice, gold |
| is considered to be a solid and genuine investment | | | | was used for getting commodities, instead of the |
| as well as a financial commodity, which can be | | | | use of paper money, which started to be used |
| exchanged for cash in order to get other | | | | later. |
| commodities. This is due to the genuine and pure | | | | The gold standard remained in use by many of |
| nature of gold as a financial commodity. | | | | the European countries as well as the US during |
| The application of the phrase "As good as gold" is | | | | the early years of the 1900s. However, the use |
| in terms of banking and economics. Gold is a | | | | of gold for getting products and services was |
| precious metal, and it has intrinsic value along with | | | | eliminated by the US in the year 1971 and by |
| silver. These have been the two metals that can | | | | Britain in 1931. It was after this that paper money |
| be used in place of real money for carrying out | | | | became "As good as gold" for trade purposes. |
| transactions. | | | | In spite of the fact that the use of gold for trade |
| The term "As good as gold" also means that | | | | was reduced, and in case of some countries, |
| something is as genuine as gold. It was because | | | | eliminated; retaining gold as a store of wealth still |
| of the real value of gold that in the past any | | | | remains to be a common practice. This is |
| service or product could be bought by exchanging | | | | something that also explains the meaning of the |
| gold. Paper money, which was introduced later on, | | | | saying "As good as Gold". |