1816 A.D.
Great Britain officially ties the pound to a specific quantity of gold at which British currency is convertible.

1817 A.D.
Britain introduces the Sovereign, a small gold coin valued at one pound sterling 1830 A.D. Heinrich G. Kuhn announces his discovery of the formula for fired-on Glanz (bright) Gold. It makes Meissen gold-decorated china world famous.

1837 A.D.
The weight of gold in the U.S. dollar is lessened to 23.22 grains so that one fine troy ounce of gold is valued at $20.67.

1848 A.D.
John Marshall finds flakes of gold while building a sawmill for John Sutter near Sacramento, California, triggering the California Gold Rush and hastening the settlement of the American West.

1850 A.D.
Edward Hammong Hargraves, returning to Australia from California, predicts he will find gold in his home country in one week. He discovered gold in New South Wales within one week of landing.

1859 A.D.
Comstock lode of gold and silver is struck in Nevada.

1862 A.D.
Latin Monetary Union is established setting fineness, weight, size, and denomination of silver and gold coins of France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland (and Greece in 1868) and obligating all to accept each