Gold

Gold is a metal that many in Gaera are familiar with. It is a metal used most in jewlery, due to its beauty. Gold is somewhat rare in Gaera, and thus fetches a good price. For many years, the economies of most countries were based on a gold standard, and so many people have called money "gold." Of course, each country has its own denomination of currency and thus discourages calling currency 'gold.'

Gold is a heavy metal that is extremely malleable. In the past, people tried to have golden armor and golden weapons made for them, to show the world how rich and prosperous they were. However, they quickly found out that not only was the armor and weapons too heavy to wield, and too soft to actually do any damage. Thus, they were quickly retired to ceremonial functions.

However, the meglomaniac on the rise that just has to have gold weapons now have an alternative. An alloy of gold mixed with silver and iron retains much of the beauty of gold, in addition to not being completely horrible to use in combat. It's not preferred by any seasoned veteran, but to an inexperienced (but wealthy) combatant, it's a desirable look.