Java Edition:Gold Ore (Item)
Gold ore was one of the first blocks, added in Classic 0.0.14a. Its item form first appeared in Classic 0.24 SURVIVAL TEST and first saved in Classic 0.25 SURVIVAL TEST. The item form was unobtainable during some Classic versions, when it dropped blocks of gold instead of gold ore.
Obtaining
Mining
From Classic 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST to Classic 0.25_05 SURVIVAL TEST, gold ore items could be obtained by mining the block, and did not require any tool. Only versions Classic 0.25 SURVIVAL TEST and later can actually save, and out of those only Classic 0.25_05 SURVIVAL TEST has been archived and the others are lost. Gold ore dropped 1-3 blocks of gold when mined in all survival versions from Classic 0.26 SURVIVAL TEST to Indev 0.31 20100125. In Indev 0.31 20100128, this change was reverted and gold ore begins dropping the gold ore item again. Gold ore continued dropping the gold ore item when mined with an appropriate tool until 21w14a (1.17 Snapshot) when Silk Touch was added as a requirement with the introduction of raw gold.
Classic Creative Inventory
From Classic 0.28 to Classic 0.30-c, gold ore was available in the Classic inventory.
Indev Item Chests
From Indev 0.31 20100124-2119 to Indev 0.31 20100128 new worlds would generate with the Indev House, and inside the house were debug chests. Between Indev 20100124 and Indev 20100125 the chests held items in stacks of 99, while in Indev 20100128 the chests held items in stacks of 100. Gold ore was one of the such items that generated inside the debug chests. This allows the gold ore item to be obtainable in all Indev versions that save since Indev 0.31 20100128 reintroduced the mining method.