"See the drunkard in the tavern, spinning gold to make ends meet"

I guess there's a hole in my education, engineering, sorry, but I've never heard the phrase "spinning gold". A definition isn't easily googled. Can someone explain it to me please? I'm just learning the song, yeah I know I'm very late. The rest is selfexplanatory. I always loved the song, just never sat down to learn it before.

Thanks
Bruce