Why did sailors of old wear earrings?

Back in the seafaring days of wooden ships (to give you an idea of how long ago), there was no certainty sailors setting out on long voyages would ever see their homeland again. To prepare for the worst, sailors took to wearing gold earrings so that if there was an accident and their bodies were found washed ashore on some foreign beach, the gold in their earrings would be used to pay for decent burials.