How to invest in Precious Metals
The current state of the worldwide economy has caused many to seek out the most lucrative and best investment opportunities, precious metals. While most think of gold, jewellery and coinage when they think of precious metals, there are three other metals that are excellent investment opportunities: silver, palladium and platinum. Since nobody uses the gold standard anymore, gold isn't on the radar for many who invest. In other words, there is no longer a huge rush for gold. But gold, silver, palladium and platinum have other numerous uses and have been increasing in value over the past few years.
Palladium is a metal that is both heavy and chemically inert. It can absorb hydrogen gas up to 900 times its own weight, so it is very useful in the automotive industry and is typically used in catalytic converters. Other uses include water purification, fuel cells, photo processing and oil/gas refining.
Platinum is a harder metal than palladium and is used in high tech equipment such as computers and medical technology. Platinum is also much rarer than gold (by ten times!), and its price reflects the market. Because of this, it is perhaps the best investment opportunity among precious metals.
Gold and silver have both retained a great deal of their value, even with all of the world's economic woes. These metals are often used in industry and electronics and are still in quite high demand.
When jumping into one of the best investment opportunities , the investor has an advantage when they know how precious metals are sold. For example, bullion is the metal in bulk form such as a bar. Bullion coins (large coins) sold by Canada are called Canadian Maple Leafs. When a dealer alludes to the fineness of a metal, the dealer is referring to the purity of a metal. Metals often exist as an alloy, meaning there are other metals mixed in with the metal of interest. The fineness measures the purity of the metal the dealer is selling, as a percentage of the metal content. Platinum eagles are platinum coins produced in the United States. The unit of weight equal to 31.1035 grams is called a troy of metal. The spot price of precious metals is the price of payment at that time on the metal.
It is important to note that the market for precious metals is highly volatile, but this is what can make them one of the best investment opportunities. If you do decide to invest in this market, you must have a strong stomach and much patience. This is not a short term investment. Gold and silver have hit high marks rather recently, so do not expect a large upsurge in value. Palladium and platinum are highly volatile and can drastically swing up and down in value depending on market demands. Palladium and platinum bullion is not as liquid as gold or silver bullion, but investing in these very rare metals can garner you an excellent profit if you are patient.
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