A precious metal is a rare metallic chemical element of high economic value. The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across A chemical element is a type of Atom that is distinguished by its Atomic number; that is by the number of Protons in its nucleus. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Chemically, the precious metals are less reactive than most elements, have high luster, are softer or more ductile, and have higher melting points than other metals. Lustre (or luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a Crystal, rock, or Mineral. Ductility is a mechanical property used to describe the extent to which materials can be deformed plastically or "stretched" into "wires" without The melting point of a solid is the temperature range at which it changes state from solid to Liquid. Historically, precious metals were important as currency, but are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial commodities. A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is A commodity is anything for which there is demand but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market Gold, silver, platinum and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Platinum (ˈplætɪnəm is a Chemical element with the Atomic symbol Pt and an Atomic number of 78 Palladium (pronounced \pəˈleɪdiəm\ is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal that was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, who named it palladium after the ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established
The best-known precious metals are gold and silver. While both have industrial uses, they are better known for their uses in art, jewellery and coinage. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Jewellery (also spelled jewelry, see spelling differences) is a personal Ornament, such as a necklace ring or bracelet made from Gemstones A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is Other precious metals include the platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum, of which platinum is the most widely traded. The platinum group (alternatively the platinum group metals or platinum metals) is a collective name sometimes used for six Metallic elements Ruthenium (ruːˈθiːniəm is a Chemical element that has the symbol Ru and Atomic number 44 Rh redirects here For other uses see Rh (disambiguation Rhodium (ˈroʊdiəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Osmium (ˈɒzmiəm is a Chemical element that has the symbol Os and Atomic number 76 Iridium (ɪˈrɪdiəm is a Chemical element that has the symbol Ir and Atomic number 77 Rhenium is a precious metal that is not part of the platinum group or one of the traditional precious metals. Rhenium (ˈriːniəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Re and Atomic number 75
The demand for precious metals is driven not only by their practical use, but also by their role as investments and a store of value. To act as a store of value, a Commodity, a form of Money, or Financial capital must be able to be reliably saved stored and retrieved - and be predictably Palladium, as of January 29, 2008, is valued at $388 USD per troy ounce, which is almost half the price of gold, at $995 USD/ounce. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Troy weight is a system of units of Mass customarily used for Precious metals Black powder, and Gemstones Named after Troyes Platinum's price of $1,706 USD/ounce is almost twice that of gold. Rhodium is usually the most expensive of the precious metals, over 4. 5 times more expensive than platinum, with a current price of $7,150. However, the price of rhenium has been fluctuating wildly recently and at the moment it is selling at 6,650 USD per ounce, just below rhodium. Meanwhile, ruthenium is valued at $525 USD per ounce and silver has fluctuated as well lately, trading at $16. 69 USD/ounce. Silver is substantially less expensive than all of the other precious metals, presently less than 1/50 the price of gold, but is often traditionally considered a precious metal for its role in coinage and jewellery. [1]
With precious metal prices on the rise recyling precious metals has become more and more attractive. Precious metal refining is a superordinate term for the separation from noble-metalliferous materials
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Bullion
A metal is deemed to be precious if it is rare. Johnson Matthey plc ( is a British chemical company which has its headquarters near Holborn in central London. Specifications Reverse of proof coins Beginning in 1998 proof versions of the American Platinum Eagle began a program entitled "Vistas of Liberty" "Gold brick" redirects here For other uses see Gold brick (disambiguation. Sveriges Riksbank, or simply Riksbanken, is the Central bank of Sweden and the world's oldest central bank The discovery of new sources of ore or improvements in mining or refining processes may cause the value of a precious metal to diminish, as in the example of aluminium, which was considered a precious metal before the development of the Hall-Héroult process made it possible to extract aluminium on a large scale. WikipediaNaming The Hall-Héroult process is the major industrial process for the production of Aluminium. The status of a "precious" metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Supply and demand is an Economic model describing effects on price and quantity in a Market. Market value is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive Walrasian auction setting Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion, and are traded on commodity markets. Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged Bullion metals may be cast into ingots, or minted into coins. An ingot is a material usually metal that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money. Face value is the value of a Coin, stamp or Paper money, as printed on the coin stamp or bill itself by the minting authority Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts.
Many nations mint bullion coins, of which the most famous is probably the gold South African Krugerrand. A Bullion Coin is a coin struck from Precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa A Krugerrand is a South African Gold coin, first minted in 1967 in order to help market South African gold Although nominally issued as legal tender, these coins' face value as currency is far below that of their value as bullion. Legal tender or forced tender is Payment that by Law, cannot be refused in settlement of a Debt ( Debtor cannot successfully be sued For instance, Canada mints a gold bullion coin (the Gold Maple Leaf) at a face value of $50 containing one troy ounce (31. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A gold coin is a flat disc-shaped piece of Gold that has been minted and issued by a government or private organization The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official Bullion Gold coin of Canada and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. 1035 g) of gold — as of September 2007, this coin is worth about $737 as bullion. September 2007 is the ninth month of that year It began on a Saturday Bullion coins' minting by national governments gives them some numismatic value in addition to their bullion value, as well as certifying their purity. Numismatics (numisma nomisma "coin" from the νομίζειν nomízein, "to use according to law" is the study or collection of Currency
The level of purity varies from issue to issue. 99. 9% purity is common. The purest mass-produced bullion coins are in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, which go up to 99. 999% purity. Note that a 100% pure bullion is not possible, as absolute purity in extracted and refined metals can only be asymptotically approached. An asymptote of a real-valued function y=f(x is a curve which describes the behavior of f as either x or y goes to infinity Usually a bullion coin contains a stated quantity (such as one troy ounce) of the slightly-impure alloy; the Krugerrand is unusual in containing one troy ounce of actual gold, with the impurity making the coin heavier than one ounce. An alloy is a Solid solution or Homogeneous mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a Metal, which itself has A Krugerrand is a South African Gold coin, first minted in 1967 in order to help market South African gold
One of the largest bullion coins in the world is the 10,000 dollar Australian Gold Nugget coin minted in Australia which consists of a full kilogram of 99. Specifications For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. 9% pure gold. There have been a small number of larger bullion coins, but they are impractical to handle and not produced in mass quantities. China has produced coins in very limited quantities (less than 20 pieces minted) that exceed 260 troy ounces (8 kg) of gold. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Austria has minted a coin containing 31 kg of gold. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich As a stunt to publicise the 99. 999% pure one-ounce Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, in 2007 the Royal Canadian Mint made a 100 kg 99. The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM French: Monnaie royale canadienne) produces all of Canada 's circulation Coins and manufactures circulation 999% gold coin, with a face value of $ 1 million, and now manufactures them to order, but at a substantial premium over the market value of the gold.
Gold and silver are often seen as hedges against both inflation and economic downturn. This article discusses buying gold as an investment. Gold price The usual benchmark for the price of gold is known as the London Gold Fixing, a twice-daily Silver like other Precious metals may be used as an investment In Finance, a hedge is an investment that is taken out specifically to reduce or cancel out the Risk in another investment In economics inflation or price inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services over a period of time Silver coins have become popular with collectors due to their relative affordability, and unlike most gold and platinum issues which are valued based upon the markets, silver issues are more often valued as collectables, far higher than their actual bullion value. Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass form of Coinage Silver has been used as a coinage Metal since the times of the Greeks Their silver drachmas
Precious metal status
An interesting case of a precious metal that is now common is that of aluminium. WikipediaNaming Although aluminium is one of the most commonly occurring elements on Earth, it was initially found to be exceedingly difficult to extract from its various ores. An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining This made the little available pure aluminium which had been discovered (or refined at great expense) more valuable than gold. Bars of aluminium were exhibited alongside the French crown jewels at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, and Napoleon III was said to have reserved a set of aluminium dinner plates for his most honored guests. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Crown jewels are jewels or artifacts of the reigning royal family of their respective country The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champ de Mars in Paris from May 15 to November 15, Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President Additionally, the pyramidal top to the Washington Monument is made of pure aluminium. The Washington Monument is a large tall sand-colored Obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington D At the time of the monument's construction, aluminium was more expensive than silver, gold, or platinum. Over time, however, the price of the metal has dropped; the invention of the Hall-Héroult process in 1886 caused the high price of aluminium to permanently collapse. The Hall-Héroult process is the major industrial process for the production of Aluminium.
See also
- Bullion coin
- Gold as an investment
- Silver as an investment
- Palladium as an investment
- Noble metal
- Gemstone
- Hallmark
- Ingot
- Taxation of precious metals
- Troy weight
External links
A Bullion Coin is a coin struck from Precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce This article discusses buying gold as an investment. Gold price The usual benchmark for the price of gold is known as the London Gold Fixing, a twice-daily Silver like other Precious metals may be used as an investment Like other Precious metals Palladium may be used as an investment Noble metals are Metals that are resistant to Corrosion or Oxidation, unlike most Base metals They tend to be Precious metals often A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash A hallmark is a mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals &mdash Platinum, Gold, Silver and in some nations Palladium An ingot is a material usually metal that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing Precious metals are subject to Taxation in most countries because of their high economic value Troy weight is a system of units of Mass customarily used for Precious metals Black powder, and Gemstones Named after TroyesDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic