Buy Palladium

Buy Silver!?

2011-09-28T22:23:00.002-04:00

I'm currently traveling Europe right now so any move I might like to make will be...not made.

The only move I see that I would be making, though, is possibly to sell gold. Or, that would have been the goal a week ago. I don't know if silver is going to continue to drop or not. I'm hoping it will, because if it does "buy silver" is a sure rule! However, now, again, it's hit or miss. If one were to sell gold and buy rhodium I would completely understand the logic!

I still have platinum that I haven't sold because I feel it's undervalued. I've feel that way for a while but the world hasn't so, as we speak, gold is higher than platinum. Hmm...

Advice? I have none I'm strongly giving except to wait. If anything, silver has fallen a higher percentage than gold, so, selling gold and buying silver would not be an unfounded decision. Personally, though, I see $22 as silver's price and gold at $1600, meaning silver could still drop more than gold (if I were the world emperor, which I'm not!).

Sooooo, in other words, I'm not doing anything with my metals/money at this point. If ANY of the five metals drops another 20% I say buy! If gold goes up 20% I say buy silver because it will follow.

Rhodium Price Drop Again

2011-04-29T22:01:00.003-04:00

Rhodium Price Drop Again

We've been seeing quite a bit of activity in the rhodium price over the course of April. I can't tell you how timely this is for my investment strategy!

With all the other precious metals at or near their all time highs, rhodium is no where close. Granted, it may never go as high as $10,000 per ounce again, but still, I feel it's greatly under valued at the current $2200 per ounce.

What I feel will happen is that either rhodium will reach $5000 before this PGM run is over or else the other metals will come tumbling down without rhodium falling too much. I could be wrong, but my strategy is to buy rhodium. But why buy now when it keeps falling? The more it falls the more I can buy, also, the more room it has to climb!

How Metals Have Faired Over the Past 5 Years

2011-04-19T19:57:00.003-04:00

Times have been turbulent for most of the metals. I've made personal charts with pen and paper to figure out the percentage gains of each metal versus the other metals, etc. I did this because a) I don't have a chart-making program on my computer and b) the online ones don't give me what I want to know. Let's take a quick look at some of the things that have been happening.

Gold Is Rising

To start with, gold has proven to be a great investment over the past 5 years (it's been good for longer than 5 years but I use PGMs as a medium-term investment vehicle). As you can see, if you would have sold in early 2008 for cash and rebought it late that same year, you would have increased your holdings by about 25%. From that low point of under $800 in 2008 until today, gold has nearly doubled.

Gold is too slow, steady, and boring for me. It will continue to keep up with inflation If you want to buy gold I'd wait, as it's now at its all time highest price.

Silver Rose A Lot, May Rise More, But Will Definitely Fall

Silver, like gold, has proven to be a good investment. If you did the same as gold--sell in spring 2008 and buy back in the fall--you would have increased your holdings by 100%. And, due to luck, perhaps, if you ended up buying in late 2008 and holding until today, you would have increased your holdings by 400%.

I always try to give a little advice when I can. Although no one knows what will happen, this is what I predict: silver might hit $50, but I think its run is coming to an end. Conclusion: sell your silver now!

Platinum Did Better a Few Years Ago

I don't mind bragging a bit saying that I sold some Platinum when it was at its peak back in 2008. I will however, admit that I wish I had bought it back at the end 2008. I would have realized over 100% gains!

Unlike gold and silver, though, today, platinum is still 20% below its 2008 high. I feel something has got to happen here. Gold can't remain at $1500 if platinum is only $1800. Will gold fall? Will platinum jump to $2400? Look where silver is, with it's 400% gain. It's odd silver is on such a run and platinum has held steady. It will be one of the scenarios I mentioned, but I don't know which. If I had to buy or sell I'd flip a coin because it's not high enough to realize gains or low enough to know that it'll go higher anytime soon.

Our Good Friend Palladium Shines!

I haven't been posting much but I have been sitting around watching the palladium I bought when it was $200 an ounce climb 400% to over $800! Again, yes, I'll brag, but c'mon, it was obvious palladium wasn't going to stay at $200 an ounce for long. Palladium fell further than the other metals, and kept falling after they stopped. It's risen as much as silver has, but silver did it all at once, Palladium took two years.

The advice regarding palladium I've given has always been sound. You would have always made money if you bought or sold based on my suggestions (and I'd like to keep the record going that's why I don't post too many suggestions anymore). Prediction: palladium will fall considerably, probably in 2011. If you sell palladium now, I'm guessing you'll be able to buy it cheaper within the next 6 months. I'm hoping it hits $900 or so, though, before I do sell.

Rhodium, Rhodium, Where Art Thou?

Rhodium, like platinum, had a huge 120% jump from 2006 to 2008. That was when you couldn't buy rhodium anywhere. I have my Cohen Bullion now and have investing in some pools (like stocks), but I wish we had these things back in the olden days of 2008! $10,000 an ounce wasn't significant when dealing in percentages. Looking at the chart it looks huge but now that I have my own charts I realize a few things:

If you bought rhodium in 2006 and sold in mid-2008 you would have doubled your money
Rhodium was the best investment from 2006 to 2008, followed very closely by platinum
Rhodium would have by far been the worst investment today if you had bought in early/mid-2008.
Over the past 5 years (if you bought in 2006 and are still holding) rhodium would have proven to be the worst investment. Silver would have been the winner, gold second, palladium third, then platinum and rhodium

So, that's what's happened over the past 5 years. As always, any metal would have made you a fortune if you either got lucky or timed the market correctly. What does that mean? I think it means that the worst performer, rhodium, might be looking for it's time to shine! I would never buy palladium or silver right now. I would buy gold but not at $1500, maybe after it drops I would. And I'm unsure of what platinum will do. Rhodium. I will buy rhodium. In fact, as you can see by reading my posts, I already have!

Behold! 1 oz Rhodium Bullion in my Hands!

2011-01-18T17:51:00.007-05:00

My first attempts to own rhodium failed. First I attempted to purchase it; yet it existed no where for the layman slash everyday investor to buy. My search took me to the dark, undercover areas of Tokyo, Japan. I was given a tip in Osaka that rhodium was available in small vials in "sponge" (powder) form, but I came home empty-handed. Imagine the horror. During this 2008-09 search rhodium was at just $750 an ounce.

Next I attempted to buy bulk, looking for 4 other investors to go in with me and we each pay 20% and each get one 2 oz bar. I only found 2 other people. Finally, my search led me to Eitan Cohen, owner of the Cohen Mint. We spoke on the phone and I learned he had rhodium coins on the way! But, not only were they only one gram, I received several emails from buyers who had to wait months to have their orders filled (no, I'm not affiliated with Cohen Mint, but I assure you a) it's damn hard to make a rhodium coin and b) they WILL get it to if you're patient). Either way, I decidedI'd buy my 1 gram coins from an Australian reader of this blog. I didn't know him, but I trusted him enough to buy a few coins. The product was good, so I bought the rest of what he had.

Cohen Mint 1-Gram Rhodium Round

But I was still several grams away from one ounce! So, when finally Cohen announced the 1 ounce rhodium bullion bar I contacted the company and made arrangements to purchase one. You need a cashier's check sent overnight (to make sure there's no huge price fluctuation) or else a bank transfer. I chose the former and FedEx (man, I hate FedEx!) didn't inform me that the don't ship to P.O. Boxes. So, I didn't get my cashier's check back until the next week because FedEx sucks. Then I had to pay to ship it with the Post Office. It was a pain getting my $30 back from FedEx too! Next time I do bank transfer!

1 oz Rhodium Bullion

Email communication with Cohen Mint was good. Many readers of this site expect hourly replies. Sometimes that just isn't possible and I understand that, so I don't mind waiting a few days for a reply. After 2 months, my 1 oz Rhodium bar showed up at the local post office! I picked it up on my way to work and left it in my glove box where I thought it would be safest. Never had a break-in but the rhodium bar is worth nearly as much as the car!

Cohen 1 oz Rhodium Bullion

The coin is well-formed and smooth. There are intricate details on the coin that I wasn't expecting. I would have been happy with a slab of it stamped "Rh .999 pure" and a "Cohen Mint" somewhere on it. That's how Engelhard did their silver; and it was fine for most of us. Needless to say, it's a beautiful piece of rhodium. The bar is smaller than 1 oz of gold, which makes sense considering rhodium's density is 12.41 g·cm⁻³ and gold is 19.3 (UPDATE: I was told I'm wrong on my physics here, but I'll just keep it that way for now!) Here is the size of the one ounce rhodium bar vs. the 1 gram rhodium coin. Notice the paler color of pure rhodium vs the nickel and quarter.

When I made this purchase Cohen Mint was kind enough to inform me that they could not sell me a coin because they hadn't designed any yet, but that they had some in the works. I feel this is really respectable because if I had wanted a coin I could have waited for one (or four, actually, so that I'd have an ounce). Truthfully I kind of like the bar, but here's a preview of what the Cohen Mint has up its sleeve!

Yes, that's a man on a horse stabbing a dragon. Let's hope they can make it this awesome!

Palladium Soars! Sell Now?

2010-04-21T21:34:00.003-04:00

As I sit here, personally not making many precious metals moves other than purchasing some rhodium, I'm quite happy with my 2008 purchase of Palladium Canadian Maple Leaf coins. The price was $200 then; $600 now. This blog includes a lot of my opinion which I guess you could say is "investment advice" (though I don't view it as advice in the sense of advice of journalists who have never owned precious metals in their lives. Plus I blankly state when something is my opinion).

However, my idea of buying palladium in 2008 and selling when it reaches a high point, if implemented by selling today, would net the seller 200% profit. If you paid $250 for a coin in 2008 you could likely sell that coin for over $600 today. You make $350--nearly 200%. Multiply your earnings by the number of coins you bought and sold.

I'm really happy to see palladium soaring. Silver, platinum, and rhodium are all up, but palladium is three times up from its 2008 price. (Well, I guess rhodium is too, but rhodium wasn't available for purchase in 2008, so it doesn't count.)

I'm not envisioning palladium to jump much higher, though. I think silver breaking $21-22 will be needed to see palladium break $650-700. So if you're looking to make some money, sell your Pd now if you paid under $300 for it. Or, as I've been saying, sell ANY other precious metal and purchase silver. It's $18 per ounce, but a case could made that it should be at $50 per ounce or more. If I get some bucks I'll buy more for myself, perhaps even sell some palladium or gold to do so!

On gold, I don't see it moving anywhere but in the $1100-1200 range in the next few months, thus no more than 10%. Sell to buy silver? Not a bad idea! Would have been a better idea a few months ago!

Group Buy: 2 oz Rhodium Bullion Bars

2010-03-16T22:28:00.006-04:00

Many of us have been wanting to buy physical rhodium for some time now. The Cohen Mint gave us rhodium, but there are some problems: they're only 1 gram (31 grams = 1 oz), inconvenient if you're looking to own a couple ounces, and very expensive because there isn't much of a discount if you buy 31 of them. I have respect for the Cohen Mint for marketing these coins and I even own a few grams myself, but I'm looking to own a single, heavier piece of rhodium!

Rhodium 1-Gram (0.032 oz) Coin

So I've been in contact with and have received two phone calls from American Elements - "World's leading manufacturer of engineered and advanced material products" (www.americanelements.com). I wanted to buy about 1-2 ounces of rhodium for myself, but even with AE I discovered that there'd be a few problems:

The fabrication costs to create the bars is much more than I was expecting
They only make 2 oz bars because the fabrication charges of 1 oz bars would be even more
There's a minimum order of 10 ounces (5 bars)

With the fabrication charges and "metal production charges" each 2 oz bar would cost $8073 plus shipping. And remember you have to buy 5 of them, so that's $40,365. I certainly don't have nearly that much, but I think I could swing the $8073. That's about $4000 per ounce, or 33% over spot, which for something this rare is, well, I don't want to say it's reasonable, but I don't really have any other choice.

Rhodium 2-Ounce Bullion Bar

So, I'm looking to do a group buy (or "purchase syndicate" if you want to be technical) with a few different people. Ideally I would need 4 other guys (or gals), each of us paying $8100 each (I'm rounding up and estimating to cover shipping costs). When we pay, the price will be locked in regardless if the rhodium spot price fluctuates. Or, if a certain member would like two bars he would pay double and we'd only need 4 people.

Before doing this I'd recommend we exchange phone numbers and any other information so we feel secure with each other. If we don't trust each other I'd rather choose another person to be member number five. My goal here is to own 2 ounces of rhodium. If that is your goal too and you don't have the $40,000 we'd be helping each other obtain that. Ideally, I'd receive the payments by bank check or bank transfer into my bank account. You could verify that the name and address on my bank account matches that of my driver's license which I could copy for you. If one member doesn't pay and we don't want to wait to find another, then I would return all the money to everyone.

When the $40,000 is in my account I will pay AE by bank transfer. They don't have these bars sitting around so it will take about a month for them to fabricate and send the bars. When I get the bars, I would send them directly to you by certified mail where you have to be present to receive the delivery. I don't want there to be any delivery problems so I'd like to pay extra for the most reliable shipping and have them delivered at a time when you can receive the package at your home or office.

This is a lot of money, so like I said I would even prefer it that we spoke on the phone enough that we trust each other. I'm definitely not the type to scam anyone but if you're anxious or have a problem with waiting the month for fabrication/delivery I think you'd agree that we shouldn't do this together. I'm not going to quote how cool rhodium is here or why you should buy it. I'm looking for four guys who already want to own rhodium and will be serious about having 2 ounces in their hand by May 1, 2010.

If you're with me, say "I!" My email address is under "AUTHORS & COMMENTS WANTED" in the right sidebar. If you've emailed me and not received a reply in a day or so leave me a comment by clicking on "COMMENTS" below this post.

You'll be getting one of these guys. I don't know about you but I'm keeping mine in the case!

Palladium Rhodium 2010

2010-02-22T22:06:00.004-05:00

Readers and fellow investors,

I know several of you read the site regularly and haven't seen an update in months. I apologize.

However, in the coming few weeks I have plans for more articles regarding gold investing, silver investments, palladium bullion, and Cohen Mint rhodium coins.

Recently I've acquired some rhodium of my own. I've acquired more silver. I've switched jobs, made plans to move, and plan to trade and sell some of my investment metals, but ultimately, my stash should increase, because, as I've been saying, now is the time to buy.

I've read a lot more investment material and feel I'm even more able to predict future events regarding the economy. I don't have my own crystal ball, rather, I read the writings of those who have them. ;)

RE: the Cohen Mint

Also, I've been getting several emails and site comments regarding the late shipment of products ordered from the Cohen Mint. To those of you who've asked, I simply told you that I don't know. I personally have my hands on products created by Eitan Cohen, so, although I know many of you may not have received your shipments or haven't been responded to, I do assure you that the coins ARE being made, though I have no estimate of how long it takes to receive an order, fabricate Cohen rhodium coins, package them in their holders, and ship them throughout the world.

Do they take a long time to make? I'm sure they do. Is Mr. Cohen very busy? I'm sure he is. However, I've had no contact with Mr. Cohen since our Spring 2009 interview regarding the introduction of the Cohen Mint rhodium coins.

I apologize for any delays you may be having and I hope for everyone's sake we all receive our coins at the price we paid, even if delivery time takes longer than we'd expected. If you cannot wait, I'll sell you some of my coins as I have more on the way and am confident of their arrival. I won't cut you a deal on the price though as I'm also collecting them!

Thanks for your continued support. I'll be posting more soon!

Jim Rogers Thinks Silver Bullish

2009-11-20T14:31:00.001-05:00

Jim Rogers says that although he doesn't think he's a gold bug, gold has been in a bull market since it hit its low in 2001. He says that he is currently holding gold and has been holding it for a long time. When told by the reporter that when adjusted for inflation silver peaked at over $800 per ounce before Columbus discovered the New World and around $100 per ounce in the early 1980s Rogers comments that not just silver but all commodities will be in a bubble before long:

"Silver is more attractive than many commodities. Silver is 70% below its all time high. There are not many things in the world you can say that about and if I had to buy any precious metal at the moment, I'd probably buy silver rather than gold. Gold's been making all time highs, silver's far, far below its all time high. Likewise palladium. Palladium is another that's far below its high. But I think think silver is more attractive than gold."

View Our Inflation-Adjusted Charts Article Here

Rogers then goes on to explain that silver has been used as money much more throughout history than gold has. He also notes that commodities will be hot for the next 10 or more years, and then stocks will be back.

The above is a complete summary. To hear the full conversation see the Youtube video below

Part 2 has Rogers commenting on governments printing too much money, gold being nowhere near its inflation-adjusted high, eventual currency collapses, US defaulting on its debts, and other economic issues. Interestingly, Rogers says his daughters will be given gold and silver for Christmas in 2009!

Watch Part 2 below

View Our Inflation-Adjusted Charts Article Here

1 Ounce Rhodium Bar Coming Soon!! (1 oz rhodium bar)

2009-11-18T16:42:00.012-05:00

1 Ounce Rhodium Bar Coming Soon!! (1 oz rhodium bar)

MARCH 16, 2010 UPDATE: Sorry guys, I lied. These 1 ounce bars are not available and have for nearly a year said "coming soon." I'm sorry to disappoint everyone with the following article.

----------(original article follows)------------

That's right, folks, our friends over at Cohen Mint are planning to release a 1 oz rhodium bar within the next month!

Cohen Mint is by far the front runner in the rhodium coin market. In fact, the company has no rivals. If you're looking to invest in rhodium you either invest in stocks of a nickel mining company that has palladium, platinum, and rhodium as by-products, or you invest in a company like Stillwater Palladium Mining or Impala Platinum which also pulls some rhodium out of the ground, but neither of which focuses on rhodium (note: I haven't researched how to invest in stock of companies that mine rhodium, so understand that there may be more ways than I mention).

But, in the spring of 2009 Cohen Mint started producing one gram rhodium coins! Now, we're going to get a quarter of 1 ounce rhodium coins and 1 ounce rhodium bars! Here are a few photos of the current 1 gram rhodium bullion coins.

Front of 1-Gram Rhodium Bullion Coin

Rear of One Gram Rhodium Coin

To read all about the 1 gram rhodium coins which
have been available most of 2009, click here.

One Ounce Rhodium Bullion Bar

The proposed 1 ounce .999 rhodium bar looks like it will be pretty nice looking! I like the design and love that it will be double stamped. What I mean by this is that the sheet of rhodium will be stamped on the front, after which it will be stamped on the back. Some bullion bars are only stamped on one side and while they are worth the same (the weight of the metal, the back sides aren't shiny).

The new Cohen Mint 1 Ounce Rhodium bar will have a small stamp showing Eitan Cohen's design of a night on the horse. This is a good choice because it's the same design that's on the front of the one gram rhodium coins. As you can see in the photo the proposed stamp will also state the chemical symbol of rhodium, RH, "Cohen Mint," "1 OUNCE TROY," and "RHODIUM .999 FINE."

1 Ounce Rhodium Bullion Bar

The rear of the coins take some styling from other bullion products, such as the Engelhard Silver Bars (see left). Engelhard has versions where the rear if the bullion bar has "ENGELHARD" imprinted into the bar. The angle of the writing is quite stylish. However, as you can see in the photo to the left, the bar has the rest of the bar stamped so that "ENGELHARD" is raised above the surface of the bar, similar to the date printed on the coins in your pocket. While this is more attractive, due to the intricate detail of the design, I'm expecting the marks will be recessed into the bar. But the Cohen Mint has surprised us in the past, so we'll see!

Quarter of 1 Ounce Rhodium Coin (1/4 oz Rhodium Coin)

When you hear the Cohen Mint is going to make a 1 ounce rhodium bullion bar, you're excited. But when you go the site, there's a surprise waiting for you: the Cohen Mint will also make a 1/4 ounce rhodium coin!

The 1/4 ounce rhodium bullion coin will look similar to the 1 gram rhodium bullion coin pictured above, however, since the coin is about seven times the weight it will have approximately twice the surface area of the 1 gram coins. To put this into perspective, if the one gram rhodium coin is a dime, the 1/4 ounce will be a quarter (no, that isn't the exact size, but similar).

And below you can see the proposed design. Very nice looking coins. We're hoping these will have less of a premium for fabrication costs because, it takes approximately as much work to make a 1 gram coin as it takes to make a quarter ounce rhodium coin or a 1 troy ounce rhodium bar.

Quarter Ounce Rhodium Coin (1/4 oz Rhodium Coin)

1 oz Rhodium Bar Pricing

I haven't contacted Eitan Cohen about pricing. He is, as you can guess, a very busy man! When the 1 gram rhodium bullion coins came out they were priced at $90 when rhodium was around $1500. Now that rhodium is around $2300, the coins are selling for $125.

For my prediction, I'm guessing the 1 ounce bars will be around $2900 with rhodium at the price its at today. I would say the 1/4 coins will be around $800. Now don't quote me or plan on these prices. These are my guesses and I wouldn't be shocked if I were off by as much as 20%.

UPDATE: the 1/4 ounce rhodium coins are selling for around $880 and the 1 ounce bars are $3300.

Article Summary: 'New Normal" for the Gold Price?

2009-11-17T14:07:00.000-05:00

Over the past week or two I've been helping an exchange grad student at the local university summarize articles for his Literature Review class. Doing so, I realized that it's entirely possible to get a seven page article down to a few paragraphs. Therefore, for several reasons--to save you time of finding articles, to save you time reading articles, and to save you from reading my opinions only--I've decided to start summarizing a few others' articles to give you a different angle on things.

Peter Cooper, writing for Arabian Money, posted an article on November 4 commenting on the surging gold price. The article give his predictions, views, and even a bit of investment advice.

Cooper (2009) states that with gold standing at $1080 at the time of writing, another jump in the gold price seems almost certain. However, saying now that gold will jump to $2000 might be similar to the Kremlin declaring in July 2008, when oil was $147 per barrel, that oil would jump to the $200-250 range. Gold, though, is not just on a temporary spike as oil was. For this to be a spike we'd need to see $1500 gold, or higher.

Cooper (2009) notes how that at the time of writing the dollar was somewhat of a safe haven, along with gold. Also, "increasingly it looks as though silver is also being treated as precious metal again rather than an industrial commodity, offering an interesting leverage play on the rising gold price" (Cooper, 2009).

It still seems that gold won't be going much higher as long as we have a strong dollar, Cooper says. Cooper also mentions the possibility of a global currency and the uncertainty of the dollar's future. However, in times of uncertainty, gold and silver will retain their value.

Finally, Cooper notes that holding gold is more a wise investment than holding dollars. He also notes the fact that the India is purchasing a lot of gold from the IMF.

Cooper, Peter (2009). What is the 'New Normal' for the Gold Price? Arabian Money. http://news.goldseek.com/PeterCooper/1257344245.php.

Article Summary: $1160 is Gold's Next Target

2009-11-14T22:55:00.000-05:00

For several reasons--to save you time of finding articles, to save time reading articles, and to save you from reading my opinions only--I've decided to start summarizing a few others' articles to give you a different angle on things. I will do this from time to time.

Daryl Guppy (5 Nov 2009) claims that the sudden rise in the gold price has been influence by the Indian Central Bank buying gold from the International Monetary Fund. He notes that many gold bugs seem to think gold will hit $2000. However, the four factors that influence the price of gold may not actually influence the price as much as gold bugs think it will.

1. Fear. Gold reached $1000 in March 2008 when the market was collapsing and then reached it again in September 2009 after the global market had recovered. This proves that fear is not as huge a factor as it may seem.

2. US Dollar Strength. The dollar began falling in March 2009, however gold also fell from $1000 to $850 at the same time; and then it rose back over $1000. Not much of a correlation.

3. Central Banks. The Indian buying pushed gold to its current all time high. However, transfering the gold from the IMF to central banks doesn't affect supply and demand, therefor any affect on the gold price will be short-lived.

4. Jewelry. Indians only buy gold around holidays. Also, jewelry demand is only steadily increasing worldwide, as it always has. This increase is not enough to affect gold's sudden jumps and retreats.

Guppy (2009) next states that gold has reached it's first plateau of $1080. Next it will be $1160, and then $1240. However, he also says that if China announces that they won't start buying from the IMF, gold could retreat to $1000; but if they announce they will start buying, gold could hit $1160.

Guppy states that the way money is made in the gold market deals with "suppliers of pick sand shovels, or steel for the mine pit heads and food for the miners that go on to build solid and sustainable businesses" and that profits would be in mining companies.

Guppy, Daryl (5 Nov 2009). $1160 is Gold's Next Target Level: Charts. CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/33632775.

Why the Gold Price Increase to $1,120 an Ounce?

2009-11-12T04:49:00.007-05:00

Gold has been surging like we haven't seen it surge for years. This increase is significant because it continually reaches all-time highs, which today, has gold at $1120 per ounce.

The white metals are all well below their all-time highs, but are still following gold up the ladder: platinum is at $1370 per ounce, 60% of its all-time high. Palladium is at $350 per oz, 32% of its all-time high. And silver is trading at $17.50 per ounce, 35% of its all-time high.

Unlike gold, the white metals are used in manufacturing and used up. With the recessed economy they aren't in high demand, so their price jumps are not industrial, but rather, they're following gold as hedges.

Now let's look at some of the reasons gold has risen to $1120 an ounce.

India

Central banks are buying gold. Most notably India. Last week the central bank of India bought 200 tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). India is reported to want to diversify it's financial hedges. The sale was an alleged US $6.7 billion.

Central Banks

Several other central banks are reported to be buying gold to hedge against the risks of a falling dollar. Sri Lanka and China are on the list, amongst others. These purchases not only increase the gold price, but influence individual investors as well.

Since buying has begun, it may continue, thus making investors rush to buy before the price increases more. This interest may shoot gold well past anticipated levels due to overbuying.

Matt Zeman of LaSalle Futures Group Inc. is quoted as saying, "The interest that central banks have shown for gold has really lit a fire under the market...People are questioning the value of not only the U.S. currency, but all paper currencis. Investors are moe comfortable holding gold" (cited by Ngyuen and Larkin).

China

A simple report by the Chinese government saying it will start buying gold is enough to shoot the price up another $100 or more. A swift upturn in the Chinese economy would have a similar, yet softer effect.

Falling Dollar

If the dollar falls, the price of gold will go up in dollar terms. However, if the dollar falls, since many other countries hold US debt, gold will rise in terms of other currencies as well.

The dollar has reached a 15-month low on the dollar index. This index compares the performance of the dollar against other main currencies. This shows some of the reason for gold's surge, however, gold is also at an all-time high measured in euros. It's currently trading at around 750 euros per ounce.

Inflation

The world is worried about the dollar. With the trillions of dollars spent this year in bailouts and stimulus packages, the dollar is being printed like never before. The Fed is hoping this will stimulate the economy, and it may, but it will also likely cause inflation.

John Hathaway of Tocqueville Gold Fund is quoted as saying, "Would they be able to retract the liquidity they put into place?...If they havce a hard time doing it, I htink we'll see inflation, and gold will go much higher (cited by Ngyuen and Larkin).

And again, it's not only the inflation that's causing the gold to go higher, it's also the anticipation of future inflation causing investors to hedge now before prices go higher.

Interest Rates

The Fed has kept interest rates low in hope of sparking the economy. Low interest rates means cheap loans for housing and month thrown back into the economy.

Zeman says, "The dollar is not going to get any firm footing with rates at zero...People are selling dollars and putting it in higher-yielding assest. All commodities are going higher" cited by Ngyuen and Larkin).

Goldman Sachs thinks that gold will reach $1200 with rates as they are. Also, since people are thinking rates will stay low longer, they're anticipating gold to go higher and buying more, thus increasing the gold price even more.

"Analysts said the dollar was smarting after Fed officials said on Tuesday that high unemployment and sluggish consumer spending were risks to recovery in the U.S. economy, which may keep the Fed funds rate low" (Tang and Harvey).

Other Factors

There are too many factors to list, but above are the main ones. Some others include the opening of the gold market back into Vietnam, spurred by investor demand. It was previously illegal to import gold into Vietnam.

The Chinese government has reportly encouraged citizen's to buy gold to hedge for inflation.

Gold Fields gold producer in South Africa is going on a labor strike. This just means less new gold coming out of the ground to sell.

* * *

Sources

Godt, Nick and Lesova, Polya. "Gold Hit Record Near $1,120 an Ounce." MarketWatch. November 11, 2009. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-futures-climb-to-record-above-1117-2009-11-11

Tang, Frank and Harvey, Jan. "Gold Rises Towards $1,120 on Strong Sentiment." Reuters. November 11, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE5A80MQ20091111?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=11604&sp=true

Nguyen, Pham-Duy and Larkin, Nicholas. "Gold Futures Rise to Record on Speculation Dollar Will Decline." Bloomberg.com. November 11, 2009. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJwZs1AweH_s

Jim Sinclair Says the Dollar is Dead

2009-11-11T00:28:00.000-05:00

In his article "Motivation Behind the Countdown," precious metals specialist Jim Sinclair (August 14, 2009) gives us his view of the US dollar's fate for November, 2009. The prediction isn't pretty.

The reason for Sinclair making this assumption is that China requested a financial summit with the US. These things are seldom requested. Sinclair states a couple things he sees happening.

The US need China to continue buying US debt, meaning the US needs China to continue lending it money
The Chinese want the US to support a "Super Sovereign Currency as an offset to dependence on the dollar for international settlements and national reserves" (Sinclair, 2009)
"The Chinese rightly feel that the greatest risk to their present dollar position’s valuation is quantitative easing. Or simply put, the monetization of one’s own debt by the electronic creation of money for funding yourself"(Sinclair, 2009)

Sinclair goes on to state that the Management of Perspective Economics only works in a strong market, which ended in 2001. No finagling will help the dollar now that the US has so much debt. Nor can the US dollar survive if we support a "Super Currency," as Asia's holdings of the dollar are the only real support the dollar has.

Sinclair closes with the following:

"All of this could have been fixed prior to the event of Lehman declaring bankruptcy. Now there are no PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS....Pandora’s Box is open, only to be closed by markets as the downward spiral goes to its practical end, a return to commodity money."

* * *

This has been a complete summary. To view the full article, click here.

Sinclair, Jim (August 14, 2009). The Motivation Behind the Countdown. Jim Clair's MineSet. http://jsmineset.com/2009/08/14/the-motivation-behind-the-countdown.

Rhodium on the Rise!

2009-11-09T04:39:00.001-05:00

Rhodium is again on the upward trend. Remember just a year ago it was down to $700 per ounce. Today is it $1800-2100 per ounce (that price discrepancy depends on who your quoting source is and whether you're buying or selling.

The chart below shows the price of rhodium as quoted by Kitco. You can see it's been steadily moving up from $1500 to $1800 over the past few days. The $2100 price is the quoted price if you want to buy an ounce of it, which is considerably higher.

Rhodium Price Chart

Rhodium Coins Prices Rising

If you'll recall we did an interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint regarding the minting of the Cohen Mint Coins (full article here). Checking the Cohen Mint Rhodium Bullion Coin site, since the coins came out a few months ago, they've climbed from their starting price of $89.99, to $92.99, to $99.99, to $102.99, and just today to $104.99. Rhodium bullion is rising so the cost of making rhodium coins is also rising. At $104.99 it will cost you about $3300 to get your hands on an ounce of rhodium (remember these are 1-gram coins so you'd need 31 to have an ounce).

You may be thinking that owning 31 small coins isn't the best way to own an ounce of rhodium. Let me tell you, though, it is the only way. There is a company online that allegedly will make a bar for you and sent it, but I haven't read about anyone ordering one from them.

$1100 Gold Coming Soon!

2009-11-06T14:22:00.003-05:00

I was wrong. I said a couple weeks ago that gold will peak at around $1050 (but I searched to find where I said that, so I guess I'm not wrong, right?!). Today the gold price is $1095.

This is a historical high for gold in dollar terms, surpassing it's many previous highs that it hit in October, 2009. We've seen quite a few instances of a gold all time high over the past few months. Let's look at a chart which shows it a bit more clearly.

Rise to $1100 Gold Chart

As you can see from the chart above gold nipped $1000 in February, nearly did it in May (both were near historical highs at the time) and in September in remained comfortably over $1000 for over a month long period. In October its holding level was around the $1050 mark. Now we're tinkering with $1100. Will it hold here for a month again? I'm not going to take a guess this time!

And, for your reference, the chart below shows gold's previous run up to $1000 when it did it in the spring of 2008. Then it pretty much remained below $1000 for a year before continuing on its current spike.

Should You Sell or Buy Gold Bullion and Gold Coins?

Right now, if you paid under $700 for your gold bullion coin and would like to realize a $500 profit, I wouldn't say that you'd be making a mistake by selling it. I do think it will go higher, but that will be slowly and not a sudden increase unless if something drastic happens in the economy. So, also, if you decide to buy gold right now, your investment decision will also be wise! I do think gold will dip again, though.

Should I Sell Gold and Buy Silver?

I wouldn't say this is a bad strategy, since silver has a much higher chance to double or quadruple as gold does. If you've been reading the site you'd know that I have all my money tied up as it is and I'm not saving too much so I haven't been buying as I'd like to. I did manage to buy a few small silver bars the other day; and I didn't have to sell my gold to do it!

Holy Sh*t!: US Debt Clock Live

2009-10-28T01:27:00.012-04:00

Discovering the US Debt Clock Live for the First Time

And holy sh*t is all I could say. I sat staring at the screen for five minutes without moving, trying to fathom the astronomical amounts of money I was seeing. After coming back to earth, my eyes started wandering down the clock to see the various forms of growing debt. The US government debt, yearly deficit, citizen's debt, is scary.

Numbers Explained

First, let me explain how much money we're talking about. I actually had to look up what comes after a trillion.

1,000,000 = 1 million (Brad Pitt made $20 million this year, Tiger Woods $100 million)
1,000,000,000 = 1 billion (Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are worth about $40 billion each)
1,000,000,000,000 = 1 trillion (US government has spent $3 trillion so far in 2009)
1,000,000,000,000,000 = 1 quadrillion

Screen Shot of US Debt Clock Live

Here is the exact screen shot that made me sit dumbfounded. I found the clock over at US Debt Clock.org (links below). However, realize that you're simply looking at an image. What I saw was more harsh.

US Debt Clock Screen Shot (click to enlarge)

(Screenshot taken Wednesday, October 28, at approximately 1:30 am)

US Debt Clock Climbing

Were you able to handle it? Did you read through all of the numbers? That was taken on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. What is the date today, and how much has it risen? This is what might boggle your mind like it did mine. Click on this next photo to go to the www USDebtClock org site. Not only will you see what you saw above, but it will be be climing as you watch it! If you don't know what a certain number means, simply run the mouse over the number and an explanation will pop up.

Current US Debt (click for today's figures)

(Screenshot taken Wednesday, October 28, at approximately 1:30 am)

How does that make you feel? If your son or daughter were born today he would be nearly $40,000 in debt if we divided evenly amongst all US citizens the $12,000,000,000,000 (trillion, I just wanted to write out all of those zeros). Staggering, isn't it?

How Much is a Trillion Dollars?

The US has over $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities, which includes Medicare and Social Security. Many soon-to-be retirees are worried the government will soon be unable to pay. $3.5 trillion of the $12 trillion US debt is held by foreigners. What happens when these creditors start demanding the US government to pay up?

On Inflation

Look at"Federal Reserve Money Creation" on the left hand side. Do you see how fast this is rising? They are printing money at a rate of $60 million per hour. This is why our palladium coins and gold bullion have been rising in value and why inflation has been a part of life since 1972 (before which the dollar was backed by gold). Eventually we will see gold, silver, and all other commodities reach astronomical heights. Technically, they should be much higher than they are now, but thus far people are trusting the US government to eventually pay its debts and things are still semi-stable.

I'm not going to write a book here. This is a choppy article of my thoughts; what went through my mind when I looked at the clock. I've read a lot of books about the economy, business, commodities, stocks, etc. Some of these books are from 2003, some are from the 90s, some are more recent. The other day I read one from the 70s when the debt was just a few $billion. Many mention the total US debt, which just a few years ago was $2-3 trillion. Now, it's $12 trillion and I'm just astonished.

National Debt Clock in New York City

Finally, here's a picture of the US Debt Clock pasted on a wall of a building in New York City for everyone to see. "The idea for the clock came from New York real estate developer Seymour Durst, who wanted to highlight the rising national debt" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Debt_Clock). Click to read the full story about the clock.

National Debt Clock (Click to enlarge)
(Linked image from Wikipedia)

What Does All This Mean?

What does this mean? That there are too many people in the world; there is too much money backed by no solid assets; there are too many people in debt; here is too much pollution; there aren't enough resources....I could go on. But the fact is that our society has become extremely complex in terms of the economy, resources, and population. Something big is going to happen in our lifetimes. And some of us will be prepared.

Palladium Shines! (Gold Price Predictions)

2009-10-24T21:39:00.003-04:00

Palladium Shines!

Palladium is doing very, very well, folks! The gold price is glittering right now as people the see the $1050 price. This shows a near 10% gain for gold. Silver is up 14% to over $17.50 per ounce. Platinum, over the same time period of a month or so, rose under 10%.

But look what's shining: palladium! Palladium has risen 16% over the same time period. It's current price is $336 per ounce palladium coin or per ounce of palladium bullion. Buy palladium bullion as it's still a good investment. It woudl have been a better investment a few months ago at $180. Remember that?

Investment Strategy

We've been giving you tips every couple months on which metal to buy or which to sell. It's usually short and at first decided we wouldn't do this, but people like it so we're doing it. We never guarantee any of our predictions though, so keep that in mind.

Gold Predictions

We have a long-term prediction for ALL of the metals to rise. I think you know that simply by us maintaining a precious metals site. In the short-term, as in, what you should do right, we think you should buy silver. Silver has never been this under-valued compared to gold. When gold hit $1000 in 2008 silver bullion was selling at $22 per ounce or closer to $30 for the silver coins.

If you don't have money to buy silver now, Selling an ounce of gold (we're assuming there are low fees involved) for $1055 would buy you about 60 ounces of silver. So, six ten ounce silver bars (coins would likely cost more) could be had. We say that not only because we think silver undervalued versus gold right now, but because it is so rare and when demand increases so will its price.

Palladium Predictions and Platinum Predictions

We don't think palladium will reach $400 any time soon. Similarly, we don't think $1500 platinum will come any time soon. Gold's popularity, as evidenced by $1000 gold or $1050 gold, proves we're in a recession and people want to hedge with gold. Palladium hedge and platinum hedge don't work the same because they are more industrial in nature and will rise with more demand from auto manufacturers. In the long-term, both will rise, as we're predicting, but not this year.

(article unedited)

Here's an article predicting gold to reach $2000 within the next 10 years.

Don't Sell!: Inflation-Adjusted Gold Charts (Palladium)

2009-09-25T16:37:00.008-04:00

(UPDATE: this was written just September 25. Today is October 8. The gold price today is $1050 per ounce, its highest dollar total ever. A quick read through the following article will show you how that price is no where near its all time high--thanks to inflation.)

I've been watching the price movements of gold and silver and palladium and platinum over the past month and haven't had too much to comment. What I was thinking of doing, actually, is to sell some gold and buy some silver with it, as I think silver is more undervalued that gold. However, that's a differnet discussion for a different day. Let's look at the history of the gold price and a chart that I "borrowed" from Goldprice.org. Look over this chart carefully and then we'll continue:

Gold Price History Chart

Okay, did you look? Gold is at an all-time high, right? Well, yes, you're right. It's about $1000 now and hit $1020 last week. Well, this has been mentioned before when talking about all metals including silver, platinum, palladium, and rhodium. But think again, the average wages back in 1981, when gold was nearly $900 were less than half of what they are now. So now, gold is worth only $1000? In fact, look back to the year 2000. Look how undervalued it was? Now let's look at a chart with inflation factored in (I grabbed this one from Wikipedia):

Inflation-Adjusted Gold Price History Chart

Inflation Adjusted Gold Price History Chart

Now don't pay attention to all the different lines. It will get confusing. I don't know exactly what they're getting at either, but, this is chart showing the gold worth in 2009 dollars. As you can see, all the lines are the same in 2008 (or 2009, which would be similar although this chart is from last year). But, look back in 1981! Gold is off the charts! So, in 1981, an ounce of gold was worth at least 5x what it's worth today if you measure it by the amount of goods you can buy with it. Today, an ounce of gold would buy you about one good suit. Back then, an ounce of gold would have bought you at least 7 suits. Understand?

I know this post is pretty basic for most of you, but, I just wanted to reiterate that although gold is hovering and reaching highs and everyone is saying, "Gold All Time High," it's really NOT at an all time high. It was much higher in 1981. Now, since this is a palladium site, let's take a look at palladium:

Palladium Price History Chart

Do you see how high palladium was due to demand? Factor in inflation it would probably have been 25% higher. It's hovering around the $300 mark now, so, it's still pretty low. Don't sell palladium now either, if you have the money, buy palladium just as you would gold. Buy silver too, don't sell silver, keep it.

That's my take on things. I know most of you know this but some people have made good investments in precious metals and I don't want them to sell before they reach full potential! Good luck to all!

Gold $1000! Palladium $300!

2009-09-08T14:05:00.003-04:00

Gold $1000! Palladium $300!

Right now, September 8, 2009, at 2 pm gold is $999 and palladium is $299. How long will this last? This morning we actually had gold over $1000 per ounce but palladium hasn't reached the $300 an ounce mark. Silver's following gold closely in terms of percentages as it's up to $16.50 per ounce. Did anyone say platinum? I didn't. Platinum is still in the $1200s, however, it's $1285, pushing $1300. This isn't nearly as big a percentage jump as gold, however, I suspect it may be following and if gold doesn't plummet platinum will reach $1350 or higher.

$1000 Gold Forth Time in History

Note that this is the third time gold has reached $1000 an ounce. It hit its historic mark back in 1981, then fell down into the $200s even before hitting $1000 again in early 2008, then in early 2009, and then again today.

Gold Price Jumps $20 Today!

2009-09-02T14:59:00.003-04:00

Gold Price Jumps $20 Today!

Not much time to comment here but I had to at least mention the price of gold rise that took place today! Last I looked it was $955 and now it's nearly $980.

Palladium Price Up

Palladium coin buy prices are up because palladium is pushing $300 an ounce! Get your palladium bullion bars and palladium bullion bars at near spot prices if you buy now. Remember when palladium was $280 and the cheapest you could find a Suisse bar was $350? Well, now you might be able to find it at about 10% over spot. Good luck in the search!

Rhodium Price, Silver Price, Platinum Price

Rhodium has been steady at $1500. You can still get your rhodium coins from Cohen Mint for $90 for each Cohen rhodium bullion coin. Platinum has only shifted up $5, and silver has went up nearly $0.50. I predict silver will go up a bit more. It's $15.40 now. I think it will peak at just over $16.

That's all we have for now. I gotta run. I'm hoping to see some good comments on this recent price increase!

Palladium & Rhodium Price Update (8/20/09)

2009-08-20T15:39:00.003-04:00

Palladium & Rhodium Price Update (8/20/09)

Not much going on so we haven't felt the need for any updates of late. Gold price and silver price appeared to be moving upward a week or two ago but it's recently fallen back to "normal" levels (I'm using "normal" as the gold spot price over the past few months, although of course there is never a "normal" gold price or silver price).

Spot Palladium Price

The spot palladium price is still relatively high in comparison to "normal" gold and silver levels. Palladium is still trading in the $275-$280 range. Palladium has outperformed gold over the past month or two.

Spot Rhodium Price

Rhodium is worthy of a small discussion here because the spot rhodium price has outperformed all metals percentage-wise with perhaps the exception of palladium. Rhodium was trading around $1300 in late July and peaked at around $1575 a few days later. Rhodium then slowly rose up to the $1550 mark around August 10 and has remained steady ever since. What's interesting is that rhodium is often only reported as moving each time it takes a $50 jump. (For example, The Bullion Desk reports the rhodium price on the right site top of its site.) Since it's recently been reported as having moved more people will start noticing. However, it's been moving for a while.

Palladium & Rhodium Price Increase (08/09)

2009-08-04T00:42:00.004-04:00

Palladium Price Steady, Rhodium Rises

I've been on vacation for the the past few weeks but I'm glad to see that the Eitan Cohen interview has gotten so much attention. Glad I was finally able to get that up before I left. I'll be on vacation again for most of August. But I'll have the computer with me and hoping to keep an eye on the palladium price and the rhodium price increase.

The Palladium Price

For a couple weeks now palladium has been on the rise and seems to be steady at around $275 an ounce. That's good news! With all the money Obama is pumping into the economy the values of gold, silver, and platinum should rise, likely with palladium and rhodium following. The palladium price

(www kitco com provides this chart for us)

From the chart we see that palladium has been on the rise for the past 30 days. I know a lot of people read this site so see my predictions. Well, my prediction on this is that Pd won't reach $300 on this rise. I wish it would though. I think it's near its peak and will drop back down to around $250 for the time being. No reason to run out and buy now.

The Rhodium Price

The rhodium price has increased like palladium. We see a quick jump from around $1300/oz rhodium to $1600. And for now it's around $1500. We'll see where this moves to in the near future. I'm thinking it will stay over $1500 an ounce Rh for a while.

The Gold Price, Platinum Price, Silver Price

The gold price has risen about $50 in the past month. That's good news. Platinum price and silver price have risen at a similar percentage. (nearly 10%) over the same time period.

Is this big news? No, not really. But if you're buying and selling the metals for small time profit taking, now might be the time to sell before the prices drops and you can buy back.

Platinum and Palladium Opportunities to Rise

2009-07-25T13:07:00.000-04:00

Below is a video with Rob Kurzatkowski of OptionsXpress Holdings (Bloomberg News), found by the author of Gold & Silver (link under "Links") giving us some information about how palladium and platinum have a huge opportunity to rise. For those who can't see the video, I'll give a quick run-though summary:

The palladium and platinum prices have increased steadily over the past six months and may continue upwards. When the auto-makers pull out of their decrease sales slump, these prices may increase further.

Another factor that might increase the price of these two metals is a decision in Russia to not sell the metals, or even more power outages in South Africa. If either of these scenarios occurs, since Russia and South Africa produce 95% of the world's palladium and platinum supply, prices could hit the moon

Press Play to Watch for Yourself!

Interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint - Topic: Rhodium Coins, Rhodium Bullion Coins

2009-07-09T20:57:00.021-04:00

Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com apologizes for the one-month wait for this interview. Now it's finally here for all to enjoy! Tom, founder of Buy Palladium has interviewed Eitan Cohen, owner of Cohen Mint. The occasion for this special interview is the announcement by Mr. Cohen that he was able to perfect the formula to fabricate coins out of one of the world's rarest, most expensive metals--rhodium.

Rhodium has never been coined until now, so in short, this is big news for collectors and investors worldwide. For some background info regarding the importance of what you're about to read, click here for a list of Buy Palladium's posts regarding this very imporant metal rhodium. Also, click here for the Cohen Mint site to its broad inventory of investment grade bullion and coins.

The Interview

(Interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint - Topic: Rhodium Coins, Rhodium Bullion Coins)

Tom of Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com - Mr. Cohen, I thank you so much for taking the time to join us at Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com for this interview.

Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint - I’m glad to be here, Tom. Thanks for having me today.

Buy Palladium - I know that many of our readers here at palladium.blogspot.com have been overly anxious to hear about and get their hands on the brand new rhodium coins. Personally I haven’t been this excited about a coin in a long time! But before we get into that, can you tell us how it came about that Eitan Cohen would start his own mint?

E. Cohen - I get this question a lot, it’s a topic I think many people find fascinating.

As a child, there were two factors about me that later came together to make a company such as this one possible. First, I was a collector of coins. My mother and I would walk on lazy summer days to one of the few coin shops in Brooklyn where I would spend an hour or more gazing at all the interesting gold and silver coins that I couldn’t possibly afford. I had some crinkled dollar bills in my pocket that I had saved up from my allowance and bought as much with it as I could. I would spend most of the walk back holding these treasures from generations past in my hands, my mind a million miles away. To this day each and every one of those coins sits safely in an album, tucked away for all these years.

The second factor about my personality was my insatiable need to take my toys apart, put them back together, see how things worked. It wasn’t enough for me to know how something functioned, I had to get my hands dirty figuring it out. It was during one of these times that at age 11 I minted my first coins out of a curiosity to see the process happen. As the years went by and I became older my interests faded and were replaced by other ones, but the knowledge remained.

Many years later, as the business continues to grow and thrive, I look back at my childhood and I know that the seeds of this company were planted way back then.

Buy Palladium - Minting coins at age 11! I guess childhood dreams do come true. Wow. Now, rather than us seeing the usual 1 oz gold or silver coins from Cohen Mint, a quick look at the Cohen Mint website shows that you specialize in very small coins as well as being the only mint to coin some of the rarer precious metals. Could you explain why Cohen Mint takes on this special niche?

E. Cohen - In the beginning I tried many different approaches to this business, and I found that the larger sizes were very well represented by other, larger manufacturers. It would have been impossible for a no-name at the time to break into that market. Small sizes, however, were very underrepresented, and it was a niche that I was able to fill rather well. I was able to communicate to the average Joe very well, because like him, I came from modest means. There are very few people who can afford to tie up a thousand dollars in a small ounce of gold, although there are plenty of folks who would like to own some of the yellow metal. I made it possible for people to invest in the precious metals they wanted where before they were completely shut out.

Buy Palladium - Yes, I can imagine the hefty price tags of an ounce of gold, platinum, or even palladium would price many investors out of market. But a gram or a ¼ gram would be much more reasonable. Now tell me about some of these rarer metals. Most of our readers have never even heard niobium or tantalum, but you are already selling .999 pure investment grade coins and bars made from these metals. You can’t tell me there is a lot of interest from investors in these rare products?

E. Cohen - Actually, the response from our customers has been great. The Tantalum and Niobium coins represent metals that are critically important to today’s industry, metals that are extremely rare and cannot be substituted for by cheaper substances. Prices have been steadily rising and making bullion coins was just a natural progression from that.

The items on our copper page are some of our best selling products, believe it or not.

Buy Palladium - What about palladium? At buy-palladium.blogspot.com, often, rather than investing in gold or silver, our readers are interested in investing in the rarer metals like palladium and platinum. What do you have to offer these investors?

E. Cohen - Palladium is a key product that we offer our customers. There are few choices out there for people who want to get some exposure to palladium. You wither buy one ounce bars – or you buy one ounce coins. Talk about selection! That’s like having only one political party to choose from, not very American! Our Cohen Mint ¼ Gram Palladium bullion coins are immensely popular. They’re inexpensive, they’re very well made, and they satisfy a hunger for the metal without breaking most people’s budget. We offer price breaks on bulk purchases and most people take advantage of that. It’s a great product.

Buy Palladium Coins From Cohen Mint Here

Buy Palladium - So you’ve really made palladium ownership available to a much larger group of people. What would your advice be to anyone who really doesn’t have a lot of cash but wants to invest in precious metals?

E. Cohen - Look, not having a lot of money to invest is nothing to be ashamed of, especially in this economy when everyone is hurting. With family, the house, kids, and a car, most of us want to do the right thing and prepare for the future, but we get intimidated by the prices of commonly available bars and coins out there.

What people need to know is there is an alternative. The Cohen Mint has been producing world class precious metal bullion coins for over 5 years in sizes that anyone can afford. The quality of our bullion is equal to that of the United States mint and other major facilities throughout the world. What makes us different is we are the nation’s only direct manufacturer to consumer bullion maker, so we can sell at prices no one else can. Anytime you buy precious metals from anyone else you are buying from a middle man, and paying the premium for it. With the Cohen Mint it’s only you, and us.

About the Rhodium Bullion Coins

(Rhodium Coins, Rhodium Bullion Coin)

Buy Palladium - Well, okay, for a while now on Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com we’ve been discussing Rhodium Bullion Coins which actually never existed. Then back in February I wrote “Rhodium Coins Coming Soon” and leaked to the world the coins will be available Summer 2009. Since then lot of readers have been anxious to buy some. Cohen Mint is now the only mint to produce Rhodium Coins. First of all, why rhodium?

E. Cohen - Actually, there is a very important reason why. Of the six Platinum Group Metals (PGM’s) the three that are most economically important to mankind are Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium. Of those three, Platinum and Palladium are available to investors in physical form. Bars of these metals are common and easy to get. The big missing piece of this puzzle is Rhodium. Why aren’t there any Rhodium bars or coins just like the other two metals? Once I began asking myself this question, and doing some research, I began to understand that there was a good reason why no Rhodium bullion ever existed until we made some a few weeks ago.

For starters, its an extremely rare and valuable metal, there just isn’t much of it available on the planet. If you compare it to a more common precious metal, like platinum for instance, there are thousands of tons of platinum in existence today, and hundreds more is being mined every year. Rhodium doesn’t exist in such quantities. There may be 50, 100 tons in total in existence, with some meager amount mined and added to this figure each year. This is an extremely low figure, and nearly all of it is tied up in manufactured goods, like catalytic converters, and other industrial products. There are not tons of Rhodium bars sitting in a warehouse somewhere, it’s a few grams here, a few there, spread out across the globe. Yet it plays such a vital role in our society.

Buy Palladium - I think it’s wonderful that we now have the option to own such an important investment metal. Now, I’ve always assumed that rhodium is too brittle to be made into coin form. How were you able to accomplish this?

E. Cohen - Rhodium does happen to be extremely difficult to work with. Normally, to coin a metal, there is a standard procedure used. A metal ingot is rolled into a sheet, blank discs are punched out, and those disks are then stamped between dies at enormous pressures to produce coins. Its pretty straight forward. You can’t do that with Rhodium. Rhodium is very brittle, so when you try to roll it the metal will flake and crack. If you manage to achieve a sheet somehow, the sheet will fracture when you attempt to punch blanks out of it. If you manage to achieve a blank, it will resist the dies pressing onto it and will probably shatter, and may very well shatter the dies.

This is why no Rhodium bullion coins or bars have ever been created before. Not because no one would want one, but because no one could figure out how to make them. So the demand grew, unsatisfied, year after year. But as they say, where there is a will, there is a way. Naturally, using the normal process for coining wasn’t going to work, so we had to come up with a completely different process. After consulting with many experts, and doing many expensive experiments here at our facility, after a long time we were able to perfect a process to make beautiful, attractive pure Rhodium metal coins – a feat no one has yet been able to achieve. In a few short weeks when our coining dies come back from our die maker they will be commercially available.

Buy Palladium - I can hardly wait! How are the coins going to be shipped, will they be packaged in protective sleeves like other similar products?

E. Cohen - The coins will be shipped in sealed plastic coin slabs, exactly like those used by the common grading services PCGS and NCG. The Rhodium coin will be attractively and securely presented with a label stating its composition as well as a security hologram on the back. Along with each coin will come a certificate of authenticity.

Given the historic nature of these very first Rhodium coins, every effort is being made to present them as tastefully and professionally as possible. Check back at our website where we will be updating with photos of the whole package, the coin, the packaging, everything.

Order Your Rhodium Bullion Coins Today!

Buy Palladium - It sounds like people are going to very satisfied with their orders. Let’s see, rhodium was worth $10,000 an ounce last year and has recently been trading in the $1000-1500 range. What can you tell us about these price fluctuations?

E. Cohen - Something that wasn’t critical to our way of life would never be $10,000 an ounce. (<----This sentence is great!) Rhodium is an important element that cannot be substituted for by other means. The current price depression in my opinion is a direct result of the terrible recession our country is facing, together with so many other nations throughout the world. Industries all over the globe are slowing down, and many are shutting their doors. The consumption of this metal is currently not there, the industrial demand has temporarily ceased, and that is why the price is a tenth of what it was last year. Its many people’s opinion that once this economic recession has lifted, once the factories light back up, once production resumes its normal levels, the natural consumption of Rhodium will bring its price heavily upwards. People will look back at the present as having been an incredible time to buy. Buy Palladium - I totally agree with you there. What can you tell us about the current $89 price tag on one of these coins?

E. Cohen - The price that most people see quoted when they talk about the price of Rhodium is the Kitco spot price. When quoting such a price, care needs to be taken that we understand just what that price represents. That is a quote for a contract of rhodium, or in other words a piece of paper like a stock claiming a certain amount of rhodium. That quote does not represent physical ownership of the metal. Towards the bottom of the page is written that various fabrication charges are not included in the quotations.

If you are of the mind to own a piece of paper stating that you own Rhodium, good luck to you. To me anyone who would pay thousands of dollars for such a paper is out of their mind. There is no Rhodium metal to back up that paper, because no bullion coins or bars of the metal have ever been created. It doesn’t exist.

Per each Cohen Mint Rhodium bullion gram, the fabrication charges are actually not that high, you get a lot for your money. [As mentioned above,] each pure rhodium coin comes in its own sealed plastic slab identical to the ones used by grading services like PCGS and NCG. The coin is perfectly protected inside the holder and features a security hologram. Along with that comes a certificate of authenticity with each purchase, and arrives shipped to your door priority mail free of charge. That’s quite a deal for the first ever rhodium coin.

Buy Palladium - Indeed it is. I'm planning to invest in these coins as soon as possible! Well, that’s about all the time we have. Are there any last comments you’d like to make to our readers?

E. Cohen - Only that Rhodium is an exciting new investment opportunity for people. This is truly a rare historic moment where a completely new product hits the market that no one has ever seen before. I know from talking to people that there are a lot of excited folks out there who can’t wait to get their hands on these unique coins, and we are simply excited to be the ones to bring this out to the public for the first time.

Buy Palladium - And we at Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com are exited as well. I’d like to thank you so much for joining us, Mr. Cohen. We look forward to talking to you more in the future.

E. Cohen - Thank you for having me, its been a pleasure.

* * *

We at Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com would like to extend our sincere thanks to Eitan Cohen for granting us this interview at such an eventful stage for the Cohen Mint. We would also like to thank our readers for your continued support. We'll do our best to continue to provide you with the latest investment information. Don't forget to bookmark us!

Cohen Mint's Rhodium Coins Site (www rhodiumcoin com)
Buy Cohen Mint Palladium Coins
Read about how Cohen Mint creates its coins

Rhodium Supply & Rhodium Demand

2009-06-16T16:11:00.001-04:00

2007 Rhodium Demand Increase

Rhodium demand has been steadily increasing nearly each year in the 2000s. The total demand rhodium in 2007 was 856,000 ounces. Overall demand increased by about 2%.

Auto-Catalyst Rhodium Demand

The demand for rhodium from the auto sector alone was 879,000 in 2007, a 2% increase from 2006. This increase was mostly due to increased automobile production in China, India, and Russia. Keep in mind that in 2007 the auto-industry hadn't yet felt the full shock of our current economic crisis. Demand also grew in North America largely due to the production of medium sized diesel engines.

In Japan demand fell since, due to the rhodium price trading $5-7000 per ounce, car makers used stockpiles of the metal instead of buying more. Europe is producing more and more light duty diesel engines which may use little to no rhodium. Therefore demand in Europe fell as well.

Rhodium Price Chart Through 2007 (2009 Chart Available Below)

Recycle Rhodium

Notice that the auto sector required 879,000 ounces of the metal whereas supply in 2007 was just 856,000 ounces. The supply is met considering that 183,000 oz of rhodium were recycled, mostly from used catalytic converters.

Rhodium Production Glass Sector

Rhodium demand edged up less than 1% in the glass sector. In North America and Europe some glass factories have shut down. But in Asia and India demand increased for flat panel TVs and computer monitors, thus increasing worldwide demand in this sector overall. Demand would have increased more had some manufacturers not substituted platinum, which was trading about 20% the rhodium price, for some production.

Invest in Rhodium Demand

There has never been much of a demand for investment rhodium. Part of the reason is that rhodium is fairly brittle by comparison to gold or even palladium and that stamping into a coin would cause the coin to crack a bit. It was available in rhodium dust, called rhodium sponge, however, this generally wasn't available to the general public. However, rhodium coins are now available as the Cohen Mint will soon be making rhodium bullion coins for investment. If you want to read more about nonexisting rhodium bars and other type of rhodium investing, there are several links in this rhodium article.

2007 Rhodium Supply Increase

The supply Rhodium increased by 3% to 822,000 ounces worldwide. The two main countries producing rhodium, however, showed slight decreased output. In South America less PGM ore was mined therefore overall rhodium production decreased. Russian production fell slightly as well. Since Russia is so valuable a rhodium mine country, shipping interruptions are a main factor that helped push the rhodium price to nearly $7000 in 2007.

Notice how Rhodium Continued to Rise and Dropped in Summer 2008

(Charts courtesy of Kitco. Rhodium information is from Johnson-Matthey in their 2008 "Platinum" report)

Insight to Investing: Palladium Supply and Demand

2009-06-13T19:05:00.009-04:00

Palladium Supply and Demand

Here is a brief account of the demand palladium has seen over the past few years. The information comes duing the econmomic crises, in spring 2008, from Johnson Matthey in its 60-page "Platinum" report. However, the report contains quite a bit of information about palladium. I'm awaiting some 2009 information to get things updated, but for now, this info is through 2008.

Why Study Palladium Demand and Supply?

Looking at the current usuable palladium supply--the above ground reserves, that is--the metal coming out of the ground through mining, and the metal being recycled, we can accurately gadge whether consumer demand is being met or not. If demand does not look like it will be met, palladium investing now would be a good choice. If mines are upping production to invest in palladium wouldn't be wise, all other factors remaining constant. If this is all you want to know for your palladium invest purposes and you don't want to read further, reading the following paragraph will save you time.

The Stillwater Mine in Montana, USA

Is Palladium Demand Being Met by the Palladium Supply?

With all of the scrap palladium--and platinum and rhodium, for that matter--being recycled along with continued mining, palladium demand is currently being met and palladium supply should keep up with demand through 2010, at least. The troubled ecomony means less money for consumers (should I say less available credit?) to purchase new vehicles--the main source of palladium demand.

2007 Palladium Demand was up 4% over 2006 to 6.84 Million Ounces

In 2007 the economy wasn't in the recession we are in now. Therefore, more cars were being build utilizing palladium as an emissions catalyst. Another 1.29 million ounce palladium was demanded from the industrial sector, with electronics manufacturing demanding the bulk of this. Jewelry demand, in part due to the use of recycling scrap palladium in China, dropped 25% over 2006 to 740,000 ounces palladium.

The Stillwater Mine During a Miner's Strike

2007 Palladium Supply up 8% over 2006 to 8.59 Million Ounces

When discussing supply we are not including the palladium gained through recycling, because that's already been in the market. The following figures are from palladium mining (platinum mining and palladium mining are often produce by-products of each other) only. South Africa palladium mining stayed steady at 2.77 million ounces. The same is true of mines in North America, Zimbabwe, and other countries. Russia, however, upped 2007 palladium production through "state sales" to produce an extra 500,000 ounces. This was the reason for the overall 8% increase (NOTE: "steady" means a very small percentage change; Russian figures cannot be expected to be totally accurate. There may be more or less Russia palladium that reported.

Auto-Catalyst - Demand for Palladium

Demand in the auto sector for palladium in catalytic converters rose by nearly 11%. Emerging economies China, Russia, and India amounted for most of this increase. In Japan and US, palladium use increase dues to engineers designing new methods to substitute the cheaper palladium for platinum. Palladium use also increased in Europe with its production of small diesel engines. Palladium is the main metal used in these catalysts, however, worldwide demand was still below 300,000.

Jewelry - Palladium Demand

In Europe and North America palladium demand increased slightly as the high prices of platinum forced price-conscious buyers to find a cheaper alternative. While the price of palladium remains around 20% that of platinum ($256 vs $1255 on June 12, 2009), and since palladium is harder yet lighter than platinum, a piece of jewelry made with palladium is as no disadvantage to that made of platinum. Still, palladium hasn't been totally accepted by the masses and demand is still only increasing slightly in this sector. Look for this to increase as a platinum ring sells only marginally higher than a palladium one. When the price separation become largers, consumers will lean more and more towards palladium. In China a large amount of Pd jewelry was recycled therefore keeping new demand low. In fact, jewelrey demand decreased by 35% to 500,000 ounces (we expect this to reverse however, and remain in the 500,000 to 1 million ounce range).

Electronics - Palladium Demand

The demand for palladium use in electronics has been increasing steadily for most of the 2000s. In 2007 demand was up 7% to 1.29 million ounces. Look for nickel to slowly replace platinum in certain electronics, and look for the new small size equipment to require less palladium in the future. However, for 2007 the electronics market was still booming, thus the increased Pd demand.

Dentistry - Demand for Palladium: Use of Palladium, Uses of Palladium in Dentistry

Dental uses of palladium rose nearly 4% to 635,000 ounce Pd in 2007. Since the gold price was up, the cheaper palladium was chose more often. For future palladium investing, keep in mind that more and more dentists are leaning towards using less heavy metals in teeth fillings. Also, as the metal prices increase, more dental scrap metal is being recycled.

Investing - Demand for Palladium: Palladium ETF, Palladium Coins, Palladium Bullion

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) interest increased, increasing Pd demand to 260,000 from just 50,000 ounces in 2006. Figures are not available for the amount of palladium demanded for use in making palladium bars and coins. Sorry.

Where Goes the Excess Half Million Ounces of Palladium Each Year?

Some of this palladium is sitting in my house, I'll tell you that much. And thousands of ounces of this palladium--worth a whopping US$125 million in June, 2009--are sitting in the portfolios of investors like you and me. Also, some companies buy reserves of metals while the prices are cheap. For example, read how Ford lost $1 billion by stockpiling palladium when it was selling at $1000 per ounce: Ford Decides to Stockpile Palladium Reserves.

Palladium Supply and Demand Charts 2003-2007 (By Johnson Matthey)

Palladia: Palladium Anti-Cancer Drug for Dogs

2009-06-11T05:49:00.005-04:00

Palladia: Palladium Anti-Cancer Drug for Dogs

I thought this was kind of interesting. No, I don't think this will increase demand for palladium coins or palladium bullion, but it's interesting nonetheless.

The FDA, on June 3, 2009 has approved Palladia, an anti-cancer drug--for dogs! The palladium-based product is expected to treat tumors or skin cancer in dogs. Tests are reported to be 60% successful in removing tumors.

The product is apparently formed form a combination of palladium, various B vitamins, lipoic acid, and other substances.

Here's a Youtube video showing how this palladium-formed product can help save your pet.

Palladium vs Gold as an Investment (Fail-Proof Plan Part II)

2009-06-06T19:31:00.006-04:00

Palladium vs Gold as an Investment (Fail Proof Plan to Wealth Part II)

"Fail Proof Plan to Wealth" Review (click to view full article)

This is being written assuming that you've already read Part I and yesterday's article regarding price changes. For those who haven't read those, the main idea is--since palladium follows gold's movements--to sell gold for palladium after gold moves up, and then do the opposite after gold falls and palladium is still up.

Let's take a quick glance at price gold, silver, palladium, platinum, and rhodium price have changed over the past week:

(June 1 - June 2 - June 6)
* Gold - $988 - 984 - 956
* Silver - $15.90 - 16.20 -15.30
* Platinum - $1220 - 1245 - 1277
* Palladium - $240 - 250 - 260
* Rhodium - $1225 - 1300 - 1350

How to Invest Gold vs Palladium

What To Do

If we had the means to buy and sell gold quickly, we would have sold our gold coins on June 1st when it was $988/ounce. We would have also sold our silver coins at $16/oz. Then, we would turn right around and buy palladium coins and platinum coins with that money.

Fast-forward to June 6, we do the opposite. We sell the palladium bullion coins and platinum bullion coins for $260 and $1278 respectively. We then take than money and re-buy our gold bullion coins and silver bullion coins.

How do we predict this? We follow this simple rule:

Palladium, platinum, and silver follow gold

It's not written in stone, but gold usually starts to move first, followed soon after by silver, then by Pt and Pd. As I said, I'm not guaranteeing this will be the case every time as there are far more factors included that can make things work oppositely, however, this is what happens very often.

Is this easy to do? In theory, yes. If you sold a very small amount of Au/Ag or traded it for Pt and Pd coins you would probably have fees involved in addition to the spot price. But, if you sold a very large amount of gold, say 10 ounces, and bought 40 ounces of palladium with that money, then you might be able to pay the transaction fees as well as make money. Let's look at what might have happened had you sold your gold June 1st to buy palladium, then sold that palladium and rebought gold today, June 6.

(Remember, I'm not telling you should or shouldn't do this, I'm just throwing ideas out to get you thinking about your own gold investment strategy. My current strategy is to hold the metal I own.)

What Would Have Happened

June 1: you sold your 10 gold coins on for $988 each (we're selling at spot for simplicity's sake. No transaction fees). You now have $9880 total. Most people at this point go buy a new TV or take someone out for an expensive meal an unhealthy restaurant. Not us. We would have taken our $9880 and bought 40 oz of palladium for $245/oz. We have 40.3 ounces of palladium now and no gold.

June 6: you take your 40.3 ounces of palladium and sell it all for exact spot price, which today is $260. We now have $10,478. We then take our our money and rebuy the same 10 oz gold bar, and today with gold at $956, we have just over $900 left.

We have $900 leftover! We just made $900 virtual dollars by following a simple pattern. Now what do you do with that $900? You get $50 from Uncle Lester with a promise to cut his grass a few times this summer and buy yourself another gold bullion coin.

You now have $0 and 11 oz of gold and all you've done was sell twice and buy twice for a free ounce of gold! Now most readers here don't have $10,000 worth of gold to begin with, they only have about $1000 worth, or about an ounce of gold. So, if you were to do this with one ounce of gold, you would have made $90. What if you had a 100 oz gold bar ($100,000). Then, you would have made $9000.

Why do I tell you this? So we can work together. I give you ideas and I also get ideas from readers' comments and emails. No, I don't have $100,000 either, but if I do, I know what I'd do with it. Isn't that a great feeling? You now have a reason to get some money saved up so we can work together to build our wealth. Did I mention I take donations?? Just kidding, but I do welcome your creative ideas!

Palladium Winning Over Gold Price!

2009-06-06T18:27:00.007-04:00

Palladium Moving Opposite of Gold Price

I just thought I'd make another quick note of the gold market and movements of other precious metals over the past week or so.

Around the time of the announcement of the GM bankruptcy gold and silver bullion really started moving up. Then, platinum and palladium--more industrial than silver or gold--followed. Below are the prices of gold rounds, silver rounds, palladium rounds, platinum rounds, and rhodium rounds. Column 1 shows the June 1st morning price and column 2 shows the June 2nd evening price.

* Gold - $988 - 984 (-1%)
* Silver - $15.90 - 16.20 (+2%)
* Platinum - $1220 - 1245 (+2%)
* Palladium - $240 - 250 (+5%)
* Rhodium - $1225 - 1300 (+5%)

Gold Price, Silver Price, Platinum Price, Palladium Price (June 6, 2009)

Today it's June 6th. Let's look how the methods outlined in Fail-Proof Plan to Create Wealth (Gold & Silver vs Platinum & Palladium) would have worked if we were buying and selling precious metals this week. The image below shoes the June 6th prices.

Do you see how gold rose and silver quickly followed? Do you see how palladium and platinum coins lagged behind gold and silver? Do you think you'd be able to think of an investment strategy to actually make money from this knowledge of price movements?

You're a smart person, smart enough to be reading this and at least trying to think about your future, so that shows more action that 99% of the people are willing to take already. Think about the people you know. What do they do? I'll take a guess. They go to work, get money to buy the necessities and a luxury item or two, get drunk or go up north on the weekends, then go back to work on Monday.

You are different. And we have to work together to find more and more ways to increase our wealth to be able to live the lives we desire. Check back in about 2-3 days for part two of our popular Fail-Proof Plan to Create Wealth article.

Gold Prices & Silver Prices in Wake of GM Bankruptcy (Part II)

2009-06-02T21:39:00.002-04:00

GM Bankruptcy Article Part II: Gold Prices & Silver Prices in Wake of General Motors Bankrupt

This is just a quick update to explain the price movements of the past couple days. Before reading this you might like to read the full-length article "GM Bankruptcy, Gold $1000?" where I predict the future gold prices, silver prices, and also the rhodium prices, palladium prices, and platinum prices. The meat of the discussion about the gold market and price movements. Some quick info about the General Motors bankruptcy is there.

Gold Prices, Silver Prices, Rhodium Prices, Palladium Prices, and Platinum Prices

The following spot prices per ounce are from June 1 (6 am). The second column shows the prices on June 2 at 10 pm:

Gold - $988 - 984 (-1%)
Silver - $15.90 - 16.20 (+2%)
Platinum - $1220 - 1245 (+2%)
Palladium - $240 - 250 (+5%)
Rhodium - $1225 - 1300 (+5%)

Now is any of this significant? In my opinion, no. The recent bullish gold, though, having jumped nearly $50 in a few weeks, is, I think, quite significant though. Silver has jumped nearly 20% in the past month or so. Now I really do think that's something to take notice of! Keep your eyes on platinum too. It's inching up slowly.

Investment Strategies: Metals vs Metals

1. Selling gold and buying silver - If you do this now, personally, I think you'll break even. Gold's high was around $1000, and at that time, silver was $22 max. However, remember how when gold was $1000 in 1988 that silver was $50 per ounce. So, what would you rather hold now, gold or silver? Yeah, I think silver. However, I'm not selling any gold to buy silver. Should I? Maybe. But I'm not.
2. Selling gold or silver and buying palladium, buying platinum, buying rhodium - If you look at charts from last year and compare them to today, you'll see that silver and gold are near their 2008 highs, yet platinum and palladium are around half of what they were in 2008. Rhodium is at 12% of it's 2008 high. Should you sell gold and silver to buy platinum, buy rhodium, or buy palladium? Maybe. It would not be guaranteed to pay off soon, but I certainly don't think gold and silver will move up any further without at least platinum moving upwards.
3. Selling palladium, selling rhodium, selling platinum to buy gold or buy silver - I would think this would be the worst gold investing strategy. However, who knows. I'd be pretty shocked if gold hit $1200 and silver $22 and platinum and palladium didn't move at similar percentages.

Best Choice

Of the above, I would say #2 is by far your best choice if you're trading metal for metal. But why not just do this: take spare cash, buy rhodium, palladium, or platinum, and hold it, without touching your gold? That's what I would do. I've most recently bought palladium and silver and don't have much cash to invest now, but when I do, if prices remain how they are, I'll buy into the industrial metals Pd, Pt, and Rh.

GM Bankruptcy, Gold $1000? (New GM, General Motors Bankrupt, Gold Price)

2009-06-01T03:56:00.016-04:00

Will GM Bankruptcy Affect Gold Price? Gold $1000?

The pending announcement of GM's bankruptcy will definitely affect the price of gold, silver, and the industrial metals palladium, platinum, and rhodium. The question is how much, and in which direction! This ariticle will:

First give a very brief overview of the announcement of the GM bankruptcy.
Then we give a quick overview of how our five favorite precious metals have all risen in the past week or two.
And finally, we'll give a few guesses of what might happen and how this might affect your investment strategy

GM Bankruptcy General Motors Bankrupt Overview

On June 1 General Motors is expected to file for bankruptcy. This move stemming from the GM bankruptcy will give the company an expected $30 billion in taxpayer dollars, a third of which will be lent to the auto-maker from the Canadian government.

GM will close around a dozen factories and again lay off workers. This time as many as 50,000 people will lose their jobs at GM. The United Auto Workers (UAW) auto-workers' union is scheduled to receive $20 billion from now bankrupt GM. In exchange, the new union will then own a 10% interest in the new GM in exchange for what GM owes its past and current workers.

The Obama administration reported that GM would continue to sell only Chevy, GMC Truck, Cadillac, and Buick. Smaller names such as Hummer and Saturn would expected to be scooped up and purchased by investing companies, however, they will likely suspend production.

(Photo on left is the new 2010 GM Chevrolet Camaro which hit car lots late May, 2009)

Gold Rising, Silver Rising, Palladium Rising

How is the General Motors bankrupt going to effect the gold prices and silver prices, and the prices of the industrial metals rhodium prices, palladium prices, and platinum prices? My speculations are in the next section

In the week leading up to the GM and the Obama administration announcing the bankruptcy GM, all precious metals metals have risen:

Gold price - Gold up from around $950 a week ago to darn near $1000 an ounce. It's $988 as I write this. Gold was $920 an ounce on May 19th. GM will announce its bankruptcy at 8 am Eastern time. It's 4:30 now
Silver price - Silver up similarly to gold. Silver was $13.70 an ounce on May 19th, $14.70 a week ago, and darn near $16 June 1.
Palladium price - Palladium up, but hasn't been on a steady increase like gold and silver. It was $220 on the 19th of May, jumped up to $230, dropped back to $220 a week later, and again today is up over $230.
Platinum price - Platinum up. Its chart looks similar to that of gold/silver mixed with that of palladium! On May 18th it was around $1110 per ounce. Then, it $1150 for a week, then dropped again, but unlike palladium, it didn't drop back to its May 19th price, it only dropped to $1125 or so. However, you'll notice above that I said the 18th, not the 19th. On the 19th platinum was up to $1125. Somewhat odd behavior, but both investors as well as industry affects the platinum price more than any other metal so its erratic volatility can be expected. Today: $1220.
Rhodium Price - Rhodium up! Rhodium may move daily in small increments as other precious metals do, however, it isn't quoted as moving until it makes a $50 or more move. Rhodium went up mid-May to around $1300 per ounce, and just a day or two ago it dropped to $1225 bid price. Now, it's back to $1300. Remember, rhodium is very industrial.

How a Bankrupt General Motors Might Affect the Gold Price, Silver Price, Platinum Price, Rhodium Price, Palladium Price

June 1 Precious Metals Prices

Gold - $988
Silver - $15.90
Platinum - $1220
Palladium - $240
Rhodium - $1225

Author's Gold Price Predictions

How do we think these prices will be affected? Personally, I don't think we'll see a huge change. I do think gold will hit $1000 an ounce again, but I don't think it will hit $1025. Then, in less than a month, I think it will drop back to $950. I think silver won't reach $18. I don't even think it will reach $17, actually. I think it will go back down to $13 per ounce or even less. However, I wouldn't be surprised if it were to remain in the $14-15 range for the next few months. I don't think palladium, platinum, and rhodium will move very much all.

There you go. Don't you like how I'm NOT telling what WILL happen? Whenever I read an investment site I see "GM Bankrupt, Gold to Rise" or "Stocks Bullish, Commodities to Drop" and someone's prediction stated as fact on a financial website. If all people follow these ideas, then won't that make the market move in the exact opposite direction?

Here's a fact: 80 or 90 percent of people who invest in stocks and commodities lose money. These guys get "tips of the day" of how to invest. Do I do that? Well, look at my predictions above. I don't think the GM Bankruptcy will affect any metal by more than 10%. That 10% IS enough to make money on your investment, but I'm not a day trader and not going to sell/buy until it moves a good 30-50%. Why? The truth: I'm lazy! It's not that it's risky, it's that you have to really ALL the news and factor in many, MANY things. I don't want to do that, for one. And two, if I do, I'm bound to make a mistake, thus I create my own risk. My final prediction to you is that the current trend will be small movements upwards then small movements down.

Do I hope I'm wrong? Heck yeah! Let's see $2000 gold and $1000 palladium! Let's keep rhodium low because I haven't bought any yet! Silver, hmmm, I don't own much, so let's see that low until I sell some gold to buy silver. Good plan?

Good luck in your investing. I don't think the market will be rocky, but others might, so you might be able to sell your metals for more than spot in the next week or so. If you're not in need of cash, though, I'd keep it. Have a fun week!

The Cohen Mint Rhodium Coin: Rhodium Bullion Coin Pre-Order

2009-05-27T06:24:00.005-04:00

The Cohen Mint Rhodium Coin: Rhodium Bullion Coins Pre-Order

That's right, you can now pre-order your Cohen Mint 1 gram rhodium coin! These rhodium coins are currently able to be ordered and shipping will start early June 2009. Can't wait any longer? Head on over to the Cohen Mint's Rhodium coin site at www rhodiumcoin com and order your rhodium bullion coins today!

Below are drawings released by the Cohen Mint of the new Rhodium Coins. This information just in, so if you're looking for more information please bookmark this article and check back in a day or two and we'll have more information. Oh, and go buy your coins. Oh, and did I mention http://buy-palladium.blogspot.com is accepting donations in rhodium? ;)

Rhodium Bullion Coins, Cohen Mint Interview Update

2009-05-23T01:35:00.007-04:00

Interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint!
When: Late May-Early June 2009
Where: Buy-Palladium.blogspot.com
Discussion Topic: Cohen Mint's New One-Gram Rhodium Coin

February 2009 - A few months ago I leaked the secret that we'll soon be seeing rhodium bars or coins for investment. Many have been waiting to hear where you can buy rhodium and about the release date of the Rhodium Coins that will soon be coming from an unknown manufacturer. Since then the coin rhodium price has been speculated.

May 6, 2009 - A couple weeks ago I mentioned that the method to produce rhodium coins has been finalized and posted a picture of a .999 pure rhodium coin produced by rhodium mint specialist Cohen Mint.

May 11, 2009 - I let know you know that there would be an interview with Eitan Cohen, owner of Cohen Mint, the first ever to produce investment rhodium bullion coins.

May 23, 2009 - Today, I'm updating you once again about the process of rhodium coins, rhodium investment information, and Buy-Palladium's interview with Mr. Cohen of Cohen Mint.

Rhodium Coins

The coins have been fabricated and initial samples (and possibly more) have been produced. They are beautiful, solid, .999 pure rhodium coins. They will be initially available in the 1-gram size, which if you ask me, due to the tricky nature of rhodium's properties, is the only reasonable size factor in which to mint rhodium into coin form.

Rhodium Investing

This is obvious: when the coins become available, buy them! You can choose to invest in paper rhodium, something you're buying that isn't even backed by physical metal. Personally, me and the readers here are usually interested in getting our greedy little hands on the physical metal!

Interview with Eitan Cohen

The interview with Mr. Cohen will be available for read or download in late May, 2009. With any difficulties it will be pushed back to June, but we're working to prevent that.

World's First .999 Rhodium Coin: Interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint

2009-05-11T22:29:00.005-04:00

World's First .999 Rhodium Coin: Interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint

I have some good news to announce. In case if you haven't read the bulletin, you've got some quick catching up to do: read here how we'll soon be seeing a new rhodium coin by The Cohen Mint!

That's right, Eiten Cohen of Cohen Mint and his coinage engineers have finally perfected the formula to mint rhodium--a brittle, hard to work with metal--into 1 gram coins!

How did they do it? How much will the coins cost? How can we get our greedy little hands on some of them?

All of these questions will soon be answered in a personal interview with Eitan Cohen of Cohen Mint right here on buy-palladium.blogspot.com!

Are you excited? C'mon, I am! Sure, talking to Mr. Cohen is great for sure, but getting our hands on some of those rhodium bullion coins is all of our goal!

Mr. Cohen and I will be discussing some of his rare palladium coins. These palladium coins are as small as 1/4 gram. That means you need 125 of them to make an ounce. Rhodium bars are non-existent for investors, but Mr. Cohen will explain how Cohen Mint has finally produced Rhodium 1 gram coins.

Check back in a week or two for the full interview with me and Eitan Cohen right here on buy-palladium.blogspot.com.

UPDATE: The Interview

Rhodium Coins Are Here! Rhodium Bullion

2009-05-06T02:34:00.007-04:00

Rhodium Coins: Rhodium Bullion Coins Are Here!

Click here for interview with owner of Cohen Mint and links to purchase the rhodium coins

That's right, no lie, and not much more waiting. We are now able to buy 100% rhodium coins for rhodium investing purposes. Here's the photo:

The mint is named Cohen and many of their coins are the smallest in the world. They make 1 gram palladium, 1 gram platinum, and even troy grain size coins, which are even smaller than a gram.

I know the owner of the mint personally and have commented before that rhodium bars or rhodium coins will be coming soon. In that post I purposely didn't mention that Cohen was the mint I was referring to because I had somewhat "insider information." However, now, the world may know!

Paraphrasing from Cohen's site, I'll give you some examples about how big of an accomplishment this is

This is the first time any company has ever make investment grade rhodium coin or rhodium bars
Rhodium is extremely hard and brittle and has an extremely high melting temperature
Cohen has worked for months and has finally found the formula to create rhodium investment bullion coins
When dies are made these coins will start being sold in late spring to early summer 2009

When Will Rhodium Bullion Coins Be Available?

As mentioned in the list above, late spring to early summer.

Rhodium Bar Price: How Much Will A Rhodium Coin Cost?

These coins will be 1 gram each. There are appx 31 grams in an ounce, and as I write this rhodium is at $1200/oz. $1200/31 = $38 per 1 gram coin, right? Sure, that's what the metal is worth, but remember, Cohen has gone to great lengths to find the rhodium and through even greater troubles to fabricate dies and find successful methods to mold this extremely hard to work with metal into coins. So, even $80 per coin will likely be too little. Therefore, I'll give you my guesses about initial pricing of the coins:\

Guess #1: $99 per 1 gram coin
Guess #2 $149 per 1 gram coin
Guess #3 $89 per 1 gram coin

Like I said, I don't think the company could profit if they only sold for double the spot price. These will be VERY expensive.

I'll explain more when I have one in-hand!

Click here for interview with owner of Cohen Mint and links to purchase the rhodium coins

The Credit Crisis Visualized Summary

2009-04-25T20:55:00.005-04:00

My friend showed me this video a couple weeks ago and I just have to share it with you all. It shows how giving loans to homeowners with poor credit scores (sub-prime loans), affects the banks, affects investors, affects the economy, and ultimately, affects the prices of precious metals.

The summary is good, but stops a bit abruptly. We do see that since the loans the investors had bought from banks ended up going into default and the investors lost money, however, it doesn't go on to say the rest. So, I'll explain the rest after you watch the video:

The Crisis of Credit Visualized

(This video was provided by Jonathan Jarvis of crisisofcredit.com.)

The Rest Will Affect Precious Metals Palladium Prices

Pretty good, right? He did a great job. I love the sub-prime loan family and when the investors say "No Thanks"! Anyway, the rest of the story is as follows:

Rest of the Story

The investors lost out on the money they were making every month from the loans. They were protected though: if the homeowners defaulted, they were given the deed to the house. But, buy the time the investors got the homes, home prices had already dropped and, since homes were in abundance, investors couldn't resell the houses. Investors lost millions. These "investors" were individuals and more importantly, big companies. Now, if the big company lost millions, wouldn't its stock drop? That's what happened. The other investors--stockholders--also lost millions. When stocks drops it doesn't mean there is a wealth transfer, it means that the money evaporates into thin air. That's right. It's gone. The money supply tightened. When that happens investors in companies, banks, individual investors, companies, employees of failing companies forced to do layoffs...everyone has less money. People spend less. The economy becomes "recessed," and we find ourselves where we are today.

With the Credit Crisis Video and my above summary, you can pretty much tell how we got into the situation we're into. For more information I have a book recommendation. I'm about two-thirds of the way through right now, but he really goes into deal of why everything has happened how it has. I'm excited to get to the end of it because it makes predictions for the future and what must happen. Go buy this book now to have a view of the future on palladium prices and a professional outlook on all your investing needs.

And here's a similar book by the same author. Both of these were printed in 2009.

And two more recommended titles:
The Two Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash [TRILLION DOLLAR MELTDOWN]

Collection of Rhodium Articles

2009-03-29T03:00:00.022-04:00

Where to Buy Rhodium and How to Buy Rhodium

We are growing our articles regarding rhodium coins, rhodium bullion, rhodium bars and pretty much anything dealing with investing in rhodium, expanding on our idea of a "rare precious metals site."

Click here to search articles containing the word rhodium. The articles will all open on the same page lined up under one another. Below are the individual articles about rhodium:

Check back, because there will be many, many more to come. Heck, if you have something to share and moderate writing skills, send us a mail and help build our collection!

(rhodium invest rhodium, new rhodium coin, rhodium spot price, rhodium price, rhodium coins, rhodium bullion)

Palladium Outperforms Gold

2009-03-26T11:42:00.003-04:00

March 25, 2009, 11 am - Over the past few days palladium itself has made advances of over 10% leaving other PGMs in its wake. Currently the spot trading price for the rarer-than-gold metal is $227 per ounce. Gold, on the other hand, has dropped nearly $10 from it's high about a month ago. Silver has remained constant recently while rhodium has dropped $50 down to $1000/oz. Platinum seems strong, but hasn't made the huge jump palladium has.

In the past few days we've seen several things in the news that could lead to more customer interest in the metal. Russia has announced that they may close a mine which produces nearly 50% of the world's palladium and 12% of the platinum. Obama's economic resurrection attempts may fuel more cars to be made which means the demand for palladium goes up. Cold fusion is constantly being researched and a quick check online shows that recent advances have been made.

Is this why palladium has jumped? Have investors hopped on the palladium bandwagon instead of investing gold or silver investing? Time will tell. I've always said I don't think palladium will hit $400 again until silver is over $20, gold is over $1000, and Pt is at least $1500.

Rarity of Palladium & Potential to Rise (recent summary and translated article explanations)

2009-03-21T22:40:00.004-04:00

Unlike the past, I recently accepted a few articles by guest authors. Bless them for helping us build a one-stop informational source regarding our hobby, the metal we love, and our investment vehicle. I've posted a couple articles translated by computer from their native language. I did this because I don't really have as much time as necessary to provide daily market insights in the form of articles on this site. I'll have more time in the future and I guarantee this site will continue to grow (we're getting more viewers now than ever before), however, I will be using the help of others as well to help us reach this goal.

Recent Article Summary

Recently I uploaded a few articles about rare palladium (rare to do this, but I added a few) and how all signs point to it rising in value. There are so many scientific applications palladium that once again, after the economy turns around, within the next 10 years, palladium will surpass gold. The use of palladium is just beginning to come into play in the scientific world. Hydrogen cells, solar power, automobiles, diesel engines, jewelry (it's overtaking platinum because it's cheaper, lighter, and a bit harder than platinum), and many other applications.

In fact, palladium hardness is harder than gold, silver, and platinum. It has a 4.5 mohs rating where gold and silver are 2.5 and platinum is in the low 4s. Rhodium hardness, by the way, is 6, making it a good choice to coat white gold, silver, an other jewelry. Palladium jewelry, such as a palladium necklace or palladium ring will be harder than a platinum ring or gold ring, but a very thing coating of rhodium would be a good idea (as a metal you won't see rhodium cheap, rhodium is usually more than gold and rhodium volatile, but in such a thin coat it costs next to nothing.

Before I get off on a tangent, I just wanted to say that palladium investment is seen by others, as well as me, and a substantial investment vehicle in the future. This post was just meant to summarize that and pound into you that the time to buy is now. If you don't believe me, and don't want your palladium, I'll take it! :)

Thanks for your continued support!

Future Use of Palladium in Solar Cells, etc (guest author)

2009-03-21T22:05:00.003-04:00

This article has been translated from its original language, provided by a guest author as I can't keep up the site alone. Other than than it's not edited or modified. It's hard to read, but maybe I'll fix it up one of these days. I apologize for this, however, without these guest authors' help, I wouldn't have much time to update the site.

We call palladium an amazing metal palladium. Therefore, palladium (Pd) metal has actually a very romantic story, the reason I mentioned to him that he is separated agree more importantly, a number of known physical laws, literally. I'm a crackpot theorist trying to overthrow modern science. ME palladium, to ignore the laws of physics to explain why some.

First, the laws of physics are the oldest known palladium is Isaac Newton's law of gravitation. Palladium, Russia has accumulated a large strategic reserve since the Soviet era. They have sold 90 of the stockpile since the late seventies. In 2000, rumors, the Russian government to cease the sale, a source of global market panic of 1100 drove the price of an ounce of dollars. In the confusion,)and GM Ford bulk palladium at the top right of the (F. Palladium stockpile as soon as possible, to resume the export of Russia. Palladium supply is a huge surplus in world markets , collapsing the price of a rush, and Ford, as a result are forced to write down $ 1B to losses. price bottom in 2003 to 142 dollars. laws of economic gravity in the supply and demand: what When it exceeds the supply or prices are falling.

This year, about the stockpiles of Russia 2000000 per ounce to sell, and kept on the mine production. The world's annual mine production was 7000000 oz. 7000000 ounces, so the only demand, total supply was oz 9000000. In other words, in the context of a huge surplus, the law of gravity, it must continue to decline in the price. , 2003 was the conclusion . In addition to his prediction was reservedly palladium prices fell to a sustained pessimistic massive oversupply conditions, please continue.

However, palladium, ignoring gravity, under 142 U.S. dollars in 2003, only 400 against the dollar pushed up, and proved wrong all the other metal. Was? It was a real shock, ignoring the gravitational ME WHY to study it, I found many good reasons why. One of the reasons is to chart the futures, open interest has increased dramatically palladium is shown from the mid 2003's. This is the future, some saw first hand the strong possibility of some very large, storing all the excess palladium. In these speculators. They firmly believe that the future of palladium, which is driving the price of the last few years. One of the potential is used to increase demand for palladium jewelry such as China. However, it is more than that. I also now realize the supply is not infinite reserves of Russia. It will last. In palladium and then displays the structural deficit.

Many new applications of palladium is actually related to the provocation by the laws of physics. This is solid metal, to absorb hydrogen gas, a lot of. Of hydrogen in palladium-900 can absorb up to double their volume. Also, in the form to absorb excess neutrons in the nuclei of deuterium, heavy hydrogen. Absorption of deuterium is very palladium, it is important to talk later.

Palladium is used in hydrogen purification. Fuel cells for both platinum and palladium, can be used as a catalyst in the development of the red hot industries. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are driven on the road in America, NY, hydrogen refueling station in Shanghai. Commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be mass market next year. The small fuel cell, is called the direct methanol fuel cell [DMFC], is designed for portable electronic devices, cell phones, digital cameras and laptops, providing a long lasting battery power very As from next year and move to mass market fuel cell device to a consumer. So far no need to charge the phone overnight and would be a big hit? Many of today please see the Web site for fuel cells and fuel cells more exciting news, and all news related to PGM metals.

As catalysts in fuel cells for all the points you need to consume PGM metals. To drive a high level like crazy PGM metal prices in the long term is definitely North American Palladium (PAL) shares are required to help sales. As it happens, the mid-2003, SWC was a very important point for palladium. Palladium price has rebounded strongly in the middle of the bottom, gravity challenge. Suddenly the hands of powerful investors, palladium in 2003, will be open to the boom of interest in the futures market. Norilsk, Russia, and the blessing of President George W. Bush, the palladium market in the world and controls more than 50%, 54% stake in SWC's, former White House officials, Bush's chief of staff, elected Board of Directors of the SWC. The next year, President is starting to pitch to the nation's hydrogen economy, he tried to get the oil weaned from dependence on Middle East to America. r the

In 2003, there is another coincidence, the handful of people, probably, except for the strong hand of palladium, the attention. Cold Fusion is a breakthrough in an experiment, it was discovered in 1989 and quickly dismissed that report as a hoax and accused of being in the field of science. Re-test repeatability of a new Cold Fusion has added fire to a new interest in science. Research activities are soaring.

The fairy tale that many metals, we complete the last act of the most shocking physical palladium defying the ultimate in modern quantum mechanics, nuclear physics. Textbooks of physics, the positively charged deuterons fusion with each other to expel the two in one of two deuterons fuse helium nuclei, releasing energy that a lot, at room temperature, it could not happen Deuterons Pack tightly to you and to give a very high temperature is needed to break the nuclear, fast, to fuse together with other barriers to Coulumb. At room temperature and how it may be?

However, proof of palladium, the scientists ignored the physics is known wrong. Volume absorb 900 times its own value. When you drive the current, heavily packed deuterium atoms in the crystal lattice of palladium and the palladium catalyst, we were able to release an enormous amount of energy to fuse. Repeat the experiment, conducted by research groups around the world in hundreds of U.S. Navy and other researchers. Excessive heat and energy, helium, and the neutron emission, several experiments were detected by the detection instrument is a proven success failure blew a huge release of energy. Also, YouTube has the effect of the cold fusion of amazing videos.

Repeated the experiment in science companies, challenge the theory, to work out some new physics must have been recognized as a true scientific theory is to explain the experiment needs to scratch one's head . Beginning in2007, at a meeting of the American Institute of Physics Cold Fusion was a special session. They are once again in 2008 in March session aims to Cold Fusion. Cold Fusion footstand and to the increasing in the mainstream is scientifically accepted as a legitimate social science.

For cold fusion, you must use the relevant palladium. Cold fusion successful commercial products soon, D2Fusion, or private companies that are claimed by the Russian scholar, water, and virtually inexhaustible supply of energy to provide the human, fully Peak Oil to overcome the crisis. However, it will drive the price of palladium to a high level. Cold fusion device housing a machine the size of washing machines, including a tenth ounces of palladium, about the family life, and provides an overall need for energy, electricity, natural gas to pay the heating and winter again. What's going to pay for it? I, the palladium of the device, including the tenth ounce $ 100K will pay in the morning. A thousand times the price of palladium, gold prices, the current numbers.

You are very happy to be hoarding some palladium when government spending anywhere Solar panels are expensive to sell to eliminate subsidies and reduce the sunlight. If alternative energy is a real gem, SWC and PAL was chasing a fly them may not see the flyer. Honestly, our entire solar energy sector, if we are to provide enough energy to obsolete cold fusion energy is virtually inexhaustible.

We will be interested in if you are really an alternative, the future winner of the best small and certainly SWC and PAL, the development of fuel cell technology, heard about cold fusion. I have dirt in them are recommended to buy cheap shares. I often, in the year 2007 Southern Copper Corp. (PCU) in the SWC in 2003 and likes to compare. PCU finally in 2003 was a surplus stock was unchanged eight years as a cow, was poised to go on an incredible rally in copper PCU was the best time to go.

We also contacted members of Congress and Senate, the President is required. The Urge to fund and support research on nuclear fusion at room temperature, the faster adaptation of the hydrogen economy, weaner our fossil fuel dependent. Cold Fusion is the last we will win the best alternative energy source to replace fossil fuel-rich exhaust for now will save us from peak oil and reduce. For the future of mankind, for the benefit of their own company and of course the SWC / PAL investment, Cold Fusion has better hope that the dreams!

Palladium is not really human, to live in a magical romantic metal. Implicit in our people and reduce air pollution in the car's catalytic converter, it works to clean our water and save the environment at the water treatment plants, pollution free, energy efficient You can drive a hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to provide a fuel cell; The addition of alternative energy sources to fossil fuels are to provide a cold fusion energy. The human race is the best gift of nature. We need to cherish it.

Palladium is a very special metal, so I finally facts about the metal, 18 years after the year 1989 I learned that first heard about cold fusion. I'm American, my country is the world's best for the future and we are grateful for the prosperity and hope.

Positive Predictions for Palladium (guest author)

2009-03-20T12:56:00.006-04:00

This article has been translated by computer from its original language. Since the translation I have not edited or modified it in anyway. I know it's hard to read, but that's what's fun about it!

* * *

With lower prices of palladium (platinum and even a bit low), most of the miners are making a very little profit on mining. If, in fact, than the spot price, Please look at the cost of production of palladium mining companies. Thats why many of the miners that the PGM loss record:

http://www.platinum.matthey.com/media_room/union_threatens_strikes_over_south_african_mine_job_cuts_18998415.html

Trickle-down power supply when you start decreasing, prices will rise. Interests of the workers who mine and does not significantly reduce the final production, is expensive to shut down the mines, equipment is idle for a short sitting to their right They do not realize is not a loss in production terms.

People as a gemstone in order to achieve the demand of palladium is really (although slowly), if not platinum and how compared to the pickup in North America and in Asia is better in many other less equal (the less dense that the jewelry is a good example). Because it was difficult to cast, and before the palladium jewelry is popular in the new technology eliminate this problem was. Some of the jewelry palladium mining methods have been used only for the current account must be changed in the future.

Since then, there are so many cases of this new techonology, but the benefits are often times, one of palladium and platinum can be used instead of the cheap, 5 ounces and ounces as well as palladium catalyst in diesel automobile manufacturers Because they are so in exchange for 5 platinum, expand the savings ratio is 1:1:

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/palladium-stands-to-gain-from-growing-pgm-interchangeability-stillwater-ceo-2009-03-17

Grant is temporarily down demand and slow the car market (excluding China), not from 5 (probably sooner) the number of years, maybe you should double-palladium (minimum $ 400 oz.) I have gold, silver and platinum, silver Yes 20 dollars could be hit again soon, to be honest it has a lower risk than palladium is not, I immediately, palladium is 3 times that, in the past few years do not see any chance of some three times. Silver is back might have to go to, palladium below 180 dollars, not spend the last 5-6 years a lot of time. Near the high of Friday, I think when you are pretty sure $ 2000, palladium is at least $ 500.

People to realize the sum of the platinum and palladium is greater than other jewelry, the industry is five times the cost is more expensive than palladium. Do you think of any?

If you are really me you (and this "education") to learn about the palladium market in general recommended to read:

http://www.platinum.matthey.com/uplo...nt/pdint08.pdf

Prices Rising Again, Folks!

2009-03-19T14:58:00.004-04:00

I always monitor the dollar vs the Japanese yen because I have some yen and I'm waiting for it to rise vs the dollar so I can take some out. Just the other day, maybe two days ago, I needed money, so I took out some yen. It was 98 yen to the dollar. Then, just two days later, it's 94 yen to the dollar. I took out about $1000, so I could have made $40 more!

And here is the spot price chart from the Bullion Desk. Gold was tinkering with going under $900, but as you can see it's near $960 as I write this. Silver is back in the mid-$13s and was actually $12.80 yesterday. Palladium jumped up about 5% or so to back over $200. Platinum made the biggest move: it jumped over $50 per ounce! Here's the chart. Just thought I'd share it so you're aware that there might be some movements again!

Palladium Density, Coin Dimensions

2009-03-18T19:32:00.005-04:00

I love collecting palladium to invest for the future. I have some palladium storage for Suisse bars but have had some palladium Maple Leaves in my house that I'd been meaning to put in a safe place. Finally today, I moved them. It's not safe to keep them on my dresser or shelf, even if it's only a few ounces worth. I do like looking at the coins. The palladium coins are still relatively new so I like handling them. I have a few silver coins at home too. They're quite a bit bigger than the palladium 1 oz coins.

While putting my coins in storage I pulled out a Platinum Eagle because I haven't handled one for a long time. To my surprise the platinum is much, much thinner than the palladium. I knew it was a denser metal, but I didn't know by how much! So, I thought we could explore the different sizes of some popular 1 oz coins made out of differnet metals.

Gold Eagle Coin and Canada Gold Maple Leaf 1 oz

The American Gold Eagle has a diameter of 32.7mm and is 2.87mm thick. Gold is very dense, or heavy, at 19.3 g/cm⁻³. (Remember, this has nothing to do with the softness of the metal.) The Canadian Gold Maple Leafs are about the same size and thickness.
Palladium Maple Leaf Thickness 1 oz

Now Palladium is very light compared to gold. Palladium is only 12.023 g/cm⁻³. So, to make up an ounce, the Canada mint made our Maple Leaf Coins about 33mm diameter by 3.58mm thick.

American Eagle Platinum 1 oz

Now this is what's interesting. The platinum coin is the thinnest of all. It's the most dense precious metal, even heavier than gold! My American Eagle coin is still 32.7mm in diameter, just like the gold, however, it is only 3.39mm thick. Compared to gold it might look similar and kind of hard to tell that the platinum is thinner and therefore heavier. The density of platinum is 21.45 g·cm⁻³. This is amazingly high. Most people are amazed if they every hold an oz of gold, surprised that something so small could be so heavy. Imagine their shock when they hold some platinum!

American Eagle Silver Coins

Silver has a density of just 10.49 g/cm⁻³. This is about half of gold and platinum, therefore the coins are much bigger, just over 40mm diameter. And, they are a big thicker as well, at almost 3mm thick. Plus silver is still cheap. A 1 oz coin like this would cost you under $20 and would be a good start to investing in precious metals
Rhodium Coins: How Big Would a Rhodium Coin Be?

Remember, there is no country minting Rhodium coins. There are companies who make them, but none that are popular. The reason they don't do a rhodium mint is because it's a very brittle metal. A 1 gram rhodium coin will be coming though! For more info click on the "rhodium" label below, or just click here and all of our rhodium posts will show up.

Just for fun, although a 1 oz rhodium coin won't be made, if one were to be made, how big would it be? Well, rhodium has a density of 12.41 g/cm⁻³, which is nearly identical to palladium. So, we can assume that the rhodium coin size would be about the same as the Palladium Maple Leaf.

Does Scrap Gold have Any Value? Tips on How to Spin Scrap Into Cash

2009-03-12T18:17:00.011-04:00

(This article was provided by E.J., a guest author)

Does Scrap Gold Have Any Value? Tips on How to Spin Scrap Into Cash

Scrap gold does indeed have value. After you have gathered together all of your various pieces of junk gold (think gold chains, rings with or without stones, earrings missing a mate, gold fillings from teeth etc.) you can take them to a gold dealer to have them weighed and appraised. The dealer himself may be interested in purchasing your scrap but more than likely, you will receive more money if you sell your gold to a gold buyer online or at an auction. Scrap gold can bring in a nice profit depending on caret weight (10k, 14k, 18k, 22k or 24k) and the purity of the gold. Some gold is even mixed with platinum which makes the value greater. But there are gold jewelry pieces that are mixed with other metals which may bring down the value quite a bit.

Sort out your gold pieces by caret weight and then have them weighed to convert ounces to grams. Gold is purchased according to gram weight, so that is an important step. If you need cash quickly, you will probably benefit from selling it directly to a dealer or pawn broker. But if the price seems much too low, wait to sell it at another venue. There are buyers who will try to take advantage of you. Don't be desperate when selling your gold. Also, you may get a greater price by advertising online or locally that you have jewelry for sale rather than scrap for sale. If you have a ring with a nice stone, for instance, you might want to sell it as a "beautiful gold ring" rather than as "scrap" or "junk" gold.

No matter what your reason is for selling your spare gold pieces, you can definitely make money by selling it. Whether or not you see an actual profit...that is, cash over and above the original price of the jewelry will depend on how quickly you wish to sell and what the market will bear at that particular time. The longer you can hold off selling, the better your chances are to see a real profit.

Use for Platinum & Palladium: Catalytic Converter Close up Picture

2009-03-06T00:58:00.009-05:00

We know a use for palladium is in catalytic converters in cars. Platinum and rhodium are present also. But when looking for catalytic converter picture, I always come up with something...ordinary. Example:

Now sure, that's a good sketch of how palladium, platinum, and rhodium catalytic converters work, but we want to hear and see more of the precious metals! The best photo I found of the honeycomb has been this:

Then just today, I found an even better closeup:

However, today I was only looking for that closeup for one reason: because I have my own palladium catalytic converter pieces in hand! It's a funny story, actually. I stopped to visit my dad and ended up doing some cleaning for him. I decided it was time to empty out the shop vac and guess what I found? Pieces of his old catalytic converter that he tore out. I took a closeup shot of it

You can see that the honeycomb walls are paper-thin. You don't see anything resembling palladium at all, let alone any metals. These are really brittle and will shatter to dust if you apply any pressure. And they are really lightweight too. Have you ever bought stonewashed jeans and found the stone in the pocket? That's what these remind me of, only cooler!

That's all for this, I just thought I'd post a few pictures to show the use for palladium that we've all been buying!

(2001) Ford Decides to Stockpile Palladium Reserves

2009-03-02T04:07:00.007-05:00

(2001) Ford Decides to Stockpile Palladium Reserves

I thought this was kind of interesting. Ford, in 2001, fearing that the current $1000/oz palladium price would rise more, decided to increase palladium stockpiles and use huge amounts of money to buy palladium reserves.

= Ford Loved Russian Palladium ;)

The 90s was a decade of profit for Ford. But in 2001 they knew Palladium reserves could be cut off at any time (top palladium production was Russia) so Ford, knowing they couldn't produce cars during a palladium shortage, purchased a large enough palladium stockpile to report losing $1 billion after the palladium price dropped 75% back to normal levels.

What's also interesting is that Ford doesn't demand palladium only for its catalytic converters: they can substitute other metals (namely using more platinum and rhodium) and in 2001 actually produced catalytic converters with no palladium! (Related: Use for Palladium article.)

And, 8 years later, as we all know, Ford is is much worse trouble than just losing a measly billion dollars! And, due to the economic woes in 2009, people still aren't buying as many cars, so the car companies don't need as much palladium. What does that tell us? Buy while it's cheap! (See our Free Plan to Create Wealth with Palladium article.)

Rhodium Coins Coming Soon!

2009-02-19T13:10:00.017-05:00

Rhodium Price and Rhodium Volatility

This blog is dedicated mainly to palladium, however, you could say it's a "volatile precious metals site." The more volatile the metal, the less popular it is. In order of volatility, and popularity, are these metals: Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, and then, rhodium.

Of the preceding when dealing with price, rhodium bullion is generally the most expensive. As I write this it's exactly $1050 an ounce. It was $1100 a couple days ago. The platinum price is right around there too, but, when rhodium moves, it moves! It never moves less than $50 at a time. It was $750 in December. When Au climbed from $850 to $1000 the price Rhodium price jumped from $750 to $1100.

Rhodium Coin and Rhodium Bars

What does a rhodium coin look like? Well, I don't know, they've never been made. Rhodium bars don't yet exist, nor to rhodium coins. Wouldn't it be nice to buy a 1 oz rhodium coin or 1 oz rhodium bar? I thought so too, but you can't. The only way you can buy it is in its raw, flake form, called rhodium sponge (rhodium article with pictures). If you were to buy rhodium 1 ounce, it would likely be in a plastic container, similar to how they sell Au flake, but it there would be some small particles and some broken pieces.

Rhodium Pieces

Au Flake in Vials (C481025A-77-t.on-C23-94)

Small Rhodium Mint

However, today I talked to a guy who owns a small mint, and his company is working to make rhodium coins! Rhodium one ounce coins would be ideal, and while possible, he said a one gram rhodium coin is more likely. The coins will be rhodium bullion coins, though, and they will not have much numismatic value, i.e., they'll be very similar to rhodium bars, which also don't exist.

Rhodium Bullion Coins Availability

He assured me that the invest rhodium coins will be ready for sale within a few months! He also said that by then the spot rhodium price might be over $2000 (It's around $1000 today). However, the buy rhodium online is the price of only a contract that you own the metal. To actually take delivery of the metal you must pay fabrication charges since for a rhodium mint is very difficult. And, these charges will be 170% of the spot price rhodium invest. Ouch! I hear that there are 1 oz rhodium coins and rhodium bars available made by other, smaller mints, but as of now I have no reliable information. I've sent out a couple emails and am waiting for a response!

Rhodium: Physical Properties

The owner of the mint told me that physical rhodium isn't as brittle as people say it is. Sure, it will break if you take a 1 ounce rhodium piece between two pair of pliers and bend, but it won't break if you drop in from a couple inches on a wooden table. So, it can be made into 99.99% pure rhodium bullion, but it just costs more than the other metals. (This reason, BTW, is likely why it's so hard to find palladium near spot prices.) So, the rhodium bullion coins will be available, but shipped within plastic cases to keep those who are less careful from breaking them

What Will the Rhodium Bullion Coin Look Like?

Like I said, it's not a government making the coin, it's a small melter--a small company--and it will have the company name on it. They will be 1 gram, not one ounce. That's disappointing, but good in a way, as we can only spend a little money to own rhodium bullion. One gram is really tiny. They'll be smaller than a dime by far. And, while I do know the name of the company and what the coins will likely look like, as I've seen their other coins, as of now, until they're out, I can't leak that information. Sorry guys!

Bullion Rhodium Price

If these coins were available today, dividing the spot price of an ounce ($1050) by 31.1 (31.1g=1 oz), we get around $33/gram. However, remember I said we have to pay 170% melter's fee? (It's not that they're greedy, it's actually that they had to put a lot of work into melting rhodium bullion down.) So, 1.7 x $33 = $56. So, for now, $56 per tiny 1 gram coin. If you buy 31 of these, you'll have an ounce, and it will cost you $1700. If rhodium doubles by then, you pay double that.

Let's hope I have enough spare cash to get some of these when they're out! I'll let you know! Thanks for looking!

Quarter Gram Palladium. How Cute!

2009-02-19T12:30:00.007-05:00

Here it is folks, the smallest coin ever. A 1/4 gram palladium coin!

I say this before, but I never really thought how ridiculous it is until now. I found it on Ebay and the price is $10. What a rip off! Here are some facts

It takes 124 of these coins to make 1 ounce palladium
It's worth $1.70
If palladium goes to $1000, this coin will be still be worth under $10
A sheet of paper is around 4 grams
This palladium coin would stick to your skin and you'd easily lose it
It's a quarter inch in diameter

Well, the coins are cute, but that's about it. I guess they're good for experimenting, too see how much they will scratch, when they will melt, etc.

Fail-Proof Plan to Create Wealth with Palladium (Pt, and Ag)

2009-02-18T13:40:00.008-05:00

Who am I to make up a fool-proof plan? Well, I haven't gotten rich off of buying and selling precious metals. However, I have made money! Remember last year when we had $1000 Ag, $2000 Pt, $20 Ag, and $600 palladium bar? Well, I sold off some gold and platinum and used the money for, well...food, travel, etc. I guess I'm not a real investor if I spend the money now am I!

But, I did use some of the money to buy Ag and palladium. I wanted to buy palladium coins when it was around $200/oz and the Ag was around $10, and I got pretty close. Granted, I paid a large coin palladium premium (and a small silver premium too).

Fool-Proof Plan for Investing Palladium and Other PGMs

Here's my fool-proof plan. No, I don't guarantee it, but I am following this get-rich plan myself. I read a lot about the precious metals market. There's a lot about Ag and even some about silver. There's very little about platinum and only will you find rhodium or palladium information on small Internet sites like this one. Thus, I created this (mainly) palladium investing site.

Also, let me note, this is my plan. I haven't read this anywhere, it's just something I've noticed. This will work if just one factor holds:

Palladium, platinum, and Ag follow gold.

You see, Au makes its move first, maybe 10% or so from $800 to around $900. That's a big jump. Then silver will follow and jump from $9-12, for a 25% jump. Platinum moves slowly and is pretty volatile, but for now all it has done is stays ahead of gold because that's where platinum investors think it should be. Palladium sits tight where it was.

Our Current Situation

The move I just mentioned in the previous paragraph was happening at the end of 2008. Now, in 2009, we've seen this: Au jump from $900 to $970, for nearly a 10% jump. Ag followed suit and went from $12-14, for a nearly 20% increase. Platinum? Just as suggested, it's just moving as much to stay ahead of Au (gold surpass platinum only for a day or two last year). And Palladium? Well, it moved over all a good 15-20% from $180-$200, but no one has really noticed it yet.

The Future and My Prediction

Price of gold will peak around $1050 or so for another 10% increase. Platinum and silver increase, on the other hand, might see up to a 75% jump! So, if silver doubles even, it wouldn't be too crazy, because it would be at $28. I think it will stop around $20 though, and I think platinum will stop around $1800 max. And finally, what about palladium? Invest now is what I say. Palladium has barely moved, and has proven to be quite volatile. I think palladium rise another 100% to at least $450, probably more. This'll happen after silver and platinum have moved.

The Palladium Plan

Do you kind of get the picture to get rich with rare palladium? If not, keep reading, I'll explain in a second.

First of all, if you don't have a good $100,000 in it it's not going to work as quickly as you'd like. You could start with $1000 and still make money, but would take years. So, let's pretend that we all have $100,000. (I don't have this much myself, but when I get it I plan to follow this plan).

So, I'm sure you've seen by now that you simply wait for Au to rise, then you buy silver or platinum. But, at that point the silver and platinum price has already risen a certain percent, say 20% by the time you get your hands on some. So, what to do? The title of this blog: you buy palladium! (if you can't find palladium, read this: I Can't Find Palladium! Where to Buy Palladium Coins?).

If you read the post that I linked too you'll know that many places require to spend at least $1000 palladium or else buy 10 oz palladium or so. That's good, right? If you buy $1000 worth of $200 palladium then you'll have 5 oz. If that goes up to $600/oz then you can sell it, and you'll have made $3000 on your $1000 investment, for a profit of $2000.

Say you bought $100,000 of palladium. It doubles or triples, then you sell it when it's worth $250,000, just to be safe. How long can you live on $150,000? Well, for now, I won't be traveling as much as I plan to in a year or two, so that money would last me a couple years. Life without a job traveling the world just for buying 500 palladium coins! And by the way, you'd still have you initial $100,000!

Now folks, how you get that initial $100,000 is up to you. And if you blow the money, that's up to you too. I wouldn't spend it all on travel as I mentioned, although it would be tempting.

After You Make Money Investing Palladium Bars

So, you had your fun. You have $250,000 in your bank account and you're smart enough to have kept your job, or else you quit for a while, spent $10,000 over the next 3 months, then got a part-time job making $15,000 a year. That's fine, as long as you're not dipping too much into your $250,000. The key is to reinvest what you made. But, you can't buy palladium or any other metal that got you here, it's too expensive! So, what can you buy? There are several safe investments:

Stock market - if PGMs are this high, stocks will be down. Buy some that you know will go up. I would buy shares of the S&P 500 as that would likely be half of what it was before the precious metals take-off.
Lend your money - you can lend it to an individual secured by their home. You can lend it to the government as a bond. Lend it to the bank in a CD. The lower the percentage, the safer. Shoot for 10% at least, though.
Buy a business, or start one, or go in with someone.
Have fun selling single palladium coins on Ebay, now worth $600, for $800 each. They'll sell if they aren't right at the top yet!
Buy a house. Fix it up with some of your money and sell it

And those are just suggestions. The goal is to increase that $250k, because you're not done yet. You can't live in $250k the rest of your life. So, you need to increase that. And, if Au and it's followers--silver, platinum, then palladium--drop again, buy some and do it again! Oh, and if you find some rhodium let me know. I'd like to buy some with you. Rhodium is $1000/oz, and last year was $10,000!

"Free" Palladium Coin Story

2009-02-18T13:29:00.012-05:00

I was reading a site about precious metals the other day and a guy said he got a free palladium coin. That can't be, you say! That's what I said. How can you get it for free? I'll take all I can get for free! So, I read further.

Come to find out, the author said he was looking for some silver coins. He went to local coin shops and everything and they had only a few each. Silver was worth about $12/oz at the time, and they were charging anywhere from $15-20. So, he bought if the premiums were low enough, but mostly, he didn't want to waste his money. But, he knew he wanted coins, and about 20-30 of them.

So, he found someone on ebay who was selling a mixture. There were 10 silver coins, and they were mostly Eagles of different years, but some had pictures of Santa Claus or baseball players on them. They weren't in great condition and the price was only around $150 after shipping so he went for it. There, he had 10 more silver coins along with the few he bought locally. I'm guessing, but we'll say he got his 20 silver coins total.

However, when the Ebay shipment came he found he was shorted an ounce of silver! There were only 9 silver coins. To his astonishment, there was a Canadian Maple Leaf Palladium in there! It's smaller, but a bit thinker, so I guess the seller just assumed it was an oz of silver. Lucky!

Now the guy wasn't up on palladium. He know what it was, but didn't know the exact price. He was actually hoping $500 or so. He checked and saw it was only worth $200, but still, I don't think he's complaining! Now, a good person would probably contact the seller and give him his coin back...but I wouldn't! :)

Anyway, that's a wishful story, huh? I hope I'm someday that lucky. Just thought I'd share it!

Palladium Prices Up, PGMs Edging Higher

2009-02-18T13:29:00.011-05:00

We may see prices this year look similar to last! Today Au is at $975/oz and platinum is right around $1100, keeping just ahead of gold. Ag is making its move and is up to $14/oz. Palladium, as we know, is the slowest mover and will follow after the others have moved closer to their peaks. Palladium is right now at $222.

But remember, Au didn't drop too much from its $1000 high of last spring. Ag and platinum were approximately cut in half. Remember though, palladium fell by two-thirds, from around $600/oz to under $200/oz. It's the most volatile for sure.

No one knows where Au will stop, but if it moves up say, $5/day, and ends up around $1025/oz, I'm sure we'll see at least $1600 platinum and $18/Ag. Palladium would probably only reach $400. But, if Ag did hit an all time high of say $1050/oz, then we'd probably see $2000 platinum, $22 Ag, and $600 palladium.

When the price dips I have to sell. I need money right now as I'm investing in real estate as well. Real estate isn't really comparable to the precious metals market in volatility, but if you work hard you can make money in it faster than you can in the palladium/gold/platinum market.

Where to Buy Palladium Bars and Palladium Coins

2009-02-16T19:01:00.011-05:00

Where to Buy Palladium Bars and Palladium Coins

I'm sorry to say that palladium, rare in nature, is not a popular vehicle in which to invest. Palladium is mostly used by the auto industry and other industrial palladium facilities. The prices are determined mainly by these, not by investors. However, we're lucky that we can buy palladium coins and palladium bars, thanks to the Canadian and Chinese government mints. Palladium coins are also minted in Russia, the Russian ballerina palladium.

Palladium Maple Leaf, Canada

Palladium Panda Coin, China
Ballerina Palladium, Russia

If a US bill passes though the senate, we'll have a US St. Gaudens palladium coin! See related article: Palladium St. Gaudens coin.

St. Gaudens Palladium, USA

Those are what we have in palladium coins from our governments. Invest in palladium is possible though Pamp Swiss or Stillwater. They both make palladium bullion in the form of palladium bars. The bars palladium are usually 1 oz, but Pamp makes 10 oz bars too. Stillwater Palladium makes palladium bullions coins as well. Let's look at all of these.

Pamp Suisse 1 oz bar, Switzerland

Stillwater Palladium Coin, USA
Stillwater Bar Palladium, USA

Where Can I Buy Palladium Online?

These are the sites I've used. I'll simply post the links. Keep in mind that some have a $1000 minimum, so for right now you'd have to buy 4-5 ounces of palladium to meet that requirement. Some have a 10 oz minimum. All mark up the spot price 10-20%.

Austin Coin Collecting Society. Very polite on the phone. Even returned my phone call as I left a message! http://acoins.com/palladium.html

BASF Industrial Sales. I haven't dealt with them. http://www.catalysts.basf.com/apps/eibprices/mp/

Monex. Very popular, and I think it's the $1000 minimum. Decently polite, but very busy and they will rush you if they are too busy. Often they are sold out when metals are likely to rise. Many think they are hoarding it until it goes up, so they can sell for more money. http://www.monex.com/index.html

Northwest Territorial Mint. They have a nice palladium selection, though they might be sold out. http://bullion.nwtmint.com/palladium.php

Kitco. www.kitco.com

Ebay. Ebay has 100s of people selling anywhere from single 1 oz palladium coins to a dozen 10 oz palladium bars at a time. Markup over spot will like be 50-100% over spot. Paying 50% should be expected, actually, and a 1 oz palladium coin worth $220 spot would be a deal on Ebay at $300. www.ebay.com

Where to Buy Palladium Locally?

Here's a little trick. We all have pawn shops around town and throughout our state. I know you have the Internet, so you have the phone numbers of all those places. Call them up! See what they have. They may have just got some palladium bars in today!

Account of Palladium Price and Gold Rush of 1980

2009-02-16T18:52:00.003-05:00

Here's an account of "John," who in 1980 wishes he would have bought cheap palladium and other metals during the PGM price surge of 1980.

"I can remember it well. On the news every night the reporters would talk about how the palladium price and other metals increased in price. Cheap palladium was found everywhere a year before, now you couldn't even find cheap platinum or cheap silver. Most people wanted the gold, but there was a killing to be made in other metals, even moreso than gold.

News reporters would stand outside of coin shops interviewing investors lined up to buy palladium bars, buy palladium coins, and buy all kinds of gold and silver. if you were to invest palladium a few years ago you'd have made a fortune. On the other hand you had the non-investors--the people who just wanted money--runing to cash in their palladium jewelry, platinum jewely, gold coins, and even sterling silverware! It was actually worth something now! Silver was $50/oz. FIFTY! Even if you factor IN inflation it has never been that high before.

Jump ahead to 2009. Cheap palladium price of $200, cheap gold at $950, and platinum cheap like gold. After inflation has torn away the value of the dollar, these prices don't even show up the newspaper anymore. No one cares. Gold double, palladium double, silver triple...wouldn't matter. None of these scenario's would stack up to the craze of 1980!'

Inflation Adjusted Charts: Palladium History - Palladium Bottom is Now!

2009-02-14T14:47:00.019-05:00

Price of Palladium 1992-2009

Here are a couple palladium price charts. The first one suggests that palladium is near its historical bottom. Palladium was once over $1000/oz palladium as you see, and now it's down around $200, which, if you factor in inflation, is similar to the beginning of the chart, which we'll call "bottom."

Palladium Price 1910-2006

And below is a palladium price chart dating back to 1910. The actual price of palladium, when our grandparents were growing up, was right around $100 for an ounce. However, if you factor in inflation you'll see how palladium (inflation) was well above $1500. Through the 40s, 50s, and 60s, you can see the price was cheap. Remember, until 1971 America was on the gold standard and gold was set at $32/oz, and palladium was pretty much based on the price of gold. However, look at the jumps after 1971 when Nixon took the US off the gold standard! Palladium had its jumps, any which of today would have taken palladium near the $1000 mark! These jumps were--if you adjust for inflation--higher than the spike to $600 palladium in 2008.

(Click to enlarge)

(Pd Image courtesy of Orsa Maggior)

Gold Adjust for Inflation

Palladium and even gold adjusted for inflation isn't a popular topic. But, let's look at it for a second. If we look at gold historically, in 2009 dollars, and adjust for inflation, we get this chart:

(Click to enlarge)

Do you see how with gold adjusted for inflation the jump in 1980 would be like gold being worth $5000 an oz in 2009 dollars? Do you see how the lines narrow as we return closer to the present? This is because we can't factor in as much inflation, so, obviously, the price of gold today is the spot price quoted on any website. So, throughout the 80s and 90s, EVEN when adjusted for inflation, gold was cheap. Since the 2008 surge CANNOT be adjusted for inflation, because it is basically the same time as now, gold was and still is cheap, because it only reached $1000/oz.

So, while the 1980 surge only reached $1000 as well, it was actually like gold being worth at least 4 times that much, due to inflation. In 1980, a regular car cost you $5000, more or less. Today it's $20,000, etc.

For the record 1 oz gold is $940 Feb 14, 2009. And if the surge were anywhere near what it were in 1980, according to gold expert James Turk, gold would be over $6000 per ounce. If you can't grasp this inflation adjusted palladium and gold price, remember, that in 1980, 5 ounce of gold would buy you a basic four-door car. In 2009, for 5 ounces of gold to buy you that same car--which is now $20,000--only if it were at $5-6000/oz. Understand? In other words, gold and palladium is worth peanuts compared to the early 1980s!

Next, let's look at it in reverse.

Gold and Therefore Palladium Prices in 1983 Dollars

This section may be difficult to grasp. The previous section was talking about prices in the 80s and 90s being adjusted for 2009 dollars. Now, let's look at 2009 palladium prices adjusted back to 1983 dollars.

(Image concept of 1983 dollars inflation adjusted palladium courtesy of Christopher Laird. He said 1983 dollars were chosen because that was after gold prices finally settled down.)

Here, the image is a normal Kitco chart in actual prices, and the black line is what gold prices would have been if the dollar had remained as strong as it were in 1983. Since you would only need $5000 1983 dollars to buy a car, you'd have to multiply today's dollar price by 4 to reach that same strength. In other words, you'd divide precious metals' prices by 4. Gold would be around $200/oz and palladium would be $50/oz.

Soooo, when gold hits $1000, and palladium hits $250, is it really skyrocketing? No, we have a long way to go for that. It's very, very cheap right now. If we were to time jump from 1981 to today, we'd see palladium as being worth about $50/oz

A Crazy Thought: Silver & Palladium Skyrocketing

Did you know that silver actually reached $50/oz before? That was in 1980 as well. All precious metals rose Then. Silver bars, palladium coins, platinum, everything. Palladium demand and demand for platinum and other metals was up.

Remember, we have to multiply by 4 to adjust for inflation when going back and forth between today and 1983, right? $50/oz x 4 = $200/oz. Only if silver were to reach $200/oz would we have a precious metals craze like which occured in the early 80s. For this to happen, we'd see the following prices. Gold is less volatile, silver is the most, so I've adjusted for that. If something were to happen to make prices jump as much as they were to jump in 1980, here are what the palladium and other metals prices would be. What's scary--or something to look forward to, depending on how much metal you own, is that there are so many more factors today leading to such a palladium price surge today compared to 1980!

Gold - $6000/oz, as stated by many.
Silver - $200/oz, if you multiply by 4 to reach 1983 dollar strengh
Platinum - At least the $6000/oz of gold, but could be double gold, so perhaps over $10,000/oz!
Palladium - $1000/oz. If a surge were to occur like in 2000, when it hit $1000/oz where demand for palladium demand was high, coupled with a precious metals rush, if platinum--a palladium substitute were already over $6000, palladium would be at $2-3000/oz!

September 2009 Updated Article Here!

Palladium Moves Up With Other Metals

2009-02-13T02:53:00.005-05:00

Okay, we've been seeing a bit of activity in the prices of precious metals over the past week or so. Palladium is at $220. It's been at $180, so that's a 10% jump. Platinum rise to $1070 or so. That also is nearly 10%. You can expect gold to jump as much, but it's up around $940, just a few percent over a few weeks ago. Silver, though, is up 15%.

Auto-Bailout to Make Platinum & Palladium Rise?

2009-02-11T13:12:00.005-05:00

I got an email from a friend a couple weeks ago and I thought I'd still my short reply up here. He asked me if the auto-bailout was going through, and here was my reply:

I actually don't even know. I was out of the country for a month. I'll ask someone who was here listening to the news (pretty much anyone but me would know). It's like Tim Ferris said in The 4-Hour Workweek, "Don't waste time reading the news. Someone else will tell you about it." I'll see my friend this week who follows that all very closely, so I'll as him and get back to you

Whether there is or isn't a bailout palladium and platinum MUST rise, but according to some sites it might not be for years. Silver, on the other hand, should be $40/oz because there is none left! I read that Rich Dad's Gold & Silver investing book and it's Robert Kiyosaki and the guy really knew his stuff. I don't have it, though, I read it in the bookstore! They have a little cafe in there. He sees silver as the best investment right now.

I don't have much spare cash left, but I think I should just sell an couple ounces of gold, get $the money, and spend half of it on more silver or palladium!

Precious Metal Prices, Palladium May Rise!

2009-01-30T21:22:00.005-05:00

I got an email to my cell phone from an overseas friend telling me that gold is higher than it's ever been. What? What does that mean about the price palladium? I replied telling him that unless gold jumped from $900 yesterday to $1000 today then he's mistaken! It turns out that gold is its highest in a few months, and he got the two confused.

When we see an increase in gold price palladium may or may not follow. Platinum groups metals are more industrial than they are financial. If there are increases in gold and silver prices palladium along with platinum and rhodium may increase as well, simple because they are precious metals. However, gold decreases in a strong economy, whereas palladium increases in a good economy if there is more demand for the PGMs for (mainly) the auto industry.

Future Prices Palladium Increase?

A one ounce palladium rise is not imminent, but it has risen 10% up to nearly $200 an ounce. 1 oz palladium has been around the $170 range for months. Gold's jumped up around 7%, and silver has jumped from $11 up to $13. That's something to be noticed! Silver up 15%! Platinum seems to be moving up just enough to remain ahead of gold. We'll see how that works out.

Palladium Catalytic Converters

2009-01-29T20:21:00.005-05:00

In 2007 there were 70 million cars sold new worldwide. However, 2008 didn't bring car makers as much luck, with a decline in auto sales of 16%. In November, compared to November 2007, sales dropped 36%. How long will this recession last? No one knows for sure, but sources point to it lasting until the latter months of 2009.

So what does this mean for palladium? When car sales were still somewhat okay in early 2008, palladium reached a price of $600. However, with decreased demand for new vehicles, there is less need for the car manufacturers to buy palladium--along with platinum and rhodium--to produce catalytic converters.

Not to fear, though. China and Indian have over a billion people each, as compared to just over 300 million in the US. These up and coming countries will continue to increase car production for the years to come. These cars will need catalytic converters, and those catalytic converters will need metal palladium. Palladium one ounce palladium prices will rise eventually.

Palladium Demand Palladium Supply

The world demand for palladium is around 7.2 million ounces. That's at the end of 2008 when car sales are down. The world supply is actually down 12%, but it's still at 7.5 million ounces which is enough to reach demand. Most of this supply comes from mining, but over 1 million ounces come from recycled palladium, such as recycling catalytic converters.

While the world's economy continues to suffer, so will the auto industry, and so will demand for palladium. But the future looks bright. Diesel engines require more palladium and large SUVs which have been popular recently are larger so obviously require more palladium catalyst. China and Indian may help matters. As demand increases, though, that 1 million oz palladium from recycled catalytic converters may increase to 1.5 or even 2 million, who knows.

Palladium Use, Rare PGMs Recycling Today Article

2009-01-25T01:42:00.007-05:00

Palladium Price

The following is a good article I found by Curt Harler on Recycling Today Magazine. It's kind of long, but shows what uses the world has for palladium and the other PGMs. It also talks about prices per ounce of palladium and other metals and how 2008 was a roller coaster of a year. Good article. Enjoy!

Palladium: Ready and Waiting,
By Curt Harler, curt@curtharler.com
1/22/2009 10:09:12 AM

Summary

Harler's article begins by discussing how 2008 saw the price of palladium and other PGMs skyrocket; then plummet around 60% from their 2008 highs.

Harler goes on to show what uses palladium, use platinum, and other PGMs throughout the world; and how the car industry effects a lot of things.

There aren't many palladium buy resources, or many sites to learn about palladium, but this article is a must read. And you don't have to pay to download it!

Gold Surpasses Platinum, Palladium $170

2008-12-12T13:46:00.005-05:00

These are some weird financial times we're living in, my friends. The dollar, Euro, pound, and basically all currencies are falling, but what are they falling against? Oil is around $40 a barrel and Gas in many places is under $1.50 a gallon. Precious metals are down: platinum is around $820, palladium is $170, and silver is $10.50. Gold isn't down as much, but at $820 it isn't particularly high either. Stocks are down, auto makers are about to go bankrupt, and real estate prices are now dirt cheap.

So, what's going to give? If everything is down, the dollar would be strong, right? In a very real sense, for now anyway, it is! It's really fallen against the yen, so keep that in mind. However, as the dollar falls other currencies will follow slowing. Precious metals will shine. It won't be immediate, but with a global recession, something will go up, and those holding those assets will benefit.

Where does this leave Palladium? Palladium is a precious metal, so will rise as gold does, but palladium is also an industrial metal, meaning it's used up in the auto industry. If they aren't making cars, they aren't buying palladium. Palladium will have its time, but we can't say when.

John Embry on Precious Metals Price

2008-11-08T01:34:00.005-05:00

I love John Embry. He was somewhat of a role model for me. I don't know exactly, but he's in his 60s and looks good for his age. He's articulate but also colloquial. Plus he knows what he's talking about but does so calmly. Also he's rich. I'd like to hear him speak any day, even if he did happen to be wrong. He's similar to Obama in that aspect.\

In this video he talks about how precious metals such as palladium and platinum along with gold are being manipulated to stay down, but predicts a rise in price, eventually.

The last time I heard him speak was on GATA's Gold Rush 21. He had a prepared speech there but it was it very good to listen too. That's when gold was actually lower than it is now, and he was saying basically the same thing he is now about suppression and such.

Palladium has actually risen 10% over the past week or so. The others haven't moved much.

Palladium & Gold Confiscation

2008-11-05T21:39:00.009-05:00

Confiscation Act of 1933

From what I got from my reading online, during the gold confiscation of 1933, having it was punishable by 10 years in prison and or a fine up to $10,000 (which would be like $100,000 or more today). You were apparently required to take all the metal you had and turn it in for the price of those days--$20/oz. But, from the Net info I've read, it says safety deposit boxes were not searched. I guess it was kind of a honor system of whether you turned it in or not and if you got caught you were legally screwed. There's a lot of Net info out there but I prefer reading hard copies and can't stare at the screen too long. I don't know how silver or platinum was effected at the time. I don't think platinum trading was very popular back then, and I'm sure palladium wasn't. I know they had bullion though

The ABC's of Gold Investing by Michael Kosares

I read Michael Kosares's The ABC's of Gold Investing. It's basically for beginners but I enjoyed it. It's the only book I've ever bought on palladium or precious metals (and learned the rest through a friend...or the hard way!). Chapter 16 is devoted to confiscation and after reading it I'm convinced that confiscation is truly possible, even today. It happened in Korea and Thailand as late as 1997. However, in the years following Executive Order 6102 of 1933 (the Confiscation Law) up until 1975, pre-1933 coins were allowed to be held by investors due to their numismatic value. This held true for US $20 pieces, German 20 mark, Swiss 20 franc, French angel, Dutch guilder, amongst others (pg 123).

Now let's look at a quote from the late palladium expert Franz Pick, as quoted by Kosares:

I am afraid that one day the government will indeed call (precious metals) in (bullion) will be subject to confiscation. This is one big advantage to numismatic (coins), such as the double eagles. It is an idiosyncrasy of governments that although they may prohibit ownerships of (metals) in any form, they are reluctant to touch collections of numismatic...coins. Today, there are some 49 countries that forbid ownership of (it) by their citizens, but do allow holding...coins for numismatic purposes. Even Soviet Union and easter European countries legally tolerated]the acquisition of numismatic...coins. So, these are the only...holdings that could be kept in your safe deposit box without any fear of confiscation (p 128).

1927 St. Gaudens (click to enlarge)

That's what I got from Kosares anyway. He has another "book" which came about before ABCs which I think might be free to read on the Internet. It's called How You Can Survive a Potential Gold Confiscation with Michael Cooper. I don't know how to find it. Someone said it's free with this packet but I haven't signed up yet. I can't find it anywhere for free or to buy. Anyone know where to find it?

* * *

What's strange to me that Roosevelt passed the order in 1933, then quickly made it legal to keep all coins pre-1933. So, at that time, ALL coins were legal to hold! But, the government still got the bars. Since was illegal, the last minted coins were 1933, and they didn't mint again until, as uncovered my quick search, 1992. And, as a side note, Kosares says this, "All safety deposit boxes were sealed and could not be opened except in the presence of an IRS agent" (pg 122). Hmm...

Possible Palladium Confiscation Summary

Well, if you came here looking for definite answers, I can't give you any. In fact, no one can answer confiscation questions. Here are a few facts to help you though:

Metal was confiscated in 1933 and it was illegal to hold until 1975. There is nothing saying that palladium won't be confiscated again
The past can predict the future. In the past pre-1933 coins were not confiscated. They are less likely to be confiscated this time. In fact, there are 49 countries that prohibit ownership, but they all allow ownership of numismatic (collectible) coins
If palladium and other metals areconfiscated, you will be paid a set price for it. The government will determine this price. It will likely be low
If you own palladium that cannot be tracked to you and you keep it hidden, it cannot be confiscated
You can make your own guesses by reading about the past. The executive order of 1933 is posted at the bottom of this page
The US government has very little palladium and other metals now. The metals it used to have went not to US citizens, but overseas. Confiscation of palladium by the US government wouldn't do much good for any purpose

And that's all I have! Let's just hope this will never happen!

Click this link to read the 1933 confiscation executive order by Franklin Roosevelt: http://www.goldline.com/images/content/precious-metals/articles/conf-order.pdf

Where Can I Buy Rhodium Coins Rhodium Bullion?

2008-10-30T02:48:00.008-04:00

I want to Buy Rhodium Coins!

Many people ask about buying rhodium coins or rhodium bullion. To make the answer short: there are no rhodium coins or bullion. This is not to say you can't invest rhodium, but it's not as easy as gold or even palladium.

Sheet Rhodium

There are a few reasons why they don't make rhodium coins or rhodium bullion:

Rhodium: rare. There are only 25 tons of it mined per year
Rhodium: brittle. If it were in coin or bullion form, it could easily break.
Rhodium: expensive. An ounce it would costs thousands of dollars. Rhodium reached $10,000 for 1 oz this year, I'd imagine that a coin would have had a 10% premium. It is only $1300 for 1 oz now, but if they had them, they wouldn't be selling for any less than $3000
Rhodium: popular. No one really knows what rhodium is. If governments were to make a coin with 90-some percent rhodium, there would be very little interest.

Pure Rhodium

Uses for Rhodium, What Uses Rhodium?

What uses rhodium? Rhodium is a good conductor and catylist. Rhodium used in special types of wire and is mixed in most catalytic converters in cars. In fact, it can be salvaged from these catalytic converters and sold, if you can find a buyer. Jewelry makers use rhodium. Rhodium coating on jewelry makes cheap jewelry shine as well as platinum or palladium jewelry. Rhodium is expensive, but they use such a fine coat if it that it's worth next to nothing. TIP: put Windex on a paper towel and rub it on some cheap rhodium-coated jewelry. You'll see rhodium on the paper towel!

Rhodium Pictures: I want Rhodium Photos!

I added a few rhodium pictures to this page. The top picture shows you the white, silvery shine of a sheet of rhodium. The next picture is pure rhodium in it's raw, but non-powder form. Below you have rhodium wire, and rhodium-plated ring. There is a lot of rhodium-plated jewelry. I ring or a necklace can be a cheap rhodium as $5.00. You won't get much rhodium off it though!

Rhodium Wire

Rhodium-Plated Ring

Platium Coin Sells for $6000!

2008-10-30T02:28:00.008-04:00

$6000 for Platinum Coin!

Check out this YouTube video of a Platinum Eagle selling on a QVC type channel. Apparently there were only NINE of them that were in perfect MS70 condition. That's expensive platinum! As I write this platinum is $840 an oz. These, however, are a bit more. Wow!

All Commodities Down!

2008-10-25T23:17:00.005-04:00

In the fast few weeks we've seen the prices of EVERYTHING drop! If you want to buy palladium now is the time, that's for sure! Oil is down to $63 a barrel. That's cheap oil. I truly believe the government is doing their best to keep it down. And, while oil is down you'll find palladium cheap. Palladium follows platinum and silver which more or less follow gold, but swing at higher percentages. Silver, palladium, and platinum have dropped around 60%. Gold only around 30%.

So, what can you infer from this? Buy palladium online now if you can find it. I'm looking into buying silver instead of palladium because with fees on palladium expensive like they are, you're paying double! The key is to buy a from the big gold companies. The drawback of doing that is that if you want palladium coins, they're going to make you buy a minimum of 10 oz or so. You can buy just one 1 oz coin palladium.

The Dow is down too. This isn't new news (I haven't updated this blog in well over a week). The Dow is in the mid-8000s. And precious metals took another 5-10% dip last week too. Looking at history, you'll see that gold and oil rise and fall similarly (at the time of this entry I haven't found one, but I'll find a chart to attach here). And you'll see that as the stock market goes down, oil and gold go up.

So, is everything going to stay down? Frankly, I'm surprised. I thought gold would shoot up with the stock market fall. What's funny, EVERYONE is buying gold now too, as it's cheap! Rare palladium is the bad result for us! As an industrial metal manufacturers have a use for palladium whether its price is up or down. I believe, that like oil, the government is manipulating the gold price and keeping it down, in order to keep the dollar from collapsing.

This is something interesting and I don't know how it relates: the dollar has fallen 10% versus the yen in the past week. Why?

My Newest Coins: Palladium Maple Leaf 2007

2008-10-13T00:47:00.017-04:00

If you keep up you probably already know that the most popular palladium coins are the palladium Maple Leaf. It would be quite interesting to the non-palladium investor that the palladium Maple Leaves coins were only coined for three years. The Canadian mint coins palladium, but the Maple Leaf wasn't a popular palladium coin; although the gold and platinum Maple Leaf is quite popular.

2005 Palladium Maple Leaf Coin

There were 60,000 2005 Palladium Maple Leaf coins made. This was the first year of issue. However, there were some Palladium Maple Leaf "test" coins. They wanted to test the use for palladium coins in the market place. They made A and B, and there were only 150 of each made. These are the most expensive palladium 1 oz coins due to their scarcity.

2006 Palladium Maple Leaf Coins & Constellation Coin

There were many more coins minted in 2006; nearly 70,000 to be precise. Those who wanted the palladium Maples could now easily invest. Palladium Constellation coins were also made. There were 300 for each season. Each Palladium constellation coin shows an adult bear and a cub. The constellation is in a different position for each season.

2006 Palladium Canada Maple Leaf Constellation Coin

2007 Palladium Maple Leaf

Demand for palladium coins waned. In 2007 there were only 15,000 palladium Maple Leaf coins minted. Since there are so few, they are harder to find. However, 15,000 is still a lot so they are not really selling for any higher than the 2005 and 2006 palladium coins. Now take a Chinese Panda, for example, of which only 3000 were minted, and they are worth a lot.

2007 Palladium Canada Maple Leaf

My Newest Coin

I have palladium Maple Leafs, but I didn't have a 2007. Most Canada Maple Leaf coins go for around $350 on Ebay, regardless of the year. But, I was finding more 2006 cheap palladium coins for around $300, so I bought mostly 2006s. I wanted a 2007 palladium Maple to round out the set, so I found a guy online who was willing to trade. He was going to mail it, but instead, I found out that he lives 30 minutes from me! We didn't notice until we exchanged addresses. So, we traded, I gave him $10 gas money to say thanks for helping out, and we each drove away with the coins! I'm so happy I have my 2007!

2001 prices of Palladium: Invest $1000 for Only 1 oz?!!

2008-10-08T18:20:00.010-04:00

Today we're going to discuss the 2001 skyrocketing prices of palladium. Invest $200 now and get 1 oz. Back in 2000, to get palladium, invest only $100 and get 1 oz. Now that's some cheap palladium! However, this happened:

The Russian state treasury, Gokhran, indicated that no pgm would be sold in 2001, forcing automakers (and other users) to move to ensure they would have adequate stocks. The white metal rose to $956 on the last trading day of 2000. In January of 2001, palladium hit a high of $1,090 (http://www.stillwaterpalladium.com/priceJM.html)

So, Russia stopped selling and palladium skyrocketed from $100 to $1000/oz due to car manufacturers needing it and Russia not selling it. Platinum jumped from $400 to over $600 as well, and, like Pd, fell back near its previous levels. The main reason for platinum rising and falling was also due to Russia's hoarding. At that time thousands of people were willing to invest. Palladium was higher than any other precious metal.

Platinum vs palladium? Invest low and sell high, right?

Well most people don't do it that way. When you find palladium cheap, like it is now, no one wants palladium. Invest when it was high and everyone wanted to invest! Palladium was bought mostly by car manufactures, but investors got in on it too.

Needless to say, when the prices fell, some investors and car companies lost millions. A few months ago everyone wanted platinum because it was so high. But not many are interested now that it's low. I think we'll continue to see palladium cheap for some time now, then when platinum follows silver and gold up, people will again want to invest. Palladium cheap and others high? Palladium will follow along slowly. So, it's easier to invest! Palladium just follows the trends, so you can't lose!

People now say there's a palladium surplus and it won't rise again as it did in 2001. Well, this year it reached $600 as gold was over $1000 and platinum was over $2000. So, although Pt and Pd are industrial metals, they are also attractive to those wanting to invest. Palladium is the most volatile, and the most alluring of the main four precious metals. It's sad that it's so unpopular.

Palladium vs Platinum, Platinum vs Palladium: Which to Buy?

2008-10-08T03:09:00.008-04:00

Most people know about silver and gold and how they are worth a lot of money. But few know about platinum and palladium. People investing precious metals know about the differences between platinum vs palladium, but, if you're new, you might not.

When people want to invest in precious metals, they buy gold. If they want to mix it up, they'll buy silver. You see, women aren't like this, but men have a way of switching up what works and trying to make it work better. Men take more risks. So, they jump into silver. But, in recent years platinum has become popular, especially since it hit $2000 an ounce earlier this year. To some, platinum was more attractive than gold. It's similar in volatility to silver, but worth A LOT more. But, what about palladium vs platinum?

Platinum vs Palladium

The platinum vs palladium debate is one with no rights and wrongs. It's all speculative opinion when it comes to future values. Let's look at some facts before we get to the opinions of palladium vs platinum:

Platinum is more useful in industry.
Platinum is more expensive.
Palladium is several times as rare.
Platinum wins in platinum vs palladium in industrial situations, but palladium can often be substituted for platinum
Due to platinum's price, they are increasingly finding ways to substitute palladium
History proves that palladium is more volatile
Platinum has been as high as 2-3x the price of gold at the time
Palladium has been as high as 4x the price of gold at the time
In 2001 palladium was 140% the price of platinum
In 2008 platinum was 4x the price of palladium
Palladium vs platinum spark plugs: palladium cost more, so I bought platinum :)
Today gold is basically equal to platinum and 4x the price of palladium

So, what can we infer from these platinum vs palladium facts? What I've been saying all along: platinum may double in value, but palladium may quadruple. I'm so curious to see what happens!

Will Gold Pass Platinum?

2008-10-08T03:05:00.005-04:00

Technically it shouldn't, but temporarily I think it could. I think gold could hit $940 by Wednesday and it's not that I necessarily think platinum will fall, but if it does fall another 5% or so, gold will be above it!

Kicking myself for buying platinum AND gold now, should have stuck to just gold. Oh well. I was kicking myself a few months ago for not buying all platinum. Depends on the point in time what you're kicking yourself for!

Sticking to gold is the safest. The white metals are more volatile. Do you want to save for the long term? Gold. Do you want to play the markets and sell at peaks? Palladium, platinum, silver.

Investing: Precious Metals 101

2008-10-08T01:23:00.007-04:00

This blog entry should have been posted before, because it has the basic principles needed to be investing precious metals. But, late is better than never. I like writing about principles such as the following because it helps me remember the basics!

Investing: Precious Metals

I didn't get heavily involved in investing precious metals until a year or so ago due to a) finally having an interest in my on financial affairs and b) a friend demanding that I watch a few videos on gold and silver. I guess I was pig investor in a sense, because if gold and platinum hadn't have been rising, my friend wouldn't have convinced me to get in. At that time I wasn't buying palladium and silver, because the local shop only had gold and platinum. Now, I'm I'm still investing; precious metals palladium and silver are my choices.

Last year I got in the market, but I was moving houses, so I got out at the peak and sold a lot of what I had. I kind of lucked into making myself a large amount of pocket change! But, now that I know what I'm doing, and now metals like silver and palladium cheap, I want to buy more and more! I have some, but I'm going to need the money for my business (unrated to investing in precious metals). The only thing I can do right now is sell of some gold which is relatively high for some silver which is pretty low. There's not much else I can do without the cash. I will need the other money I have to live on for the next few months and pursue other investments.

Thinking of Investing: Precious Metals Basic Info

If I had the money I'd stock up on the white metals now, and sell when the reach the levels they were this spring. Then when they drop below that I'd get some more, save for the long term, and forget about it for a while. Sure, all the metals will triple in value in 5-10 years, but, if we only have $5000 invested, we can't hope for a very big payoff in 5-10 years. If we invest $50k now though, we'd make a lot more!

I know this is investing 101 here but reiterating it helps everyone learn. Plus, there might be beginners reading this who need some insight!

Thanks for reading!

If you'd like to learn more, please search this site or others for some of these terms: Investing precious metals, palladium, palladium coins, coins palladium, use for palladium, etc

Cash vs Precious metals

2008-10-05T16:09:00.005-04:00

What is beter to have now, cash or precious metals? Metals of course!

However, not everyone can think about the future now. Some people need the cash to survive. The ideal for them would be to increase that cash, THEN take that money to use for palladium or another precious metal and hold it into the future.

We've got crazy bargain prices now and I'm mad that I can't buy much more! Even if gold were $2000/oz I think that would be a bargain compared to what we might see in 2015. Hopefully we can all buy a lot now and sell at 3x our money in a few years. But for most of us, we can't afford to buy that much right now to make much of a difference

Tanaka Gold Bars Use for Palladium Trade

2008-10-05T03:12:00.006-04:00

However, I have a couple Tanaka bars and am going to try to sell them (save money to use for palladium)...on Ebay...for 120% of its value like everyone else does (I bought a few coins last month at 150% of their value so I guess it's fair). I don't see gold rising faster than the money I'm hoping to invest in my own business, so I'll sell, make money by working, then have more money to use for palladium!

Here's the Tanaka site. You probably don't have Japanese fonts installed but you can see the daily selling price on the right (and they don't pretend they're sold out like they do in the US!) and if you click the yellow under that they show the buying and selling price which is fixed at 9 am Mon-Fri (and they sell Sat at 4 pm at the Fri morn fixed price!). (Tanaka's small English site.)

Anyway, my question is: Are these bars well-known? I don't find any on Ebay and not much mention of them anywhere except in Japan. They're great quality, and I only choose them over the American coins because they were charging a $60 premium for each coin, so I would have had to pay $120 more as compared to buying an equal amount in bullion bars.

Do you think it'll sell? I'm pretty good with my wording and responding to possible buyers. I was thinking to put $1750 on a 50 gram bar and see what happens. If sold at that price, my Ebay + Paypal fees would total $100. Will let you know!

Silver Philharmonics Premiums in Japan

2008-10-05T03:10:00.006-04:00

It's my assumption that Austrian Philharmonics 1 oz do NOT have a numismatic value. In fact, when I called (I think it was Monex) to buy cheap palladium, the guy told me they were out of Pd but he recommended 100 oz of Philharmonics silver coins and there was no premium (I would have paid $1300 or so, but I wanted Pd).

So, why is Tanaka Japan selling them for $60 each? Hard to import to Japan? Japanese are stupid and think they're platinum?? I bought from Tanaka in Japan before and they had a premium on coins over bullion, but it was only about 5%, not 500%!!

Click for link (in Japanese, but you can see the price of 6,300 yen, which equals $60).

Palladium St. Gaudens Coin

2008-10-02T03:46:00.009-04:00

Just so my readers don't miss out, palladium St. Gaudens coins may be released soon! The House of Representatives authorized it, but it must pass through the Senate and signed by the president. If so, we'll have palladium St. Gauden's!

I would like to get one of the special issue coins, the first St Gaudens palladium on the market. If not, maybe one of my readers can get and sell me one!

The coins will be mined from US palladium in Stillwater, Montana. 2009 gold St. Gaudens are already set to be released.

Spot Palladium Premiums

2008-10-02T03:17:00.007-04:00

QUICK SUMMARY: Palladium coins online have been hard to find. Now, they're even harder. When you do find them, they are selling for double the spot price. With palladium cheap right investors are hoarding and/or flocking to buy.

Screen shot taken from my "secret" selling source
for cheap palladium and cheap platinum. Notice the "sell"
boxes are empty.

There goes my "secret" palladium source! I found a single-page site online of a place that was selling Pd Maple Leaves for about $30 over spot when the Pd price was $240 (so they were selling for $270 at that time). I called but didn't buy because I didn't want to buy the minimum.

Then the other day, I reconsidered after seeing the cheap palladium price drop below $200. So, I just checked my site: not selling! They're hoarding their stash! So, if you're a small-time seller on Ebay or something, you just add a 50-100% premium and sell. If you're a respectable, big-company seller, you pretend you're sold out!

So, that's how it's looking today. Palladium futures and Platinum futures, at least if you ask the big sellers, are going up. When I have a use for palladium--when we hope to find cheap coins--the rare metal becomes even rarer. I'm curious too see where we'll be in a week or so!

Trade Gold for Platinum or Palladium now, and the Opposite Later

2008-09-30T11:08:00.004-04:00

I think I'm going to sell off a little gold and try to get some platinum for around $1000 an ounce, or less. If I can find silver or Palladium for it's current spot price I'd do that too. The platinum and palladium I have, though, I'll hold it. I could still sell the palladium for over $400 an ounce though, which is strange. It's rare, people want it, but you can't buy it for the cheap price it's worth. When platinum does go back up to $2000 I'm trading it for gold, provided gold is around $1000 at the time. I don't have the money right now and would actually like to trade in some metals for cash, but can't do that now without losing money.

Palladium Under $200! Platinum Under $1000!

2008-09-30T10:57:00.006-04:00

The metals are cheap! I'm really very surprised. Gold is relatively high, but we have cheap palladium, cheap platinum, and cheap silver. They are ridiculously low! Palladium has fallen under $200 this morning and platinum has fallen under $1000.

For those with cash in their pockets now is a good time buy platinum online, or buy palladium online if you can find it. You can buy silver bars online much easier, but not at it's current low price. You can get these metals for under half the price they were selling for a few months ago.

I was thinking about this yesterday and thought about selling some gold and buying Au, Ag, or Pt. I don't think it would be a bad strategy. $8 silver, $180 palladium, or $900 platinum while gold is were it is now would definitely lead me to make that choice. However, I'd have to be able to actually find the metals to buy at that low price! Right now you can't find palladium 1 oz for under $350!

Coin Palladium: Who Coins Palladium?

2008-09-29T23:47:00.011-04:00

Who are the main makers who coin palladium? There are a few main coins and bullion so you know who coins palladium for your investments.

Canada Maple Leaf. The Canadian Government has coin palladium from 2005 to 2007. They made the very popular Palladium Maple Leaf Bullion coin. These are generally worth their bullion value

Pamp Suisse coins palladium. They coin palladium one ounce Pamp Swiss bars. They are very popular, and individually wrapped and numbered.

Russia. Russia coins palladium 1 oz and half ounce coins. They have pictures of ballerinas on them. The different poses are worth a different numismatic value.

USA. The US government coins palladium Stillwater coins and bullion. If lucky, we'll soon see Palladium St. Gaudens coins!

China. In China they coin palladium Panda coins. There are only about 20,000 in all of the years.

Palladium Coins Rare and Rare Bullion to Buy

2008-09-29T20:55:00.008-04:00

It's so hard to get palladium right now. Palladium has never been a popular precious metal, but people own it seem to be hoarding it and not wanting to sell it. Even with palladium cheap, those selling it are selling it for over double its spot price!

What's weird:
1. The prices of precious metals dropping this year (perhaps because it's an election year)
2. The low palladium price compared to gold (it should follow it's big brother)
3. The unavailability of palladium to buy (likely no one wants to sell so low)
4. The way palladium is selling for so much over spot (people want their original investments back)

How you can win either way:
1. If it drops you can buy more cheap palladium
2. If it goes up we can sell our cheap palladium for more than we paid
3. I know where to buy it (coin shop owner knows some people) ;)

Cheap Palladium: Will We Continue to See Palladium Cheap?

2008-09-29T20:52:00.011-04:00

I'm pretty sure we won't find palladium cheap for much longer. It likely won't go much lower than what it is right now: $214. Now that's some cheap palladium! I said the same a few weeks ago when it was $220 and I'm still right. In fact, I wish I were wrong, though. I wish the price would go down to $100 so I can BUY MORE!

Afternoon Price of Cheap Palladium

(I got this from Monex, since they haven't updated their site since this afternoon)

I'm starting believe the prices really are manipulated because although it's hard to find there IS palladium available, but you definitely can't buy it for anywhere even close to the spot price of $214. Right now the people selling it for $330 are the ones with cheap palladium!

If you call up a big seller they will sell it to you for around $260 or so, with a minimum of 5 or 10 ounces. On Ebay it's still for sale, but they are listed for $400, and more--and selling for that! So, there is a shortage, and people who have the coins or bullion are selling them for at least $50 over spot. So, is the cheap palladium really worth $214 and an ounce, or is it worth more?

To me it's worth more; I paid $300 when it was worth $240 because the only other cheap palladium options would have been to buy 5 ounces; and I didn't want to spend that much at the time. And if you walked up to me I wouldn't sell you my palladium coins for any less than $350, because it would take around that to replace it. How the palladium bullion and coins are selling for double spot is WEIRD!

Cheap Palladium this Evening

(from The Bullion Desk)

And what about gold vs. palladium? Gold 1 oz is way up over $900 and platinum prices, palladium, and even silver prices are extremely LOW! So, we know they're going up eventually, and we know now's the time to invest. I'm new to the palladium market, but my guess is that gold moves first, by a certain percentage, then silver and platinum follows by a slightly larger percentage, and then palladium. Am I right?

I'm baffled by all three: cheap palladium as well as cheap platinum and silver...and also for them not selling that low! Weird. But, it's cheap palladium so if u want palladium cheap now is your time to buy!

Palladium One Ounce: Palladium Most Popular Coins

2008-09-25T03:28:00.011-04:00

Palladium one ounce coin or bullion are the most popular ways of investing in palladium. The most popular palladium one ounce palladium coins are the Canada Maple Leaf. The most sought-after bullion is the palladium one ounce Pamp Suisse bar.

This is just going to be a quick entry for those who want to buy palladium one ounce now and aren't sure what you can trust to be something you can resell later.

1. Canada Maple Leaf palladium one ounce. The Canada Maple Leaves have by far been the most popular palladium one ounce coins of the past few years. They only minted these coins in 2005, 2006, and 2007, but they made nearly 150,000 of them. If you have a 2007 Maple Leaf let me know. I need it to finish off my collection! Palladium Maple Leaves are shipped in their plastic container and for numismatic value, should be kept that way to be easier to sell.

2. Pamp Suisse 1 oz. Palladium one ounce Pamp Swiss bars are also very popular. I didn't look up the number minted, but I do believe they are more readily available than the 150,000 palladium one ounce Maple Leafs. They are packaged in a nice holder and even show the serial number and how many are minted. So, they should be easier to sell because everyone knows what they are. But, the Maple Leaf might demand more of a premium.

3. Russian Ballerina palladium 1 oz. There are also around 150,000 of these in existence. They are pure palladium, one ounce, and should be in a protective case. However, there are about 10 different poses for the ballerina and although it has the palladium one ounce value, to a collector it may be worth much more.

So, that should get you started. The USA is making Stillwater coins and bullion and there are a few others. We'll get to those later. For now, any of these should be a solid investment and when you want to sell, you shouldn't have any troubles!

Use for Palladium

2008-09-25T01:29:00.015-04:00

Before you invest, you want to know the use of palladium, right? Palladium has many uses and many, many more are possible, making it the "sleeper" precious metal. I'll give you the shorthand version of uses of palladium, then I'll give you a link or two with the technical terms about palladium uses.

An obvious use of palladium is in coins. We have Canada Maple Leaf Palladium 1 oz coins and Pamp Suisse palladium bullion. Russian Ballerina palladium coins and Chinese Panda 1 oz coins are also popular. There are many more.

Another use for palladium is jewelry. Everyone wants gold jewelry, but some don't like the color (and others don't like the price!). Some people go for silver, but you'd be a pretty lousy husband to give your wife a cheap silver necklace or bracelet! Platinum costs more than gold, but, it may cost TOO much! So, we have a good use for palladium: a platinum substitute! If gold is $1000, platinum might be a hefty $2000, silver a cheap $10, but palladium, will fall perfectly at around $500. Give or take, sure, but if you give the give of palladium, it will be pretty, not fade, and last a lifetime.

I had a run-in this week for another palladium use: spark plugs! I live near AutoZone, but before going in I looked online to see what was available. Here, I'll show you the pics and even give you the link to AutoZone's spark plug page.

Single electrode palladium-gold mix spark plug

Yes, the above spark plug, folks, uses palladium mixed with gold. Some people swore by them, but they stopped making them and replaced them with platinum. Why? I didn't look that up yet! They make several kinds now, some with 2 and even 4 electrodes! They make platinum and even iridium!

Double electrode platinum and quadruple electrode iridium spark plugs.

And what did I buy? You guessed it, the single electrode $2.99 platinum! The iridium seemed cool because I've never owned anything iridium before, but it's not worth $7.99. I don't think dual or quad electrodes make much of a difference anyway. In the spark plug world, while they're using platinum cheap, they have no use for palladium. You'll see them again though, I'm sure!

Another use of palladium is in catalytic converters. These are included in all cars and include platinum, rhodium, and palladium. I believe platinum is the main ingredient, but they are likely to start using palladium more because it's cheaper. Just another of many uses for palladium.

Dentistry, electronics, mobile phones, and plating of various jewelery are also among the uses of palladium. Palladium is extremely rare, 30 times as rare as gold, and even rarer than platinum. More and more car companies are making cars with fuel cells: they need palladium.

So, that's my quick explanation for the use of palladium. Check Wikipedia, The Market Oracle, and any of the other sites for info. Thanks for reading!

Gold, Silver, Platinum, or Palladium?

2008-09-19T00:18:00.009-04:00

Are you looking to invest in the precious metals market? You've already made a great choice for investing your money! Now, what type of coin or bullion do you want to buy? Gold and silver are the obvious choices. Gold is your safe bet, and you have silver which is more volatile. But then you have platinum and palladium. Both silver in color, and just or even more volatile.

If you want an investment that will move up and down slowly, then you should choose gold. If you want something more volatile that in the past few months has lost nearly half of its value, you want silver or maybe even platinum. If you want something volatile, rare, mysterious, at the bottom of its price range, and with the highest chance to double, or even triple, you want palladium.

Gold (50 grams)

Tanaka Melters, Japan

We've watched gold and even more silver and platinum fall in the past few months. I don't think any of the four main investment metals--gold, silver, platinum, palladium--will lose much more than 5% of their current values. Gold, if it rises to where it was, will go back to $1000 an ounce, a 25% gain. If platinum, palladium, and silver return to what they were a few months ago, you get a 45% gain.

Silver (Various Size Bars)

However, palladium has been over $1000 per oz before. I personally don't think it will go that high again anytime soon, but if you figure it the same way I figured the rest, you'd be at 75%, meaning it will gain 75% of its old $1000/oz value (or rise 400%). Any of the four are sound investments, as they are all as low as they will be for now. But, how much do you want to make off of your investment?

Platinum (10 Grams)

Tanaka Melters, Japan

Gold: was at $1000 oz (over $30 per gram). It went down below $750, and is up around $830 or so today. Now, if gold returns to $1000 an ounce, are you going to make a killing? Not exactly.

Silver: was at $22 a ounce. Now it's down to $12, and was even around $10.80 for a while. Does this have a chance to double? Absolutely.

Platinum: was at $2200 and ounce and is at $1100. You don't need me to tell you it's on sale. Get it while it's cheap!

Palladium (One Ounce)

Pamp Suisse, Switzerland

Palladium: fell from $550 to it's low of $230 today. That's over a 50% drop! Now, does this have potential or what? Remember, it is the only metal that had ever reached FOUR TIMES of its current value. With palladium you get the best of both worlds: Likely to double like silver and platinum, but also the chance to increase to 4 times its value. I'll take some!

Should You Buy Palladium Online?

2008-09-18T12:14:00.008-04:00

So you're thinking about investing in precious metals with the market down? Now is the time to invest. With a stock market crash closer than ever and stock prices down, gold coins, silvers coins, and platinum coins will skyrocket. But what about palladium? Palladium coins and palladium bullion are also available for collectors. Why Paladium coins? Palladium, like platinum and silver, follows gold. Palladium is fourth in line though. Gold's risen $100 per ounce in the past couple days after the Leyman Brothers and AIG government bailouts. Palladium bullion prices haven't risen yet. Palladium is slower, and gives you time to think about your investment. That's how some investors see it anyway.

With this site I'm going to introduce you to the different types of palladium coins, palladium bullion, and palladium pools you can invest in. For collectors, there are palladium Russian Ballerina coins, palladium Canada Maple Leaf coins, and Pampa Suisse palladium bars. I'll address these all in the future. I'll also look at places to buy palladium online, palladium ebay, and other sources. Stop back often!

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2008-03-16T20:18:00.000-04:00

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