Thermocouple wires are not like simple gold, silver, or platinum wire, because they contain a combination of valuable metals, as you will learn in today’s post. If you are a regular reader of our blog, you already know thermocouples are used where temperatures must be monitored or controlled remotely. 

It's important to note that the availability and accessibility of medical scrap can vary depending on factors such as local regulations, disposal practices, and the specific healthcare facilities in your area. Some used medical devices that were used on patients are true medical waste and must be properly disposed of. Other medical devices that were never used are easier acquire without violating the law. 

Platinum, silver, and gold wire are most often found among the supplies at companies that make or repair jewelry, such as jewelry stores and jewelry factories. 

Where will you find those precious-metal wires in those facilities?

• As part of generalized scrap, like bench and floor sweepings. 

• In jewelry-making supplies. Often, wire will still be rolled up on spools of unused materials.

A few years ago, it was time to replace the muffler/silencer on a riding mower. The company that owned it ordered a new muffler and yanked the old one off. At that point, the owner noticed that it had been installed by wrapping wire around one of the pipes that came out of the old muffler. 

That wire, which was about two feet long and weighed about 2/10 of a Troy Ounce, turned out to be made of pure platinum. It was worth more than $200.00. 

When you consider making any kind of investment, you need to balance several important considerations. You might not realize you are balancing these factors, but you are.

Potential ROI (Return on Investment) – If you invest in something that offers high potential ROI, there is a chance that you can double, triple the money you invested, or maybe do even better. If you are investing in something that promises a lower potential ROI, you are willing to accept a lower potential profit from the money you invested.

Without thinking, many people throw away old items that contain precious metals that can be reclaimed for dollars – often, for a lot of dollars.

Sometimes they toss precious metals when they do home upgrades or repairs. Sometimes they do when they have their cars repaired.

If your precious metal recycling plans include pulling components out of scrapped airliners and military planes, you are thinking in a good way. A scrapped airplane is one of the best sources of gold, silver, and other precious metal scrap. Plus, a scrapped plane is also chock-full of copper wire, aluminum, and other base metals that can be well worth recycling, even though they don’t have the allure that precious metals have.

One good thing about gold, silver, and platinum is that those metals are malleable and easy to reshape.

However, malleability can cause problems, because stolen items made of gold can be easily altered and sold. That neat little gold bar or pair of earrings you just bought could have been a stolen ring only a few weeks ago. Who knows? It is impossible to trace. And the same problem exists when you are buying items made of silver or platinum.

Have you ever seen a video of sharks that are feeding? It’s not nice to watch, because sharks get into a “feeding frenzy.” They’re not asking other sharks whether what they are eating is tasty or a healthy choice. They’re just going wild, trying to satisfy their instinctual desire to eat.

Although people who invest in precious metals are a lot smarter than sharks, they sometimes engage in similar behavior. When they get the idea that they can make a lot of money by making a certain investment, they get into a kind of frenzy and can make investments that are unwise.

Wires are one of the most common kinds of scrap. The majority of them contain very little gold, silver or platinum. But some do. In today’s post, we’ll explain how to identify wires that contain precious metal.

Where to Look for Wire

If you dream about making a fortune trading in precious metals, you have probably been wondering whether a new golden age in precious metal investing could soon begin if the Infrastructure and Jobs Act (also known as H.R. 3684) becomes law. You, like us, are envisioning huge quantities of gold scrap, silver scrap, and even platinum scrap piling up in scrapyards. Pull up your pick up, load up, and be ready to become a billionaire.

You’ve heard that many colleges are having a hard time staying in business. They’re finding it difficult to enroll full classes of students. They’re also giving financial aid to most of the students they do accept. And some colleges have actually lowered the cost of their tuition.

Some people believe they need metal detectors to find precious metals. Other people use drones. And still others think they need precious metal testing kits.

Those people are right. But today, we would like to remind you of another very basic fact that can help you find more precious metals . . .

In answer to the question above, “do all thermocouples contain platinum?” we will offer you a quick response . . .

No, not all thermocouples contain platinum

But we would like to offer an additional comment . . .

No matter what you invest in, you are probably worried about something. If you have money in stocks, how are the companies faring that you have invested in? If you invest in art, have the kind of items you have invested in been increasing in value, or going down? And if you invest in collectible cars and own a 1957 Thunderbird (just one possible investment), how much did a similar car sell for at auction last month?

Hunting for precious metals often involves looking for small items. You get lucky when you find a gold tuxedo shirt stud in a jewelry box. Or you find a sterling silver spoon at an antique store, mixed in alongside less valuable items of tableware, and buy it for just a dollar or two.

“I recently bought a three-story mixed-use commercial building in my home town. The building is about 50 years old. There had been a coffee bar on the ground floor. A CPA and a title company had occupied the two upper floors. I’m about to renovate and I’m wondering if you can tell me someplace I might not know about where I should look for gold scrap, platinum scrap and silver. Thanks for opening my eyes to possibilities I might not know about.”

We have written before about burning materials or exposing them to very high heat, as a way to extract the gold, silver, platinum, and other metals they contain. Today, let’s review and also tell you about some additional materials that can be processed in this way by a qualified precious metals refinery like ours.

If you look in your fridge at this time of year, chances are you will find some leftovers. Maybe there is a little wad of stuffing in a plastic storage box that’s left over from Thanksgiving, or a few slices of a roast from a big meal you served at Chanukah or Christmas. Well, it’s time to toss them.

But what about leftovers from the precious metal scrap you have collected and recycled over the last year? Don’t toss them! If you have been collecting and investing in precious metals, you just might have enough leftover materials to profit from.

Investing in precious gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap is not gambling, for a very simple reason:

When you invest in precious metals, you are relying on experience and knowledge to reduce or even eliminate risk. When you are gambling, you can’t eliminate risk completely.

When one investor was examining a batch of thermocouple wire, for example, he was able to know what it was because he had seen the same kind of wire before. He knew how much silver was contained in the thermocouples he was looking at, and he knew what it would sell for. So he applied his experience and knowledge and made a profitable buy of silver scrap.