A man who was emptying out a storage building owned by a company that installed security alarms found a storage cabinet stocked with 200 unused key pads. He got excited and got them tested, only to find out that each of them contained less than a dime’s worth of gold. But then there was the guy who emptied out a factory where production lines were designed and installed; he found unused thermocouples that turned out to be worth more than $1,000.

As we write today’s post, rhodium is trading at $2,620 on the London Fix. And investors are buying 1 oz. rhodium bullion bars for up to $2,900.

But if you shop online, you will discover that rhodium-plated rings, earrings and chains are selling for $20.00 or less. That is not a typo – they really are selling for surprisingly low prices. What is going on? How can that be?

When you go looking for gold, you will usually find items that contain very small quantities of it. You might find a picture frame that is covered with gold leaf, a printed circuit board that has gold-covered contact pins, or a pair of gold-plated eyeglass frames.

Let’s start today’s post with a riddle for you to answer . . .

What looks like spaghetti but is made of platinum, tungsten, gold and other precious metals?

We are willing to bet we didn’t fool you with that one. The answer to the riddle is thermocouple wire.

We have written in the past about the importance of thoroughly inspecting old pieces of furniture before you sell them or toss them away.

A recent news story from England serves as an important reminder of how valid that advice is.

Last year, we visited the remarkable rare book collection at Saint Bonaventure University in Olean, New York. During that visit, we were privileged to get a close look at some extremely rare old books and manuscripts.

Have you ever worked for a company that was run in a somewhat unusual – maybe even crazy – way? Here are some stories of companies that were . . .

Here’s a trick question for you.

If you visit an automobile junkyard and find a wrecked Tesla Model S sitting next to a wrecked 2005 Ford Crown Victoria, which one of them contains more precious metal? And if you are someone who likes to collect and recycle precious metal scrap, which one should you pull apart?

It has been a few months since we wrote about palladium on this blog. And it is time to write about it again. Why? Because palladium trading prices are rising steadily. That’s another way of saying that if you acquired some palladium scrap or bullion a few years ago and simply held onto it, you would be making a nice profit on it today.

Do you know any couples who have gotten engaged recently? If you do, chances are good that their engagement rings were made of platinum, not gold. Perhaps even more than the size of the diamond, the beauty of the platinum that was used to make the ring is what is attracting attention today.

If you are in the business of demolishing buildings, you know that the first order of business is usually to “just knock it down . . . make it disappear!”

There is a reason for that. The sooner most old buildings are gone, the sooner they can be replaced with a new shopping center, apartment complex, parking lot, or other income-generating project. So you follow the instructions of the developer that hired you and as quickly as possible, that old building is reduced to rubble and trucks start to haul it away.

If you are an administrator at a hospital, chances are good that you have an unusual opportunity . . .

You can turn unused supplies and equipment into a significant source of income

Are you taking advantage of the opportunity to recycle all the unused precious metals that can be found in your facilities? If not, let’s find out how.

A few years ago, a man looked down at the bottom of a stream in northern California and saw something shiny poking out from the sand and gravel that surrounded it. He pulled it out and it was a gold nugget. It was absolutely beautiful!

If you read this blog regularly, you have noticed that a lot of our blog posts give advice on where you can find little quantities of gold. We have written about how we can extract small amounts of gold from gold-plated jewelry, from old eyeglass frames, from printed circuit boards, and even from small piles of sweepings from factory floors.

Just last year I curated an art show in a museum near Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a beautiful, modern museum that had been in operation for about a decade. But the show that I put together was the last one that would ever be held at that museum, which was closing its doors for good. Why? Because it had become too expensive to keep the place open.

Let’s start today’s post by asking two questions . . .

• First, a pleasant question. You own precious metals, and that is good. But do you know exactly what you own, how much they weigh, and where they are located?

• Second, an unpleasant question. If you were to die today (unpleasant!) or contract some illness that would incapacitate you for a period of time, would your heirs know exactly where to find the precious metals you own, or would they be at a loss? Or could they fail to find some of the precious metals you own?

“How to Eliminate the Middleman and Make More Money from Your Used Catalytic Converters” is one of the most popular posts we published on this blog. Although we published it back in 2014, the advice it contains is still relevant today, and we urge you to read it.

Only a decade ago, film photography seemed to be dying as more and more photographers turned in their old film cameras and went digital. Then about five years ago, people started to set aside their digital cameras as they took more and more of their snapshots on phones.

If you are investing in platinum, chances are you are thinking about military spending these days. You know that platinum is widely used in armaments and military aircraft. So, if U.S. production of armaments and planes that will be sold in Saudi Arabia is cut back, will that make the price of platinum drop?

There have been times in history when big financial events seem to come at the rate of one or two a year. This is not one of those times. Every day seems to bring a big piece of financial news that could threaten the trading price of gold. For example . . .