We were in an electronics store recently, where we saw a small electronic device lying next to a cash register. We asked a salesman, “What is that thing that looks like a tiny cellphone?”

We have written before on this blog about good places to hunt for undiscovered precious metals – places like old jewelry factories, wells, drain pipes, and even graveyards.

Today, we would like to add one more place to look for old gold, silver, and platinum items that you can recycle profitably . . .

Although cadmium is not a precious metal, there is money to be made recycling cadmium silver contacts.  (See “Recycling Silver Cadmium Contacts Can Give You a Big Payday,” a post we published on this blog in 2016.) 

Do you invest in precious metals? Are you concerned about harming the environment?

If you answered yes to those questions, let’s start today’s post with a general observation . . .

We have all been there when recently engaged young women show off their new “rocks” to friends or work colleagues. “How big is the diamond?” has been the most important question that people want to know (or are too respectful to ask) at those times. Yet a recent article in MarketWatch.com, “J-Lo’s engagement ring is reportedly worth $1 million — is it time to ditch the diamond?” implies that young people today are losing interest in how big a diamond is in an engagement ring, or what it is worth.

“My grandfather was a master jeweler and jewelry repairman,” a caller told us recently. “Unfortunately, he recently passed away, and now we have the job of emptying his workshop. Can you give me some advice on what we should be looking for?”

We haven’t written about drones on this blog for several years. In the time since, some things have stayed the same in the world of drones, and some things haven’t.

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?

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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 . . .

As 2018 is now in the past, we are sensing a lot of uncertainty about investing in precious metals. Some of that uneasiness is due to recent events, such as our country’s imposition of higher tariffs on imported goods. Another new development is that AMPEX, a major dealer in bullion, is now allowing investors to pay for their purchases with Bitcoin. We don’t actually know whether that will produce big changes in the trading prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium – after all, every time you buy any precious metal you are paying for it with some kind of currency, right? But paying for precious metals with Bitcoin is making the news, and causing traditional traders in precious metals to ask, “What does it mean?”