“How do I make a profit by investing in precious metals?” seems like a pretty simple question. But even though it’s a simple question to ask, it is a difficult one to answer.

Why? Because there are a number of ways to make a profit when investing in precious metals. In today’s post, we will look at three of them.

“Platinum Is the Hardest Metal” and Other Common Misconceptions about the Hardness of Precious Metals

Lots of people assume that platinum is the hardest precious metal. But they are wrong! Although platinum is about two times harder than gold, it is still a relatively soft metal that can be shaped fairly easily. Perhaps the misconception that platinum is very hard has arisen because people confuse tarnish-resistance with hardness. Platinum is extremely tarnish-resistant, yes. But is it also especially hard? No. The fact that it resists tarnishing explains why it can be plated onto silver (which tarnishes easily) to create jewelry that retains its bright surface sheen. But that has nothing to do with hardness.

If you invest in precious metals, chances are you would answer that question by saying, “It’s a precious metal that is used as a thin plating on jewelry.” You probably know that rhodium, if plated onto brass, creates the impression of platinum or even white gold.

Let’s say you have come across something that is made of white metal – a ring, a cigarette case, a laboratory crucible – and you would like to know what it is made of. It could be white gold, silver, or platinum. So, how can you tell for sure what you are looking at?

As year 2020 begins, a lot of people have been asking whether platinum, gold, silver or some other metal will turn out to be the best precious metal investment in the months ahead.

The most common answer to that question is almost always something like this . . .

“Is there a platinum refinery near me?” is a logical question to ask when you have a small platinum item that you would like to sell quickly. You have an idea that it would be fast and convenient to simply stick your platinum scrap items in your pocket – that platinum engagement ring, a platinum cigarette case you inherited, or even a used platinum laboratory crucible – and get rid of it while you are running your errands.

With platinum now trading for over $900 on the London Fix, it stands to reason that you can make a lot of money recycling pure platinum scrap (like bench sweepings from jewelry factories) and pure platinum objects you have found (like platinum engagement rings and lab equipment).

There is an old saying, “All that glitters is not gold.”

A similar thing could be said about platinum, which is “Not everything that contains platinum is worth recycling.” How can that be? It is true because even though platinum is worth a lot of money, not every kind of scrap that contains it is worth recycling. Why spend $100.00 to extract $5.00 worth of platinum, for example? It wouldn’t make any sense.

If you want to give someone a really terrific present at this time of year, chances are you have thought about something made of platinum or gold. Good, generous thinking! Few other presents are as impressive.

Reclaiming Precious Platinum and Gold . . .

If you make money finding and recycling precious metals, you are familiar with The Needle in the Haystack Problem. It happens when you find a vast quantity of sand, dust, sawdust, gravel or other “stuff” that has a valuable amount of gold, platinum or another precious metal hiding in it.

In “What Is a Smelter” and other posts we have published in the past, we have explained what a smelter is and what a smelter does.

So what do smelters do? The quick answer is, smelters smelt things. In general, that means heating up piles of scrap and powder and chemicals that contain metal. Once that “stuff” reaches the melting point of the metals it contains, those metals melt, clump together, and can be separated from surrounding materials.

Your husband gives you a new tablet for Chanukah. Or you get a new gaming console for Junior as a Christmas gift.

There’s no doubt about it. The holidays are the time of year when older electronic devices get replaced by new ones – often dozens of them at a time. And you have a choice. You could stick all your old devices in your dresser drawer, or you could gather them up and send them to Specialty Metals Smelters and refiners and have us recover the gold, platinum and silver they contain. Before you dismiss this suggestion because you have only five or six items, let us ask you a question . . .

that’s Right, Tossed!

With platinum trading for nearly $900 on the London Fix, why would anybody throw it away? But the fact is, people do toss platinum for several reasons, including . . .

Let’s say you’re roaming through an antique store and you find two eyeglass frames. One is stamped “gold filled” and the other has no markings.

What is the difference between them, and which contains more gold? Don’t worry, in today’s post, we are going to tell you.

If you’ve been around for more than a few years, chances are you have fielded phone calls from pushy companies that try to get you to buy silver coins and all kinds of other “investments.” The usual pitch centers on opportunity: some trend is about to make today a great time to buy some investment. And if you don’t, you are going to lose money or overlook an incredible investment opportunity.

We’d like to start this post by reminding our readers that silver is a precious metal.

You knew that already, of course, but have you forgotten that you can make a lot of money by recycling silver? If you have, it’s probably because silver is trading at such low prices compared to gold, platinum, rhodium and silver’s other precious brothers and sisters. Silver is not very glamorous.

A caller to our office asks, “What are the most profitable items to scrap?”

That is a very intelligent question because when you stop to analyze it, you see that it contains several other questions that are also very smart to ask:

In most parts of the country today, “We Buy Gold” stores have become common sights. But chances are you haven’t seen any stores that post prominent offers to buy platinum, rhodium, or even silver.

So what are you supposed to do if you have platinum scrap that you would like to sell or recycle?

“Is there such a thing as gold alloy?” a caller asked us recently. He then went on to explain, “I was at a coin collector’s event last month and a rather angry gentlemen told me that there is no such thing as a gold alloy. I didn’t want to get into an argument with him about it, but what’s the story? Is there really no such thing as a gold alloy?”

Have you ever been to a pawnshop? If you have, chances are you have been surprised to see that a pawnshop looks just like any other store. There are display cases, counters, cash registers, and other familiar fixtures. Chances are you were greeted by a polite individual who treated you respectfully, and who was happy to discuss the details of your transaction.