As you know from reading this blog and other information on precious metals, these commodities have experienced an exponential growth in interest over the last few years. Economic uncertainty coupled with governments? response to it has fueled a tremendous bull market in metals like gold and silver.
But an often overlooked metals investment ? palladium ? is also worthy of consideration.
In addition to gold coins and silver bullion, investors like you can buy palladium coins and bars to further diversify your portfolio against the ticking time bomb known as debt and inflation.
But what exactly is palladium and what makes it so desirable?
Palladium is a soft silver-white metal that?s not too dissimilar to platinum. In fact, both metals belong to the same family, which is known as platinum group metals (PGMs). Other metals in this group include rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium.
Out of all of these metals, palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense.
Palladium, which has a symbol of ?Pd? on the Periodic Table of the Elements, was discovered in 1802 by William Hyde Wollaston, who named the metal after the asteroid Pallas. The British chemist discovered the metal in some crude platinum ore he acquired from South America. Wollaston separated the palladium by dissolving the ore in aqua regia and then heating it with a mixture of other chemicals.
In fact, much of the palladium in the Earth is mixed with platinum and other metals.
While deposits are scattered throughout the world, Russia is by far the largest producer (44%) followed by South Africa (40%), Canada (6%) and the U.S. (5%).
In terms of popularity, palladium really didn?t take off until the 1970s with the mass introduction of catalytic converters, which convert dangerous car exhaust gases like hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide into less harmful gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Today, palladium is used for a wide variety of industrial applications like electronics, groundwater treatment, dentistry, jewelry and hydrogen purification. It?s even used in medicine and plays a key role in fuel cell technology.
Industrial use is one reason palladium is considered to be an investment worth considering. As more and more cars become outfitted with catalytic converters and more of the world?s population demand electronic devices like TVs and computers, the demand for palladium will go up.
But another reason is price.
Currently, palladium is trading for less than half the price of gold. While it has seen tremendous growth in the last decade, it has experienced a pull back and is currently considered by many to be at a good price level for buying.
How can I invest in palladium?
In terms of bullion, there are several options. The Canadian Mint produces a 1-oz palladium Maple Leaf coin or you can consider the Russian Ballerina coin. Pamp-Suisse palladium bars though are slightly less expensive and are available in 1-oz or 10-oz denominations.
It?s also been reported that the U.S. Mint is currently working on an American Palladium Eagle. While details are sketchy at this point, some believe it will be made available to the general public by the end of the year.
The Canadian Maple Leaf palladium coin can be included in a self-directed, precious metals IRA. We can safely assume the American Palladium Eagle will be approved for IRA accounts once it?s released.
As you can see from this activity, palladium is poised to be the next precious metals investment to gain widespread popularity. Check back with us often for updates on the American Palladium Eagle and other market updates on this exciting metal.
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