Platinum and Palladium

This is the sixteenth post in a series entitled Currency, Money and the Economy.

If gold and silver hold their value, how about other materials? Platinum and palladium bullion is available for purchase as well. Platinum is currently priced more than gold and palladium is currently priced more than silver. Therefore, how come they are not also involved in our primary arguments when talking about precious metals? There are a couple of reasons.

The first reason is availability. Gold and silver have been readily available since the dawn of civilization. Therefore, every person knows that these two metals have inherent value. Platinum and palladium, however, are not readily available. Because they are rarer, perhaps they should be more valuable. However, because not every person knows what these two metals are or has access to them, they do not carry the same amount of importance as gold and silver.

The second reason is accessibility. Gold and silver can be mined in all parts of the world. However, approximately 75% of platinum and palladium mined comes from South Africa and Russia. Since the production is concentrated in certain corners of the world, the supply can be subjected to manipulation. Whereas gold and silver values are dictated by market forces, platinum and palladium values are dictated by those who control the supply.

That is not to say owning some platinum and palladium is not prudent. However, these two materials should not be the precious metals of choice to protect the value of your assets.