What is Platinum Bullion?
Platinum, one of the most expensive of the precious metals, is a soft silver/white precious metal that looks very similar to palladium and silver but is whiter in appearance. It gets it’s name from the Spanish term platina del Pinto – which for you language enthusiasts is literally translated into meaning “little silver of the Pinto River”.
Platinum is an extremely rare element on this planet. It is found in only approximately .003 pbb (parts be billion) in the Earth, making platinum about 30 times more rare than gold. It is scarce even among the precious metals. New mining totals only 5 million troy ounces a year. In contrast, gold mine production runs approximately 82 million ounces a year, and silver production is approximately 547 million ounces. With it’s innate rareness and lack of wide scale mining platinum trades at higher per-unit prices than other metals (roughly twice the value of gold).
One of the most common and easiest ways to invest in Platinum is to purchase Platinum bullion coins or bars. To name a few their are Platinum Eagles (minted and struck in the US) and the Platinum Maple Leaf (minted and struck in Canada). Since these bars and coins run at twice the value of gold it is usually advisable to purchase the bullion in 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz denominations. This requires less financial outlay plus smaller sizes are easier for you to sell if needed.
