Platinum is a very rare metal, much rarer than gold. It looks very similar to silver in appearance. It is dense, ductile, malleable and one of the least reactive metals which means it hardly ever corrodes. It's main use comes in cars as catalytic converters but it is also used in coins, jewellery and as an investment metal due to its high price.
£20.38£27.47£34.56£57.61
Platinum's high price is because demand is often higher than supply. It is only found in only 0.005 ppm of the Earth's crust but almost 50% of the metal is required for use in catalytic converters in motor vehicles. About 35% is used in jewellery, and the rest is used by the petroleum refining industry (9%), electrical (3%, it's in disk drives), medicine, and investment.
About 200 tonnes of Platinum are mined each year and South Africa is by far the biggest supplier. Compare this to gold production which is about 3,500 tonnes per year and silver which is 1.6 million tonnes per year. There's actually more platinum on the Moon than on Earth.
The name Platinum comes from the Spanish word platino which mean 'little silver'. It is an element with chemical symbol Pt and atomic number of 78. Melting point is 1,768C.
Platinum coins and silver coins are very similar in appearance, so take care as the price difference can be huge and mistakes very expensive.
 |  | 2016 American Eagle Platinum 1oz - Proof Mintage: 20,000 |
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More Information on Platinum
Platinum is a very rare metal, much rarer than gold. It looks very similar to silver in appearance. It is dense, ductile, malleable and one of the least reactive metals which means it hardly ever corrodes.Platinum's high price is because demand is often higher than supply. It is only found in only 0.005 ppm of the Earth's crust but almost 50% of the metal is required for use in catalytic converters in motor vehicles. About 35% is used in jewellery, and the rest is used by the petroleum refining industry (9%), electrical (3%, it's in disk drives), medicine, and investment.
About 200 tonnes of Platinum are mined each year and South Africa is by far the biggest supplier. Compare this to gold production which is about 3,500 tonnes per year and silver which is 1.6 million tonnes per year. There's actually more platinum on the Moon than on Earth.
The name Platinum comes from the Spanish word platino which mean 'little silver'. It is an element with chemical symbol Pt and atomic number of 78. Melting point is 1,768C.
Platinum coins and silver coins are very similar in appearance, so take care as the price difference can be huge and mistakes very expensive.