We are big fans of investing in precious metals. But we have sometimes seen people lose money, most often because they have misunderstood some of the basic principles and facts about precious metals.

We don’t want to throw a wet blanket over your enthusiasm for investing in silver, gold, platinum, rhodium and other precious metals. But because we know that the most informed investors are likely to make the highest profits, we would like to provide you with some reality checks in today’s post.

In the days following World War II, army surplus yards opened in many parts of the country, selling all kinds of items that had been manufactured for the U.S. war effort. All sorts of items showed up – hats, coats, uniforms, tarpaulins, tents, and even some decommissioned “souvenir” hand grenades. There were even opportunities to buy electronic devices like field radios that contained small amounts of gold.

Did you know that gambling casinos typically generate a profit of about 2% on all the money that is bet in their facilities? So if $10 million is wagered in a casino in one day, they make $200,000! That explains why casino hotels are likely to offer you a cheap room to stay in, or even a free one. The more people they get through their doors, the more money they make.

Is mercury a precious metal? No, but if you invest in precious metals, there are things about mercury you should understand.

When you go looking for gold, you will usually find items that contain very small quantities of it. You might find a picture frame that is covered with gold leaf, a printed circuit board that has gold-covered contact pins, or a pair of gold-plated eyeglass frames.

Just last year I curated an art show in a museum near Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a beautiful, modern museum that had been in operation for about a decade. But the show that I put together was the last one that would ever be held at that museum, which was closing its doors for good. Why? Because it had become too expensive to keep the place open.

Let’s start today’s post by asking two questions . . .

• First, a pleasant question. You own precious metals, and that is good. But do you know exactly what you own, how much they weigh, and where they are located?

• Second, an unpleasant question. If you were to die today (unpleasant!) or contract some illness that would incapacitate you for a period of time, would your heirs know exactly where to find the precious metals you own, or would they be at a loss? Or could they fail to find some of the precious metals you own?

There have been times in history when big financial events seem to come at the rate of one or two a year. This is not one of those times. Every day seems to bring a big piece of financial news that could threaten the trading price of gold. For example . . .

As 2018 is now in the past, we are sensing a lot of uncertainty about investing in precious metals. Some of that uneasiness is due to recent events, such as our country’s imposition of higher tariffs on imported goods. Another new development is that AMPEX, a major dealer in bullion, is now allowing investors to pay for their purchases with Bitcoin. We don’t actually know whether that will produce big changes in the trading prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium – after all, every time you buy any precious metal you are paying for it with some kind of currency, right? But paying for precious metals with Bitcoin is making the news, and causing traditional traders in precious metals to ask, “What does it mean?”

“A bucking bronco” is the best way to describe what has been happening on the stock market in year 2018. On any given day, the Dow Jones can plummet 300-500 points. Then the next day it comes galloping back. And just when jittery investors start to think, “Thank heavens that is over, whatever it was,” the Dow takes a plunge again.

Why Precious Metal Scrap Makes a Great Holiday Gift

Are you looking for a great present to give to someone special this holiday season? If so, we have a suggestion to make . . .

Can You Carry Gold Coins and Bullion into the U.S. without Paying Duty? Be Sure to Know U.S. Government Limitations

Let’s say that you have bought some beautiful gold coins or bullion while you have been traveling abroad, and that you want to bring them back with you into the U.S. You might have heard that such items can be freely brought into the U.S. without paying duties.

We Will Be Here Tomorrow . . . Be sure to entrust your precious metals to us

We learned that Republic Metals Corporation filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on November 2nd. Republic, one of the largest gold and silver refineries in the United States, was one of our competitors.

As a precious metal investor, you are already on the lookout for platinum scrap. You are also on the lookout for sterling silver, even though it is worth much less per ounce than platinum is.

But what about sterling platinum? What is it, and what do you need to know about making money from investing in it?

Gold, platinum, silver and rhodium are called precious metals because they are valuable. You already knew that! Yet some people toss them away anyway.

Here are some tips that can prevent you from literally giving them away without realizing it.

Are you interested in making money in platinum scrap? There are plenty of reasons you should be. The biggest could be that the new tariffs on items imported from China seem poised to raise the cost of platinum-containing items.

In years past, it was relatively difficult to plate a bright, shiny new layer of gold or silver onto other items. To do it, you had to either immerse the items to be plated in a plating tank or, in some cases, use an electrified plating brush to apply a thin new layer of gold or silver.

Have you ever shopped online for miniature safes and other “safe spots” where you can hide gold, silver, platinum and other small valuables in your home?

If you have, you know that the variety of products you will discover is nothing short of amazing. When we did some online shopping recently, here are some of the products we discovered . . .

Way back in 1977, NASA launched its Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Both of them are now about 14 billion miles from Earth and, incredibly, both are still communicating scientific data back to NASA.

Alchemists were medieval scientists who, legend says, were able to turn base metals into gold. Of course they couldn’t do that. Still, some of their discoveries are still being used today. One is aqua regia, a combination of nitric and hydrochloric acid that is still used today to dissolve gold and platinum.