We are not done with the coronavirus yet. And make no mistake about it. Frightening as it is to say, the coronavirus is not yet done with us either.

But there are hopeful signs, despite the numbers that show that the virus is bouncing back again now that the colder weather has returned to many parts of our country. One hopeful sign is that every day brings us closer to a time when an effective vaccine will be widely available. (How we all long for that day.) Another hopeful sign is that more people have accepted social distancing, wearing masks, and practicing other safe protocols at work and at home.

There are many downsides to living through the Coronavirus pandemic. Many of us are frightened, getting cabin fever, watching the same kind of programs over and over again on cable, and making sure our children complete their schoolwork.

That can all be emotionally difficult, no questions about it. But at the same time, many of us are discovering that there are good things about sheltering at home. One of the really great things is that we have the opportunity to explore all kinds of new things . . . nearly anything we want.

The meaning of the term “floor sweepings” is pretty obvious, right? You go into an area of a factory where gold, platinum or silver jewelry or other products were manufactured, you sweep them up, and send them to a precious metals refinery like Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, correct?

“I was happy when my son decided to invest in precious metals with me,” says a man who lives in Maine. “But then I noticed that as soon as both of us were investing in gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap especially, we started making a lot more money, well more than twice the amount of money I was making when I invested in precious metals all by myself.”

Years ago, a clothing store in New York used to run commercials that said, “An educated consumer is our best customer.”

Did that store really believe in that philosophy? We don’t know for certain. But we do know that at Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, we admire customers who have taken the time to educate themselves about the processes involved in refining precious metals. And we have also observed that when precious metal investors know about the techniques involved in refining precious metals, they find it easier to make smart decisions that can increase the money they get once the refining processes are complete.

An article in The New York Times on September 28th (“There’s Gold in Them Thar Braes”) reports that a new gold rush is currently taking place in Scotland. That’s right, Scotland. Stephen Castle, who wrote the article, interviewed several prospectors who are currently panning for gold in Scotland. One of the men he interviewed reported that he is actually not hoping to strike it rich. He has a more modest plan for what he would like to accomplish by standing in a stream for hours panning for gold.

An article in The New York Times on September 28th (“There’s Gold in Them Thar Braes”) reports that a new gold rush is currently taking place in Scotland. That’s right, Scotland. Stephen Castle, who wrote the article, notes that during the 19th century, several gold rushes took place in Scotland that rivaled the famous gold rushes of the 1840s in the New World, which attracted tens of thousands of gold prospectors to California and Alaska.

You might think you know what a precious metal refinery can do for you. It can extract a precious metal from different kinds of scrap, correct?

By and large, that is true. But it is not as simple as that. Let’s explore.

The following tale doesn’t tell the story of something that really happened to someone we know. But it does represent a fairly typical story of someone who was not paid full value for gold he recycled.

Here’s the story . . .

A man had a pair of old 14K gold cufflinks he didn’t want any more. He walked into a local jewelry store that had a sign in its window that said, “We Buy Gold.” The jeweler behind the counter tested one of the cufflinks using a simple gold testing kit and said to the man, “These are gold.” He then took out a calculator, punched in some numbers, and told the customer, “We will pay you $90.00 for the gold these contain.” The customer accepted the offer and left the jewelry store with $90.00 in his wallet.

We have written a lot in the past about gold scrap, silver scrap, and platinum scrap.

Today, we would like to take a look at palladium scrap. Why? Because palladium is currently trading at $2,208.00, which compares favorably to gold, which is now trading at $1906.80. Like the trading price of gold, the trading price of palladium has been rising.

At Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, we know that precious metals are the smartest investments you can make. Over the years, we have seen so many people profit handsomely from investing in platinum scrap, gold scrap, silver scrap, and even cadmium scrap.

Before you toss your old cellphone, TV remote, laptop, or tablet, remember that they contain gold. Although those small devices don’t contain immense quantities of gold, you don’t want to throw gold away, do you? So before you toss them, give our precious metal recycling consultants a call at 800-426-2344 and we can explain your recycling options.

Silver can be found in many kinds of liquids, including printing inks, cosmetics, medicinal creams, chemicals used in a variety of industrial processes, and more. And as we have written on this blog before, Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners has the expertise and experience to separate silver scrap from the liquids where they are found. In many cases, that process is simple - we introduce a chemical which causes silver to precipitate out of the solution. That’s another way of saying that the silver falls to the bottom.

Scrapped electronic devices of all kinds contain gold, silver, and other non-precious recyclable metals like copper and aluminum. And there is no doubt about it, you can make money by starting a business that collects those scrapped metals and sells them at a profit.

If the idea of having an electronics recycling business of your own appeals to you – and it should – here are the basics of how your new business will function.

When was the last time you lifted the hood of a car that was made in the 1960s? Let’s say, a 1965 Ford Mustang? If it’s been a while, you might have forgotten that on cars that old, electrical components were pretty minimal. There were a battery, distributor cap, spark plugs, and wires running to headlights and other electrical devices. Not too much electrical activity going on.

We think you will like – and profit from – the information we will give you in today’s post.

We will tell you about sources of gold and silver that many people overlook when they are looking for precious metals.

It’s been hard or impossible to travel during the coronavirus pandemic. How frustrated have you been?

Chances are you have been eager to travel again. But frustrating as it has been, we all need to remember that even though we have not been able to travel much in the last four or five months, we have still been able to continue buying, refining and selling gold scrap, silver scrap, and platinum scrap too.

Don’t let valuable precious metals slip through your fingers

A recent trip to our town recycling yard (once called the “town dump”) convinced us that a lot of people are tossing an awful lot of stuff during the time they are staying at home because of Covid-19. They’re cleaning out their basements, attics, garages, and storage rooms. That’s probably a good thing to do. Decluttering and cleaning out are great projects to take on right now. They help us feel like we are making progress and getting organized, in a time when we feel stuck and out of control.

Would you believe that Bob Dylan wrote the song, “The Times They Are A-Changin’” way back in 1964? Ever since then, the times have been changing year by year, and there is no doubt about that.

But today, 56 years later, Dylan’s song seems to have become completely true. Suddenly, the world has changed in ways that we would never have predicted only five or six years ago.

What makes for a good investment? As we have noted on this blog before, a good investment is one that offers a significant return on investment. If you can invest in something – a stock, a piece of gold, a painting, anything – and then sell it for three or four times what you paid for it or more, then you have made a good investment.

Yet other considerations make some investments better than others. And today, we would like to offer one of them for your consideration.