1 Gram .999 Rhodium coins - received two last week

[kbsig106]

I ordered two a little over a month ago to collect as an odd metal and received them last week. Haven't had time to take a hard look at them - under 3x - so I'll post a few pictures and follow up later this week with some thoughts.

 

 

 

Rhodium - Rh 45 - Transition metal a part of the platinum group.

 

the coin us pretty tiny - about the size of a Type 1 $1G.

[TomB]

I realize that these are likely what they claim to be, but I always feel uncomfortable with buying private mint bullion.

[World Colonial]

Me too. And I would be interested to know what the premium over spot is. It must be huge.

[WoodenJefferson]

You can do the math, $89.99 for this on their website for this one gram, but I'm sure they figured in the cost to holder this in their proprietary packaging.

[thebeav]

It wasn't so long ago that a gram of Rhodium was better than 250.00.....

Evidently, it was open to pretty rampant speculation, kind of like 145.00 oil....

Nothing wrong with having some around. Those are cool...

 

Paul

[kbsig106]

I thankfully didn't expect much being that they are one gram each. I think 1 oz. was in the ballpark of $1750 +/-so there is a premium at $89 each, hence my two coin purchase. My wife is a material engineer and we thought it would be cool to own an odd ball metal that she had only seen in the lab and was minted in to something to look at vs. a melted mass.

 

 

Interesting and different to own - I wanted to share it with the board.

 

 

[bsshog40]

Those are pretty cool. I've never seen them before. I'm not much into metals beside Gold, Silver, and the norm. What is Rhodium actually used for?

[Schatzy]

Very Cool!! I think I might have to buy one!!

 

Rhodium (pronounced /ˈroʊdiəm/) is a chemical element that is a rare, silvery-white, hard transition metal and a member of the platinum group. Rhodium is found in platinum ores and is used in alloys with platinum and as a catalyst. It is abbreviated to Rh and has atomic number 45. It is one of the most expensive precious metals.

 

The primary use of this element is in automobiles as a catalytic converter, which converts harmful emissions from the engine into less harmful gases.

[bsshog40]

Thanks Jaime!!

[bartlesvilleok]

Not sure is this is the type of metal or not but this sounds like a metal that is VERY hard. I could be something else that starts with and R and if so please correct me.

 

If this is the metal I am thinking about then this is a VERY nice struck coin as the metal is harder then the dies uses to make it and it very common to have VERY weak strikes because of this.

[kbsig106]

Not sure is this is the type of metal or not but this sounds like a metal that is VERY hard. I could be something else that starts with and R and if so please correct me.

 

If this is the metal I am thinking about then this is a VERY nice struck coin as the metal is harder then the dies uses to make it and it very common to have VERY weak strikes because of this.

 

I believe a Rhodium coin will snap in half vs. bending like most normal metals. I remember seeing that somewhere on Google before I purchased the coins.

 

[HiHoAudio]

Wasn't rhodium about $10000 an ounce last year? Now it's $1575. Hmmm.

 

There was a novel in the New York Times Sunday Magazine Section last year called "Mrs. Corbett's Request" that involved rhodium.

 

The author was Colin Harrison and it was excellent.

 

Here is a link to the 2nd chapter (I can't find chapter #1):

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/magazine/11serial-t.html

[thebeav]

Where I come from we use a lot of Rhodium in plating. White gold isn't really white, although there are some better alloys today. White gold jewelry is always rhodium plated.

Platinum jewelry, the same. Even some high quality sterling jewelry is plated.

As a matter of fact, that was part of the price run-up years ago. White gold jewelry has been preferred to yellow gold for about four years now.

When rhodium was very high, it was a cash cow for refiners. Anytime I had a gold lot smelted I was never paid for the rhodium. Invoices always have a gold-silver-platinum column, but the rhodium was not spoken of.

 

Paul

[EZ_E]

I read today that Rhodesia was named for Cecil B. Rhodes of Rhode's Scholar fame. I wonder if Rhodium was named for him, too.

[Coindude]

Looks like it gets its name from it's color.

Rhodium was discovered in 1804 by the English chemist William Wollaston. Its name derives from the Greek word rhodos, meaning rose—the color of solutions containing rhodium salts. The abundance of rhodium in Earth's crust is approximately 0.0004 ppm.

[kbsig106]

The coins have turned in to a pretty good conversation piece with other collectors - especially the Rh background you can look up on the net, it's more than just a coin as you dig deeper.

 

 

I have to admit these coins have sparked a little interest again in the elements - if my old college self saw me today, he'd prob. haze me.