The World's Most Precious Metals by Art Gib

For thousands of years gold has been considered one of the most precious of metals and as such had been used as the source of the world's currency for many years. But gold is only one of the earth's most precious metals. Precious metals are naturally occurring metallic chemical elements with a high economic value. In most cases, the prices of these metals are based partly on the fact that they are so rare. Other precious metals include platinum, rhodium, and iridium.

Gold

Since the very beginning of our recorded past, gold has been a rare and highly sought after metallic yellow metal for jewelry, coins, and art. Although gold is very dense, it is one of the most malleable and ductile metals. Another property of gold that has been a factor in its popularity is its corrosion resistant properties. Gold is chemically unaffected by things like air and moisture and so it is well suited for uses in jewelry and coinage. This property is also used in gold refining in order to identify gold by dissolving other metals surrounding gold in nitric acid. Gold has also had an important role in the world's economy through a gold-standard value system.

Platinum

Like other precious metals, platinum is ductile, malleable, and lustrous. As a pure metal its color has a silvery-white cast. Because it is one of the most rare metals, it is also one of the most valuable. In fact, platinum is the most valuable precious metal in the world. For this reason, the word "platinum" has been used to signify the highest level of things like record album sales and exclusive credit cards. Like gold, its chemical-resistant properties also add to its value and make it an ideal metal in jewelry.

Rhodium

This rare metal is a metal found in the platinum group and like platinum it is silvery-white in color and valuable. However, unlike platinum, rhodium has a lower density as well as a higher melting point. Rhodium is also one of the most valuable precious metals in the world.

Iridium

Iridium, a transition metal from the platinum family, is one of the rarest metals found anywhere in the Earth's crust. It is known for its high corrosion resistance, especially at high temperatures. Like platinum and rhodium, iridium has a silvery-white tint, but unlike the two metals it also has a yellowish cast to its coloring. Rhodium is hard and brittle and has the tenth highest melting point of all metals.

Ross Metals (http://www.rossmetals.com/) provide the highest quality gold refiners in the industry, all guaranteed to meet or exceed "The U.S. Stamping Act" for karat accuracy and requirements. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

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