How to Find the Cheapest Platinum Scrap

The oldest record of platinum use is as an inlay in ancient Egypt. However, the Egyptians thought it was a variation of the electrum (a natural mixture of gold and silver). Native Americans used it for centuries in small decorative objects. Platinum was unknown to Europeans until the Spanish discovered it in Colombia. The Spanish called it platina, which means little silver. It was not identified as a new metal until the 1700s. The metal was introduced to Europe from South America in the mid-18th century. It is always found in association with other metals, mainly rhodium, osmium, iridium, palladium.

Platinum is one of the rarest and purest precious metals in the world. Platinum, the perfect jewelry material for these fortuitous times, is considered by many to be a “new” metal. Platinum has been held in high regard as a symbol of wealth and nobility, the true value of platinum was underestimated until the 18th century, when Europeans began to recognize the beauty of platinum. In fact, Louis XVI of France proclaimed it the only metal fit for royalty. Legendary jewelers like Cartier, Fabergé and Tiffany created their timeless designs in platinum. The world’s most famous diamonds, including Hope and Koh-l-Noor, are permanently insured in platinum.

Platinum reached its peak of popularity in the early 1900s, when it was the metal of choice for all fine jewelry in America. It dominated the world of jewelry design during the Edwardian era, the Art Deco period, and well into the 1930s. However, at the beginning of WWII, the US government declared platinum a “strategic metal.” “and its use in non-military applications, including jewelry, was banned.

Very few countries have platinum supplies, and South Africa (80%) and Russia (11%) account for about 90% of the world’s supply. The annual production of these mines is only 150 tons, which is 1/25 of the annual gold production. Furthermore, the amount of platinum that can be produced from raw ore is relatively small. To make a single small ring of about 3 grams requires about 1 ton of raw ore.

Today, platinum is much more valuable than gold. Although used in many industrial applications, including the automotive industry, platinum jewelry is always priced higher than even pure gold due to its rarity.

Two of the best ways to find the cheapest platinum scrap is through catalytic converters and scrap platinum jewelry. Because platinum prices are so high in recent times, many people are becoming the victims of thieves stealing their catalytic converters. Before you had to worry about your tires, stereos and gps systems, well, not anymore.

A catalytic converter is used to reduce the toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion engine. They were first introduced in automobiles in the US market for the 1975 model year to comply with strict EPA regulations on automobile exhaust. Each catalytic converter contains between three and seven grams of platinum. It’s not a bad catch if you can find one legally. Catalytic converters are also used in generator sets, forklifts, mining equipment, trucks, buses, trains, and other engine-equipped machines.

From junkyards, converters are making their way into the metal recycling industry, where platinum and other precious elements, including palladium and rhodium, are disposed of and used to build high-tech machinery, including more catalytic converters. .

Though it’s getting to the forefront thanks to thieves who stole catalytic converters, platinum still appears to be the great unknown in scrap metal. Some great places to find old scarp catalytic converters are local junkyards, online classifieds such as Craigslist, US Freeads, and Kiji. Another great place, as usual, is Ebay. Some people even find them at getaway markets and yard sales. The trick is to find refineries that pay decent scrap prices for platinum. It will be less than the price of platinum because they have to extract it, that price passes it on to you.

Now there is a second way to find the cheapest platinum scrap and that is through jewelry. Again, the best places to find great deals on platinum jewelry are through the run away market and yard sales, followed by Craigslist, Us Freeads, Kiji, and Ebay. Or if you’re really nifty, you can invest in a metal detector and hope for the best.

What’s so great about scrap platinum jewelry? Well, the number of informed buyers and sellers is low. Most people do not understand that platinum jewelry is 90% platinum and that the other 10% is made up of a metal from the platinum group. If you call your local pawn shops, junk dealers, junkyards, coin stores, and jewelry stores, you will find that most of them pay roughly the same for platinum jewelry as 14k gold and some may pay close to it. They pay. for 18k gold. They are taking advantage of most salespeople who just don’t understand what they have.

If you find the cheap platinum you are looking for, your next step is to locate a platinum refiner preferably in your area and get their hours or purchase prices. Your goal is to locate a refiner that will pay you for the “residual” values ​​in your scrap alloy. The key is that you will need to ensure that you will provide a minimum of 10-12 troy ounces to get paid for all your metal rather than just 90% platinum.