27 May 2010

Why You Should Buy Platinum Coins Now

Platinum holds a special place among the precious metals and its position is only about to get even stronger. Sophisticated investors watching the platinum market have long decided it is the way to go. Considering what contributed to the popularity of gold and silver as important investment tools, the wise choice now in the precious metal market is to buy platinum coins.

Platinum is a more recent metal for coinage than gold and silver. In fact, it was originally thought of as a nuisance in the mining of gold. It took a little over two centuries to realize the first aspect of its significance, but only recently to see the second reason why it is and will be very important.

Platinum is a very rare metal; rarer than even gold. Only 140 tons are mined each year worldwide. This is less than 5% of the gold mined and 1% of the silver. Of this small quantity, a paltry 15% goes into making platinum bullion (both coins and bars). This makes platinum coins rare and platinum twice as expensive as gold. Rarity contributes a lot to the value of anything, but especially precious metals. While the supply of platinum is low, the demand is growing and showing no signs of stopping.

This is the other reason platinum is becoming so important that investing in platinum coins is the next big thing in precious metal investment. The uses of platinum already cut across industries: from healthcare and telecommunications to the automotive industry to the military. This is why the US government considers platinum as a strategic metal. The automotive industry uses 35% of all mined platinum in catalytic converters to reduce harmful emissions. This use alone is expected to increase the demand for platinum as clean energy because more and more important.

That is not the only growing use for platinum. The demand for platinum jewelry is also climbing fast, and even more uses are being found for the metal.

However, what about the supply of the metal? Over 90% of the world’s supply of platinum comes from Russia and South Africa. However, productions from the Russian mines are declining, and South African mines are unlikely to expand again anytime soon.

All these paint a rosy immediate future for investors. Presently, platinum is twice as expensive as gold, but that gap is about to widen. Investors seek a safe haven to preserve their wealth and diversify their portfolio with low risk investments. However, sometimes a rare metal provides a way to have the best of bold worlds: low risks and high returns. Rare gold coins fulfilled that promise, but now platinum coins also qualify even more than gold coins. Platinum coins are rare by nature; you don’t have to find a rare grade or coins from a certain year; platinum is simply rare and such coins are highly valued.

Therefore, you can see that in a few years, platinum will become even more valuable. My advice? Now is the right time to buy platinum coins.