What Is Palladium Worth?
Palladium Price History
The price of Palladium currently hovers around $815 an ounce. Physical demand for palladium bullion drove prices sky high in the early part of this century. Given the auto industry's demand for it, palladium commanded $1,100 per ounce. It experienced a five-year low in December of 2009 at just $383 an ounce then opened 2010 at just $419 an ounce but went on to close the year at $79. On December 26, 2013 the metal sat at $698. It experienced a slight increase to $908 an ounce in early September of 2014.
How is Palladium Used?
Palladium is a soft silver-white metal and is the rarest - 15 times more rare than Platinum - of the six metals that comprise the Platinum group. It has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of that group. The precious metal was discovered by William Hyde Wollaston in 1803. More than half of the mined soft metal is used in catalytic converters.
Palladium has been used an an alternative to using Platinum in white gold jewelry since early in the 20th century. It's consistency is similar to that of gold so it can be hammered into very thin leap form.
It is also used in dentistry, watches and in the production of surgical instruments and electrical contacts. Twenty-five percent of goods sold today either contain the precious metal or it was used in their production. Nearly a decade ago, Russia was the world's top producer of Palladium with a 44 percent world share. South Africa was the second largest producer with 40 percent of the world share. Canada and the United States follow with less than 10 percent each of the world share.
Palladium vs Platinum, Gold & Other Precious Metals
Palladium is a proven great way to invest in precious metals at low prices, and is generally cheaper than gold. Palladium is cheap due to the 
relatively low circulation of palladium coins available, as well as the wide gap in the price spread between palladium buyers and sellers. Buying silver bullion is a much cheaper alternative than palladium, but obviously offers less value.
Palladium saw the greatest increase in value over the period from 2010 to 2014 when compared to Gold, Silver and Platinum. The precious metal went from an opening price per ounce in January of 2010 of $419 and closed 2014 with a cost of $815 – nearly double.
While Silver and Platinum costs declined over the same time period with Silver dropping from $16.29 an ounce in 2010 to just $15.71 an ounce in 2014 and Platinum dipping from $1,512 an ounce to $1,183 an ounce over the same period. Gold increased only slightly moving from $1,078.50 an ounce in 2010 to $1,175 in 2014.
Is Palladium A Good Investment?
Palladium can be purchased as real assets including as coins or bars or as jewelry. You can purchase Palladium bullion from rare coin dealers, trade shows, online auction houses or brokers. Do some research to make sure these dealers are reputable. International Precious Metals carries a variety of generic palladium bars and coins, including pure palladium as well as the renowned palladium Maple Leaf coin. IPM has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is one of only two dozen companies recognized as a National Dealer in official United States Mint literature.
Along with the BBB, industry affiliations with the American Numismatic Association (ANA), Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC), and Industry Council on Tangible Assets (ICTA) all reflect a commitment to fair and honest business practices.
Feel free to learn more about precious metals and valuable coins by checking out our other unique blog posts, including Is Copper A Precious Metal, Everything You Need To Know About The 1776 Continental Dollar & Is it Safe to Buy Gold Online.
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