Was reading about Rhodium on wikipedia the other day ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodium and this stuff is amazing. It says it's the most precious of the precious medals. It makes platinum seem like copper. If rich people have gold coins....then evil super villians who rule the world would have coins made of this stuff. Has there ever been a Rhodium coin?
Definately no. I haven't heard of 100% pure rhodium as it cannot be made into sheets of metal - that metal is quiet brittle. Hence, it is more likely that you buy it in forms of alloy, such as platinum-rhodium alloy of 20-80.
Disagree, palladium is starting to catch up recently. Here is a list of palladium coins minted worldwide. http://www.rene-finn.de/English/palladiumtabeng.html To top it up, the Canadian mint minted palladium maple leaf bullion coins this year.
Rhodium is down $2300/oz since the middle of May!! I don't know if I could handle a coin that performed like that! Palladium is really useful, but is Rhodium useful? I assume it must be, but in what?
As I understand it, it is most valuable as a chemical catalyst. I think I heard once that rhodium chloride has industrial applications in the production of ammonia, among other things.
It takes more than rarity to turn a substance into a monetary metal. Gold and silver [and to a lesser extent copper and nickel] are the metals with a long history of being accepted as money in most times and places.
I heard about it because my wedding ring got a rhodium coating put on it. It helps white gold not turn yellowish. I think I'm gonna get 30 coats of it on my ring for free with my warranty, then scrape the stuff off and retire. :bow:
That's another thing rhodium is good for... resisting corrosion. However zinc is a much cheaper way to do the same thing, lol. Most people wouldn't want a zinc coating on gold or platinum jewelry though.
