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Where there’s a precious metal, there’s a surprising story to match. We delved into the vault for a dozen things you didn’t know about your old gold, silver, and, platinum.
Here are 12 precious metal facts...
- Since ancient times gold has been associated with the sun.
- The word gold is derived from a Sanskrit word meaning "to shine."
- The chemical symbol for Gold (Au) comes from the Latin 'aurum' meaning "glowing dawn".
- Gold can be dissolved in a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acid. This solution is called aqua regia because it dissolves "the king of metals".
- Gold's virtual indestructibility means that almost all gold ever mined could still be in use today.
- Silver's chemical symbol (Ag) is derived from the latin 'argentum' which means "shining white" Although native silver is found in nature, it most commonly occurs as compounds with other elements, especially sulphur.
- Today silver is used mostly in industry. Large amounts are still used in jewellery, silverware and coins, but more is used by the photographic and electronic industries.
- Platinum's chemical symbol (Pt) comes from the Spanish word for silver (plata) because originally it was thought to be silver.
- The melting point of platinum is 1,796 degrees Celsius, which is unusually high for metal.
- Platinum is found as native metal, in natural alloys, and, in compounds with sulphur and arsenic.
- Because of their rarity, the demand for gold and platinum are expected to rise.
- Silver is more closely tied to industry, and the demand for silver is expected to change with economic conditions.
We hope you enjoyed our whirlwind tour of precious metals, know a fact we missed? Drop it in the comments :)
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