https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platinum#European_discovery
The first European reference to platinum appears in 1557 in the writings of the Italian humanist Julius Caesar Scaliger as a description of an unknown noble metal found between Darién and Mexico, “which no fire nor any Spanish artifice has yet been able to liquefy”.[60] From their first encounters with platinum, the Spanish generally saw the metal as a kind of impurity in gold, and it was treated as such. It was often simply thrown away, and there was an official decree forbidding the adulteration of gold with platinum impurities.[59]
So wait, the entire Roman empire existed before Europe had any idea what platinum was?
Correct! It’s insane how recent some understandings of the world around us are.
Wait, so why did it become valuable overnight?
It didn’t happen overnight, but there are a ton of modern applications for platinum. Many of them use it as a very efficient catalyst, many reactions can be massively speed up or only happen when platinum is present.
For example the Catalytic converter in gas cars usually use platinum as the catalyst. They brake down carbon monoxide and various nitrogen oxides.
Yes, because the carbon monoxide and various nitrogen oxides are usually travelling at grate speeds and must be slowed.
Essentially, they had to figure out how to isolate it from other metals entirely (you have to alloy it and then reduce it with acid) so it would have consistent visual and material qualities and could be reasonably worked. From that point on, the fact that it was both rare and pretty to look at made it immensely valuable, same basic reasons as gold, except NEW and EXCITING. Inside of a decade it went from worthless to the next big thing.
Aluminum had a similar treatment when it was discovered, becoming immensely valuable because it was pretty and novel, though its value dropped like a rock as easier methods of refining aluminum were discovered.
I love the story that Napolean went to the unimaginable luxury of having a whole set of aluminum tableware made up to awe his visitors.
The cap on the Washington Monument is aluminum because it was so precious in 1884, comparable to silver.
https://evolutiondc.museum.gwu.edu/the-washington-monument-capstone/
The aluminum set was only for the most distinguished guests, the other guests had to eat with the less luxurious gold cutlery.
It’s an important ingredient in credit cards. Of course you have to invent credit cards first.
I prefer my credit cards made with artificially scarce trash rocks, like diamonds, tyvm
To be fair, they did get quite a bit of silver from Potosi over 300 years.
It’s still undervalued, IMO. I’m buying.
I’ve heard this one before…crypto, NFTs, GameStop…not falling for this again.
Crypto, nft, GameStop are literally without intrinsic worth. Platinum is in limited supply and is essential to existing and developing tech. But, I’m not trying to evangelize. Just saying.
*limited supply on earth
I remember reading this article a few years ago, about an asteroid full of platinum in our solar system (2011 UW158). The article stated that, should we manage to bring the whole asteroid back to earth, given the amount of platinum in it, it would trigger an economic crisis given that platinum would become a “junk” material, in term of supply and demand.
While the outcome is purely theoretical for now - given that asteroid mining / wrangling ain’t a thing currently - it really is telling when most people agree that with our current economic system, which really is for the greater good (/s), a surplus of a useful mineral would end up making a lot of people hungry.
Yeah, NFTs can’t catalyze anything except stupid people losing their money
“Crypto and tokens and GameStop, oh my!
Crypto and tokens and GameStop, oh my!”
This is what we in the jewelry industry refer to as a “big oof.”
Me with BTC
