Precious metals
The physical elements, metallurgical properties, and purity tests of coin metals.
Inside this collection
Gold
The rare, non-reactive yellow metal prized across civilizations for minting and adornment.
Silver
The lustrous white metal that supplied the vast majority of historical everyday coinage.
Platinum
The dense white metal used occasionally for nineteenth-century Russian coins and modern bullion.
Palladium
A modern coinage metal belonging to the platinum group with specialized mint applications.
Electrum
A naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver used to strike the world's earliest coins.
Bullion bars
Cast and minted ingots produced for commercial metal storage rather than pocket change.
Hallmarks
Official stamped marks that guarantee the metal purity and origin of precious objects.
Fineness
The proportion of pure precious metal in a coin expressed in carats or thousandths.
Small details deserve
a closer reading.
We tell the stories behind coins with clear explanations, useful sources and a sense of discovery.
Our approach