Archive for May, 2010

Putting your best foot, or tires, forward is the goal of anyone who shows their car at car shows. Depending on the size, there could be hundreds of cars at the next show you enter and having people walk away remembering your car is the goal of most competitors If you are looking for an award, a prize or even honorable mention you don’t stand a chance unless you take a car that is pristine and obviously well maintained
It’s a [...]

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Items of jewelry or art made of precious metals are hallmarked based on specific requirements either of the country of import or the place of manufacture. Such items, particularly those made of silver, gold, or platinum, are struck with an official mark (or series of marks), which guarantees fineness or purity of the metal used.
To determine the precious metal content in an item, certain non-destructive assay techniques are used. Two examples are the touchstone method (a very old assay method) [...]

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In the periodic table of elements, six metallic elements are bunched together in the d-block, specifically in groups 8 to 9, periods 5 and 6. All transition metals, these six elements are collectively referred to as the “platinum group metals”. These precious metals tend to occur with one another in mineral deposits. Likewise, they are alike in both chemical and physical properties.
In the order of their arrangement in the periodic table, the six metallic elements of the platinum group are [...]

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The Four Platinum Bullion Coins: A Brief Description Of Each
Bullion coins are coins made from precious metals. Their market values are determined by their inherent precious metal contents. As such bullion coins are mainly kept as investments or stores of value.
Most of the bullion coins available are made from silver or gold. A few also come in platinum though, including the American Platinum Eagle, the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf, the Australian Platinum Koala, and the Manx Noble. Here’s a quick [...]

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Most metallic chemical elements are known to easily oxidize and corrode, especially at high temperatures. Metals that have excellent resistance to oxidation and corrosion, even at high temperatures, are called noble metals. While there is no strict definition for this group of metals, it usually includes those that are extremely rare.
Thus, metals that are labeled “precious” are also considered noble metals (note, however, that noble metals are not necessarily precious metals). There are nine known precious metals – gold, platinum, [...]

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