SuisseGold.com sells government minted palladium coins to its clients for secure Swiss storage or for delivery. Low premium palladium bullion coins, including Canadian Maple Leafs, are also available.
What is Palladium?
Palladium is a rare precious metal that is used in the jewelry industry and in the manufacturing of electronics and automobiles. It is also popular with physical precious metals investors looking to buy palladium.
Palladium is a member of the Platinum Group Metals (or PGMs), a group of rare earth metals that always appear together. Thus, palladium is normally found in the same locations as platinum.
More than 70% of the world's available palladium originates from South Africa, and a further 20% from Russia. This makes the metal's price extremely sensitive to economic, political and social factors in these countries. For example, when South Africa considered nationalizing its mining industry, prices of PGMs soared. Currently the price of palladium is trading at around double its value of several years ago.
World supplies of palladium are less than 1/100th that of gold, and the majority of the metal is used in the automotive industry. That also means that the prices of palladium are sensitive to the car industry. The normal trend is that palladium is used as the default metal in most automobiles for the catalytic converter, but platinum is used in luxury vehicles. Thus, changes in the demand for luxury cars or for new cars can affect the palladium price.
Current rises in palladium prices are impacted by the increase in middle classes in countries with huge populations, such as China and India, where there has been a huge surge in the purchase of vehicles as a result.
Government Minted Palladium Coins
All palladium coins are minted by official government mints. Although there are several refineries that produce palladium rounds, these are rarer. Palladium coins are less common than gold or silver coins, but should not be discounted when building a precious metals portfolio.
Royal Canadian Mint Palladium Maple Leaf Coins
By far the most popular and recognised palladium coin worldwide is the Maple Leaf coin, produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. These Maple Leaf coins contain 9995 fine investment grade palladium bullion, and are available in 1 troy ounce size only. The palladium maple leaf was first issued in 2005, and was the first palladium coin to be minted by an official government body. The coin has maintained popularity, particularly due to the increase in interest in palladium investing.
Cook Islands Palladium Coins
The Cook Islands recently released their own palladium coin - a one ounce palladium coin with an image of the HMS Bounty on it. Each palladium Cook Islands coin has a face value of $50 Cook Islands Dollars. These coins are manufactured by the Perth Mint on behalf of the Islands. Unlike the palladium Maple Leaf series, these coins are released in limited mintages, and sell for a higher premium as a result.
American Eagle Palladium Coins
The United States Mint authorised the manufacturing of palladium American Eagle coins in 2010. The coins were first released in 2017, in a limited mintage of 15,000 coins, and in 2018 were only available as proof coins. Like the Cook Islands coins, these palladium Eagles sell at a higher premium due to their limited mintage and proof condition. Each coin has a face value of $25 USD. Coins are available individually and in tubes of 20.
Storing Palladium Coins VAT-Free
All clients of Suisse Gold have the option of requesting their order for delivery or storing it in secure vault storage located in Switzerland. For clients from the EU, Swiss vault storage has the added benefit of VAT-exemption. No VAT is payable on purchases until the client takes delivery. Clients taking advantage of our Zurich based vault storage may select to collect their purchase or sell it back at any time. Palladium coins may be purchased in any of 15 currencies, and 5 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.