First off, thank you to everyone who helped get these off our shelves so quickly in the last post- seeing the interest, we will be continuing with making the extra mineral specimens, left over from building our Layered Ultramafic Intrusion Geo-kits, available.

edit: updated some notes on bulk pricing, types. Any and all questions regarding the geology and mineralogy of these minerals are always more than welcome! Also added more details on remaining specimens

What's left:

We've got a few dozen specimens left of Palladium-Platinum bearing ores (with minor Rh, Ir, Ru, Os). The ores are in a few classes- Sulfidic Anorthosite/Troctolite, Sulfidic Serpentinite, Altered/Enriched An/Tr, and Altered/Enriched Sulfidic Serpentinite.

These are very rare minerals with extremely unique provenance. All specimens have bright, visible sulfides which are PGE enriched in varying grades (listed below). Host PGE sulfide is primarily Pentlandite with minor Sperrylite/Braggite occurrence. Some pieces have Chalcopyrite and/or Pyrrhotite included as well. Many have residual olivine/peridot inclusions.

A Note on Grades/Certifications:

An important note; we have assay/xrf data for representative specimens for each category, but not every specimen with the group has been individually tested. Any specimen will come with a certificate/document of provenance which will reference the sample piece's grade.

Ore Types / Grades

Sulfidic Anorthosite/Troctolite (Type 1)
~30-50 specimens ranging from 20g to 1kg in size (very few large pieces - one piece has visible vertical intrusive chromitite banding.)

• Representative reef material,
• Grades are near exact to mine grades,
• Used in the 60s to train NASA astronauts to identify potential PGE bearing deposits on the moon
• Calling card for this mineralization

9-24ppm PGEs, with 3.6pd : 1pt

Sulfidic Serpentinite (Type 2)
~80 small specimens (9-28g) / ~50 medium specimens (29g-500g) / ~25 large specimens (501g+)

• Chromitite/Pyroxenite/Bronzitite base,
• Higher grade representative of thicker areas of reef banding- "Jackpot" areas of the reef structure-
• High grades, wild textures

12-35ppm PGEs, with 3.6pd : 1pt

Altered/Enriched Anorthosite/Troctolite // Altered/Enriched Sulfidic Serpentinite (Type 3)
~35 Anorthosite/Troctolite, visible sulfides, less "chalky" than typical reef ore. Most are 50-300g pieces.
~50 A/E Sulfidic Serpentinites, very visible sulfides, boxwork, gossanous. Most are 100-500g pieces.

• Broken/travelled from original structure- alteration causes S-loss in these specimens, dramatically increasing PGE tenor in remaining sulfides.
• Significantly higher grades than mine-ores.
• Some of the highest grade PGE material that can be located, anywhere.
• Truly unique specimens. Visually striking.

60-120ppm PGEs, some isolated extreme cases have shown 250-500ppm+

Discordant Dunites and other Peridotites, Pyroxenites, Gabbronorite (II) (Type 4)
~100 of these specimens. Most range from 250-750g.

• Visual striking, some remaining peridot in less altered pieces.
• PGE bearing, however less so than other speecimens
• Striking colors, very diverse specimens

Negligible PGEs, 3ppm or less- still present, some specimens have higher localized pockets.

Specimen photos/orders:

Serious inquires only please - these are research grade specimens that need a good home.

$50 minimum purchase to cover shipping.

• Please DM or otherwise let me know if you are interested in a specific type or types of what we have available and I will provide photos, more details, etc.
• Larger pieces can be broken/modified as long as the entire piece is being purchased.
• I am willing to cut smaller pieces from some types if you are looking for smaller individual pieces at an additional +$0.75/g- shipping minimum must still be met.
• The pieces vary greatly in size/weight and as a result are priced by gram.
• Edit: Bulk pricing is available as well. Please send a message with what kind of bulk you are looking at and we can likely find an agreeable price.

Pricing:

• Type 1 (Sulfidic An./Tr.): $95/oz (~$3.50/g)
• Type 2 (Sulfidic Serpentinite): $120/oz (~$5/g)
• Type 3 (Altered/Enriched): $150/oz (~$7/g)
• Type 4 (Dunites/Pyroxenites): $50/oz (~$2/g)

These prices were verified against standards for high-quality PGE bearing reef material and then reduced to try and get them in the hands of serious collectors. These are great prices for genuine, unmistakable reef material/products.

The geo-kits we have put together using the rest of what we'd collected over the last several years were/are being donated to universities, these all currently have homes and the full sets are delivered through donation only. We intend to build more kits showcasing other unique geological settings in the future, and every dime we earn here will fund the collection/creation of the new sets for those donations as well.

https://i.redd.it/4yscsh3z552h1.gif

A very small, very unique type 3 piece sold with the last batch.

Hey platinum lovers....does anyone know why the US mint is not selling platinum bullion coins? From what I can tell) after 2023?

Other sovereign mints produce and sell many of them (UK, Austria, Perth, Canada) but the US mint apparently does not. I know this happened before from 2008-2013 thereabouts, if memory serves.

Happy stacking!!

I see the platinum ETF PPLT is splitting 10-1 after the market close tomorrow. Just in case anyone else has some and wonders why its only $18 Monday morning.

I inherited a 1984 Isle of Man 1-ounce platinum coin, and I'm curious whether it has any value above the price of platinum. I did some research, and it seems like this was the first time that platinum was used to mint a coin (at least in modern times). The run was around 2,000 coins minted for that year. That is really all the information I could find.

The coin has been sitting in storage for decades and seems to be in decent shape. I don't know if this is a generic coin or a "proof" coin. I don't know much about coins, so I don't know if proof or generic makes a difference, but I suspect it does. Not sure about the condition or grade of the coin.

I would consider selling the coin and investing the money, but before taking the coin to the coin dealer down the street, I thought I would check here.

Thank you in advance for any help and insights.

https://preview.redd.it/o8q6hwxktx0h1.jpg?width=2806&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e6c88655a1e782e4817b0ee5e9ff000e96402149

https://preview.redd.it/71px1wxktx0h1.jpg?width=2127&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d507c50a0786f1038c455be3a237aca835533938

I bought some 1oz platinum bars last April. I’m interested in selling half of them. I didn’t really do much research, wanted to get my money into a tangible, physical asset and decided on platinum.

I take that back. I did do plenty of research on value and potential value, but didn’t consider liquidity. I went to LCS this weekend, dude wasn’t interested. Says he has no market for platinum.

PMsForSale will surely get commented. I have no transactions, and honestly don’t really trust internet strangers…

Do online dealers like APMEX actually pay a fair price? Trying to see what my options are so I don’t let myself get undercut. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the insight!

Iran has made compensation for wartime destruction a central condition in ongoing diplomatic discussions. According to Iranian officials:

• Estimated damages: ~$270 billion in direct and indirect losses from U.S. and Israeli attacks on infrastructure.
• The demand includes compensation for:
  • Oil & gas facilities
  • Petrochemical plants
  • Steel and aluminum factories
  • Power plants and desalination facilities
  • Ports, bridges, rail networks
  • Universities, research centers
  • Hospitals, schools, and civilian homes
  • Civilian aircraft (60 damaged, 20 destroyed)

Iran’s government spokeswoman stated that the country cannot afford to compensate its own civilians for destroyed homes without external restitution — reinforcing why Tehran is pushing this issue aggressively.

Who Iran Says Should Pay

Iran’s envoy to the UN has gone further, asserting that five regional countries must also pay compensation because their territory was allegedly used to launch attacks. Other reports indicate NATO nations who facilitated US military will also be liable for restitution to Iran.

Strait of Hormuz “Compensation Protocol”

Iran has floated a proposal to create a Strait of Hormuz compensation mechanism, which would impose a tax on ships passing through the waterway to fund reconstruction.

This is a major strategic escalation: Iran is signaling that if direct restitution is not paid, it may seek to extract it through control of maritime chokepoints.

Payment settlements are expected to be made in non‑USD form:

• Yuan: via Chinese banks and oil‑for‑infrastructure or oil‑for‑goods structures.
• Gold: directly or via intermediaries, especially for sanctions‑resistant value transfer.
• Other non‑USD currencies / clearing hubs: AED, EUR (through friendly intermediaries), or barter/offset deals (energy, infrastructure, tech, etc.).
• Possibly rial if conducted directly with Iranian banks and tied to specific bilateral trade conditions.

NEWS SOURCES:

Iranian Rial's Record Low: A Flow Analysis of Hard Currency Demand

https://hiiraan.com/news4/2026/Apr/204919/iran_says_270bn_war_loss_must_be_compensated_as_fresh_talks_with_us_loom.aspx

Iran Demands $270 Billion Compensation for War Damages Ahead of New Talks with the US – MILLENNIUM NEWS 24/7

Looking at a platinum figaro or wheat chain on 7879, they dont list weight of thier pieces and i want to make sure im not paying over 50 percent markup like some other jewellers do. Does anyone with experience with 7879 know the weight of either piece?