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precious metal
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rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical element of high economic and cultural value
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- metal
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- topic's main category
- Category:Precious metals
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- Commons category
- Precious metals
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~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Gold nugget A selection of precious metal elements: copper, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, rhenium, osmium, iridium, platinum, gold and mercury. They are labeled and arranged by their location on the periodic table.
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less chemically reactive than most elements. They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. Historically, precious metals were important as currency but they are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial raw materials. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “precious metal” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.