The ancients were familiar with gold and silver. Prior to the 16th century, platinum was unknown, and it wasn't discovered in Peru in large quantities by the Spanish until about 1750. At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon made the discovery of palladium.
Each of these precious metals has long been the focus of political intrigue. Both gold and silver have made headlines in the United States. Some wanted to control the silver market, while others wanted to keep gold out of the hands of Americans. Due to their industrial use in catalytic converters, platinum, and palladium, white silver-like metals, have been the subject of international controversy and intrigue. From 1970 to 2011, gold had the highest compounded rate of return of any metal. However, despite the impressive numbers, silver performed one-fifth better than gold in the short run. The precious metals market has experienced extraordinary price swings over the past three or four years. However, that hasn't always been the case. Gold has maintained price stability for centuries. The official price of gold has changed only four times since the U.S. Mint was established in 1792. The value of an ounce of the dollar dropped from $19.39 to $20.67 in 1834. That rate remained in place for nearly a century before FDR devalued the dollar by 59% to $35 per ounce.
Gold was officially devalued once more in 1971 to $38 per ounce, and President Nixon re-set the dollar in 1973, devaluing it to $42.22 per ounce of gold—the current rate, despite the fact that the market price is greater than $1,400 per ounce.
When it first reached $800 an ounce, a level not seen in more than 30 years, gold regained popular imagination and soared higher. Gold was above $800 per ounce on more than 160 days of the year during the last third of the expected decade (August 2008).In March 2011, the price per ounce was over $1,400, and in April, it was over $1,500.Platinum's 40-year price history shows ups and downs, even though it is higher.
The average annual prices of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are instructive, particularly when examined over the past fifty years, from 1960 to the present. They depict the unnatural rise from 1979 to 1980, a sudden fall, followed by a steady, gradual, and solid rise that has brought it to its current levels and suggests a push beyond. This is true for gold, as well as silver ($35 per ounce as gold topped $1,400, a 40:1 price ratio), platinum ($1,772 per ounce during the same period), and palladium ($75 per ounce in March 2011, while palladium retreated slightly in late April 2011 with silver at over $48 per ounce, but gold jumped to over $1,527 per ounce, a 31:1 price ratio).
