How to Buy Platinum and Palladium

By the Bullion Beacon Editorial Team · Updated October 31, 2026

You buy platinum and palladium the same basic way you buy gold: choose a coin or bar, compare the total price with the spot price, and arrange storage. The difference is the market itself. Both metals trade in a smaller, more industrial market, so product choice is narrower, spreads can be wider, and prices have often moved more sharply than gold.

Know What Drives These Metals

Platinum and palladium belong to the platinum group metals (PGMs). According to the USGS National Minerals Information Center, world mine output is concentrated in a few countries, chiefly South Africa and Russia, with smaller amounts from places such as Zimbabwe, Canada, and the United States. A supply base that narrow can mean that a strike, power shortage, or trade restriction in one region may affect global availability.

Demand is heavily industrial. Palladium's largest use has been in catalytic converters for gasoline vehicles. Platinum is used in diesel catalysts, jewelry, chemical and petroleum refining, glassmaking, and medical and electronic parts. That means prices can respond to auto production, emissions rules, and shifts in vehicle technology, not only to the forces that move gold. Our pages on platinum supply and demand and palladium supply and demand cover these factors in detail.

Plain-language takeaway: some people hold platinum or palladium to diversify beyond gold and silver, but these are smaller, more cyclical markets. Many buyers keep them as a modest slice of their metals holdings rather than the core.

Coins and Bars You Will Commonly See

The menu is shorter than for gold or silver. Common choices include:

American Platinum Eagle and American Palladium Eagle, struck by the U.S. Mint in .9995 fineness.
Platinum Maple Leaf and Palladium Maple Leaf from the Royal Canadian Mint, issued in some years rather than every year.
Bars from established refiners, most often in one-ounce and ten-ounce sizes.

Mintages for PGM coins are often smaller and vary from year to year, so availability can be uneven and some dealers keep only a few products in stock. Our guides to platinum coins and bars and palladium coins and bars list the main options and what to check on each.

Pricing: Expect a Wider Spread

Platinum and palladium have their own spot prices, which are driven by wholesale and futures trading, such as the contracts listed on CME Group's metals markets. Retail prices add a premium on top of spot. Because fewer dealers make markets in these metals and fewer buyers show up on any given day, the gap between what you pay and what a dealer offers to buy back can be wider than for gold.

Before you buy, it helps to ask three questions:

What is the all-in price per ounce, including shipping and insurance?
What would you pay me to buy this same product back today?
Do you regularly buy this product back, or only sometimes?

The answers tell you roughly how far the price would need to move before a sale could break even, and how easy it may be to sell later.

Holding Platinum and Palladium in an IRA

A self-directed IRA can hold platinum and palladium bullion that meets the .9995 fineness standard in 26 U.S.C. 408(m), plus qualifying U.S. platinum coins under the American Eagle exception. As with gold and silver, the metal must be kept by a custodian or an approved depository, not at home. See our pages on platinum in a retirement account and palladium in a retirement account for how eligibility and storage work.

Storage and Handling

Platinum and palladium are dense and durable, and they do not tarnish the way silver can. Keep coins in their original capsules, since scratches and fingerprints may reduce what some buyers pay. For directly owned metal, the same storage choices apply as for gold: a home safe, a safe deposit box, or a private vault. Because these metals are less familiar to many people, keep your invoices and assay cards with clear notes so heirs or an insurer know what they are.

Mistakes to Avoid

Treating PGMs like gold. Platinum and palladium have different drivers, and their prices do not always move with gold.
Buying obscure products. Less familiar bars or one-off coins may be harder to sell. Widely recognized coins and bars from established refiners are usually easier.
Ignoring the buyback quote. Ask what a dealer would pay today before you buy, not only when you want to sell.
Assuming IRA eligibility. Confirm each product meets the .9995 standard or the American Eagle exception.
Overweighting a small market. Sharp price swings in a thin market can be hard to live with if the position is large.

Buying Through Goldco

Goldco, a precious metals company, offers platinum and palladium in addition to its gold and silver lineup. Product availability changes, so ask its precious metals specialists which platinum and palladium items are currently offered, whether each is IRA eligible, and how Goldco's advertised buyback terms apply to them. The specialists are not licensed to give financial, legal, or tax advice. Our page on platinum and palladium at Goldco has more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is platinum rarer than gold?

Annual mine output of platinum is far smaller than gold's, according to USGS data. Rarity alone does not set price; industrial demand and recycling matter a great deal.

Why has palladium's price been so volatile?

Much of its demand comes from auto catalysts, and much of its supply comes from a small number of mines. Shifts on either side can move the price quickly.

Are platinum coins easy to sell?

Well-known coins such as the Platinum Eagle and Platinum Maple Leaf are recognized by most major dealers, but fewer buyers compete for them than for gold, so compare several bids.