Palladium

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Palladium
General information
Material type	metal
Color	silver-white
Magnetic?	no
Numismatic information
ISO 4217 code	XPD
Used for	commemorative, pattern, and fantasy coins
Used by	See §List of countries
v · d · e

Palladium is a rare, silver-white transition metal that has been used to make coinage. It is internationally recognized as a form of currency under ISO 4217, with the code XPD.

History

A coin issued by the Soviet Union during 1989 composed of palladium.

Sierra Leone was the first to actually issue coins composed of palladium during 1966. A year later, Tonga began issuing coins from palladium, which included the Tonga Palladium Hau. Since then, Australia, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, China, the Cook Islands, France, the Isle of Man, Malawi, Russia, Portugal, Samoa, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United States have begun using palladium in coinage. Most of these, however, are not in general circulation, usually being commemorative coins.

Of all the countries that have minted coins in palladium, the former Soviet Union, now a part of the Russian Federation, has minted the most palladium coins in the world.

Canadian Big & Little Bear Constellations and the Palladium Maple Leaf

The Canadian Big & Little Bear Constellations is the lowest mintage coin ever minted by the Royal Canadian Mint, having a total of less than 1200 coins minted. There are four versions which correspond to the four seasons. The actual mintages are 297 spring coins, 296 summer coins, 296 autumn coins, and 293 winter coins.

The Royal Canadian Mint also minted Palladium Maple Leaf coins from 2005 to 2007. They were composed of 99.95% pure palladium (.9995 quality), each containing a troy ounce of pure palladium. These coins are legal tender in Canada. The coin's reverse features a maple leaf, a symbol of Canada, while its obverse features Queen Elizabeth II.

List of countries

• Australia
• Bermuda
• British Virgin Islands (with gold, platinum, and silver)
• Canada
• China
• Cook Islands
• France
• Isle of Man
• Malawi
• Russia
• Portugal
• Samoa
• Sierra Leone
• Slovakia (with gold)
• Switzerland
• Tonga
• United States

References

• Palladium coins on the English Wikipedia

v · d · e Metals with an ISO 4217 code
Gold (XAU) · Palladium (XPD) · Platinum (XPT) · Silver (XAG)