Valuation
Estimate contained metal
Start with a documented reference, weight and purity. Keep the calculation separate from an actual buyer offer.
Open calculators →Cited market history, current statistics and scenario research
Metal market history, current statistics and long-range scenarios
Eight historical studies explain the standards, institutions and transaction systems behind metal markets. A maintained statistics reference tracks current central-bank gold activity, while seven scenario studies map conditional long-range pathways.
Research topics
Choose history, current statistics or scenarios
History explains how markets developed, current statistics document reported activity, and scenarios show how different assumptions change a long-range result.
Selling
Prepare an offer comparison
Sort the material, protect non-metal value and compare like-for-like terms before deciding.
Open selling checklists →Market research
Market history and scenarios
History explains how the market developed. Scenario studies show conditional paths, not a promised price.
Browse historical studies →Maintained statistics
What central banks reported buying in 2026
A source-dated monthly reference that keeps reported activity separate from broader demand estimates and makes revisions visible.
Central-bank gold purchases in 2026
Monthly WGC figures, selected country changes, publication dates, reporting differences and revision caveats.
See the monthly statistics →Reported activity is not estimated total demand
Use the page to distinguish activity months from release dates, holdings from purchases, and public reports from quarterly estimates.
Compare the measures →Cited market history
How metal markets developed
Evergreen research on the scales, standards, institutions, contracts and networks that made unfamiliar metal credible enough for the next transaction.
The history of buying and selling precious metals
Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium from early weighed exchange to coinage, hallmarks, benchmark prices, funds and digital ownership claims.
Read the full paper →The history of gold trading
Gold as weighed wealth, stamped coin, imperial cargo, monetary anchor, bullion benchmark, futures contract, fund asset and recycled material.
Read the full paper →Central banks and precious metals
A cited 1609–2026 history of coin reserves, gold and silver standards, Bretton Woods, official sales, modern buying and vault custody.
Read the institutional history →The history of selling silver
Five thousand years of weights, contracts, coins, hallmarks, global trade, industry, futures and retail bullion.
Read the full paper →The history of selling copper
From early exchange and Bronze Age ingots to merchant capital, industrial refining, exchange warrants and graded scrap.
Read the full paper →The history of selling platinum
From Indigenous metallurgy and Russian roubles to South African mines, catalytic converters, bullion and futures.
Read the full paper →The history of palladium trading
From an anonymous 1803 sale to mine supply, autocatalysts, benchmark prices, bullion, funds and recycling.
Read the full paper →Buying and selling precious metals, 2020–2025
Pandemic shortages, premiums, two-way quotes, ETFs, dealer bids, fraud and the conditions that shaped actual transactions.
Read the study →Scenario research
Long-range market scenarios
These dated first-edition studies state conditional ranges and assumptions. They are not promised prices, live quotes or investment recommendations.
Gold price scenarios through 2051
Real yields, reserve demand, mine supply, recycling and conditional purchasing-power ranges.
Explore the scenarios →Central-bank gold reserves through 2051
Three conditional tonnage paths for reserve diversification, custody, sanctions, collateral and tokenized settlement.
Explore the reserve scenarios →Silver scenarios through 2051
Supply, solar demand, recycling, transaction friction and range-based paths for buyers and sellers to watch.
Explore the scenarios →Platinum market outlook, 2026–2051
Mine supply, automotive demand, hydrogen, recycling and conditional planning ranges.
Explore the scenarios →Palladium scenarios through 2051
Automotive transition, recycling, mine supply and conditional price regimes—not a single target price.
Explore the model →Copper market outlook, 2026–2051
Demand, mine supply, recycling and illustrative planning bands for a changing copper market.
Explore the scenarios →Precious-metals outlook, 2026–2051
Compare the forces shaping Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium in one buyer-and-seller framework.
Compare the outlooks →About these studies
History explains the market; scenarios test changing conditions
Historical papers document what happened and why. Scenario studies state their publication date, evidence cut-off, assumptions and limitations so readers can challenge a pathway rather than mistake it for a forecast service.
Each release includes a visible scope, source links or bibliography, and a correction path. Use current quotes, product terms and local rules for an actual transaction.
All Metal Prices uses an organizational byline. The Research Desk disclosure explains who that label represents, how releases are produced and which identity limitations remain. Named authors and reviewers will be shown only when real people accept responsibility for that work and consent to publication.