Better Investment - Platinum or Gold?

I'm sorry that I haven't posted for a few days. We've been keeping very busy the past few days and have put up a lot more of our inventory on our Ebay store. Next, I need to work on putting more inventory on our website. 

My question for you today is what do you think is a wiser investment - platinum or gold? I've heard a number of opinions on this subject lately and had been initially leaning more toward platinum. I definitely think both of them are wise to purchase and hold onto for the future, but from what I had seen and heard about platinum it looks like it definitely has the potential to go up an incredible amount in the next few years. Here are some reasons:

• Platinum is much scarcer than gold.
• "If you assume that the world has produced 3.6 million ounces per year for 50 years to estimate the total worldwide supply, all of the platinum in the world would fit in a cube that is 6.3 meters (about 20 feet) on a side. In other words, all of the platinum in the entire world would easily fit in the average home!" - How Stuff Works

• In comparison, "if all the gold in the world would fit into a 20.15 meter cube, or 66 feet 1.3 inches square,  that would be the size of a small office building." - Coin Link

• Platinum has several uses, some of which are very essential and are not possible with any other metal. Here are some of the applications platinum is used for:
• catalytic converters - reduces the toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion engine; this use takes up over 50% of the demand for platinum)
• jewelry
• electronics 
• chemical industry - catalyst
• electrodes
• anticancer drugs
• oxygen sensor
• spark plugs
• turbine engines 

• As China grows in its industrial demands, the demands on platinum are sure to rise as well, which should drive the price even higher.
•  80 % of the world's platinum comes from South Africa. 
• Political instability or strikes at the mining company could cause platinum prices to sour (as seen last August when a strike at the power company drove up platinum prices).

On the other hand, I have been reading speculations about the future use of platinum. As our world is getting more and more interested in "being green" it is unlikely car companies would stop using catalytic converters. However, as platinum prices are rising companies like GM are working on ways to make catalytic converters without platinum. If this were to happen, it is foreseeable that other companies would follow along to cut costs. It's still uncertain though if this replacement will work on gasoline engines and GM said they still have some things to work out into they make it into a commercial product. I've heard that rumors like this from car companies have been going on for the past 10 years though so this technology may still have years to go before it can be applied.



Another thing to think about is the fact that gold has been considered money for as long we can remember. Meanwhile, platinum is relatively new to us as it was only recently discovered in the 16th century by the Spanish conquistadors. For the most part, gold has stayed steady in its rise, while platinum is much more volatile and is subject to change due to demand (because of economic instability).

Initially after hearing from others about the wisdom of investing in platinum I was very excited and agreed with them that it was the precious metal to go with. However, now after researching it and giving it much thought I think the wisest thing to do would be to spread your money out amongst gold, platinum, and silver. I think we'll probably invest more in gold as I think it is more reliable. Plus, we don't know what the future will bring with new technologies replacing platinum's major use in catalytic converters. I'd be very interested though to hear anyone else's thoughts on platinum and gold. Please feel free to comment and share any thoughts you have on this.

Have a great day! :)