BLOG: More Unusual Products From The Emporium Of Rare Metal Curiosities
Some of the most popular articles here at RareMetalBlog have highlighted unusual "non-industrial" or unique uses of rare earths, other rare metals and elements in general. Who can forget Ian's infamous periodic table in the form of, well, an ACTUAL table; the titanium computer mouse with the neodymium scroll wheel or Virginia's recent article on the magnetic bra clasp?
But what about those of us who like our rare earth metals in a more austere, perhaps Spartan elemental form? Fear not! There are options for us too. I recently came across a great Web site that offer the rare earths, other rare metals and many other elements too, in a wide range of formats for the connoisseur.
First though, before entering this virtual Emporium of Rare Metal Curiosities, we need to think about paying for such items - so what better to use than the Element Coin Series from Metallium Inc.? According to Metallium:
"In 2006 we embarked on an ambitious project to produce standard-size coins made from as many different metals and elements from the Periodic Table of the elements as we could. So far we have been able to offer many different metals/elements in coin form and are continually marching through the periodic table with the ultimate goal of making these coins out of every element possible."
Metallium offers over 50 different elemental coins, including the entire set of non-radioactive rare earths metals:
They also offer coins made from hafnium, tantalum, selenium, gallium and other rather interesting metals.
So, with our currency in hand [though be careful, the gallium might melt!], let's see what we can spend our money on. In addition to a wide range of blocks and lumps of metal in elemental form, Metallium presents a number of collections that might be of interest to the junior exploration company executive, looking to do "show and tell" at the next Board meeting. First off is the range of Ampoule Sets, which come in either 30-, 58-, 68- or 78- piece sets. Some of these include gaseous elements too! They can be mounted in a periodic table wall display, or in a wooden periodic table holder. Metallium also produces a Rare Earth Metal Ampoule Set:
Splendid stuff. Can't you just visualize this on your bookcase next to the dusty tomes on rare earth extraction metallurgy?
Finally, for the real purist, who is big on substance and not so big on fancy presentation, I present Metallium's set of "rare earths in a bottle":
Many moons ago, as a nerdy British teenager on a language exchange program to Germany and France, I was partnered up with a German lad of similar age, who had recently become my pen pal. This was prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the days when people actually used a pen to write to their pals [gasp!].
As it happened, his father worked at what I seem to recall was a power plant somewhere close by. One day, he gave me a set of a dozen glass bottles containing a variety of metals in their elemental form, similar in size and shape to those displayed above. I was fascinated, and not just because one bottle - well-sealed I hasten to add - contained a significant quantity of mercury!
Receiving that unusual gift led to my becoming particularly interested in metals, metallurgy, and I suppose, is ultimately responsible for the career path I ultimately chose. I'm still in contact with my old German pen pal [although it's been many years since we used a pen to communicate]. Perhaps it's time for me to send to him a bag of some of the unusual coins displayed above, to thank him for indirectly being the reason that you're reading this article today...
In the meantime, take a peek at the Metallium web site - you never know what you might find!
-- Gareth Hatch
