Formally declared in 1804, Palladium was discovered in 1802 by Wollaston. In 1803, he first retailed a very small amount of the refined metal (presumed 89% pure) by the grain, @480 grains = 1 Troy Ounce = £24./oz troy (USD$ 91.53)
In 1803, refined Platinum was retailed for £0.85 (USD$ 3.86)
Kronberg, Coatsworth & Usselman (1981)* review the sales of Palladium from Wollaston's Notebooks:
1803-5: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89.33% Pure, Producer Price) = £ 21.5 (USD$ )
1803-5: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89% Pure, Retail) = £ 26.87 (USD$ )
1805: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89% Pure, Producer Price) = £ 14.11 (USD$ )
1808: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89% Pure, Producer Price) = £ 5.06 (USD$ )1811: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89% Pure, Producer Price) = £ 5.81 (USD$ )
1812: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89% Pure, Producer Price) = £ 6.13 (USD$ )
1814: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (89% Pure, Producer Price) = £ 4.70 (USD$ )
Auropalladium alloy for Troughton (4:1 Au/Pd)
1808-10: 1 Troy Oz. Palladium (Alloy @ intrinsic, whols.) = £ 10.55 (USD$ )
Citation: The Action of Carbon on Palladium: Inaug. Diss. of the Georgia Augusta ... Thomas Wood (1859, p.4
The same retail price was reportedly charged in Shilling as late as 1816/7.
1816/7: 1 Troy Ounce Palladium (intrinsic) ~ £ 27 (USD$ 109.)
In 1821/2, the Palladium Price in Paris was estimated at Fr 19,000/kg. or an equivalent £ 23.13 per English Troy Ounce.
Citation: A new system of chemical philosophy, Volume 2 By John Dalton (1827), p.24
For more on Wollaston's PMG discoveries at this time, see Griffiths (2003)
Adjusting for Real Inflation since 1803 (6,952%) we can extrapolate a long term approximate London retail price for refined manufactured Palladium to be $7,252. (in 2009 USD$.)
In the 19th Century USA, the highest price for refined, pure Palladium occurred circa 1864: USD$ 150./oz.
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