Investing in anything, whether it is property, stocks, or, yes, even precious metals, can be extremely difficult to figure out from an outside perspective. Between the large amount of capital needed to get a sizable investment, the seemingly random turns the market can take, and the enormous amount of pressure that the industry places on people to buy more metals, it’s easy to see why so many people end up being scared away from investing at all. Luckily, however, there are a few things you can keep in mind, and a few resources you can check, to make sure that you’re getting as much out of your investment as possible.

First of all, you’ll need to decide whether you’re getting into more than one type of precious metal or if you’re focusing on one in particular. For the most part, it’s considered a good idea to invest in multiple metals to ensure that you still have at least one solid investment in the event that one or more metals has a noticeable price drop. The biggest problem with that is, again, one of capital. In order for an investment to be worth the risk it has to be fairly sizable. Unfortunately, this means that you’d have to invest a large amount of capital into each specific metal to ensure that any drops in price in one was covered by another. This is the main reason that the majority of investors tend to pick one metal to invest in and stick to it. However, even if you do plan to invest in multiple metals, you’ll want to invest in metals that are currently at a low point or are expected to rise fairly soon. With that in mind, here are some general tips to keep in mind for the five biggest precious metals.

The most common metal for new investors is gold. It’s often advertised as a solid investment that “never stops rising” to the point that other investment ideas are sometimes called “solid gold investments” to imply that they’re guaranteed to go up in price. And yet, this past year, gold has seen a sharp drop. It started the year off fairly strong at just under 1700 dollars an ounce. Since then, however, the price has seen two major drops and has yet to recover. In April, the price dropped from roughly $1590/ounce at the start of the month to $1470/ounce at the end and in June it took a nosedive from roughly $1400/ounce to $1190/ounce. That being said, the price has been increasing over time – It’s increasing in jumps and small drops, true, but it is increasing. At the time of this writing, the price has recovered to 1225 dollar and ten cents per ounce. Of course, it’s currently in the middle of another small drop, but the majority of investment specialists seem to expect it to continue its slow march back towards its previous heights. In short, despite its large drop earlier this year, gold is still a metal worth investing in.

Of course, you can’t mention gold without mentioning silver. Silver is considered by many to be nearly as good an investment and it’s easy to see why. Buying a few bars of gold so that you have something physical as an investment can run you tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Doing the same for silver will run you hundreds to thousands. Unfortunately, though, Silver’s been in something of a slump this year. It started the year off well enough at just under 31 dollars per ounce but, as of this writing, is sitting at less than 19.50 an ounce. This is actually the second or third, depending on who you ask, lowest price that silver has held so far this year. The worst part is that it’s currently in a drop so that price could drop even lower. That having been said, the majority of forecasters seem to be predicting a noticeable jump sometime in 2014 – a couple are going so far as to claim it will reach 50 dollars an ounce – so this may turn out to be less of a slump and more of an attractive investment opportunity. If you’re not afraid of taking the occasional small risk, consider investing in silver ASAP so you can get a decent amount before the price recovers.

Platinum is the last and, to some minds, the most precious of the well known precious metals. While its price isn’t currently the best out of the three metals, sitting at 1344 dollars an ounce at the time of this writing, it’s had the closest to a consistent year among the three metals. While gold and silver have both taken nosedives and had to try and claw their way back up, platinum has basically bounced back and forth within a certain price range. It started off the year at just under $1570/ounce and shot up more than 100 dollars per ounce within the month. However, after that, it started a long drop, which reached its bottom at a little over 1300 dollars an ounce. After reaching that point, it’s started a pattern of climbing into the mid 1500s and dropping back down to the mid/upper 1300s. Currently it’s in a “canyon” of this pattern, given its price, but forecasts of the metal are looking good. The majority of forecasts are predicting that the metal will begin slowly rising for the next couple of years, 3 seems to be the standard prediction, until reaching a peak of just under 1900 dollars per ounce. If you have the capital to spend and you’re willing to wait a bit longer to see a solid increase, platinum might be the metal for you.

Lastly, it’s worth taking a look at two of the more easily forgotten precious metals. Palladium is something of a midpoint between silver and gold, weighing in at hundreds per ounce without breaking the thousand dollar barrier. Currently, palladium is selling for 711 dollars per ounce. Palladium has actually managed a shockingly strong year considering how the rest of the precious metals have fared so far. It’s actually at almost the same price, within a couple of dollars, that it started the year at and hasn’t ranged more than 70 dollars per ounce, up or down, from its opening price. This is a trend that’s continued on from last year where it actually ended the year almost fifty dollars per ounce higher than it began. Again, the majority of forecasts are expecting it to increase over the coming year but, as you might imagine, at a much slower rate. Palladium is a good investment metal to consider if you want to make sure you have a fairly steady, reliable investment to fall back on if necessary.

On the other end of the overlooked metal spectrum is Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal that has been steadily, but very slowly, dropping in price over the past couple of years. That being said, it’s what this writer like to call a “long-term long shot” investment. You see, Rhodium currently sells for a little over 1000 dollars per ounce. Back in 2007, however, it reached the peak of a three and a half year long explosion that led to the price being roughly 10,000 dollars per ounce. Before this sudden and impressive jump in price, by the way, the metal was selling for a little over 500 dollars per ounce. Because of this, Rhodium is a good metal to invest a few thousand dollars in just so that you’re ready if there’s another boom in the price. A long shot that takes a long time to pay off, if it ever does, but if you have the capital, why not take it?

These are, of course, just a few simple tips to help you make a start in precious metal investing. By all means, feel encouraged to do any more research that you want. The precious metals market is affected by a lot of outside sources so don’t be afraid to look into metal forecasts, which are drawn up by looking at these factors, before making any investments. In the event that you do decide to start investing in precious metals, of course, you’ll need to find a reputable source for purchasing them. There are several stores or websites you can go to, one of the most reliable being the website bullionstar.com. but you should make sure to double check the current selling price of your metal before you actually make your purchase. While bullionstar and the majority of other businesses do their best to make sure you’re paying a fair price for your metals, some less reputable businesses tend to price gouge their metals on the basis that the average person won’t think to check the market.

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