Gold prices have been climbing lately, threatening to top $1500 an ounce), but even at that lofty level, the yellow metal is far from the top of the heap when it comes to cost per ounce. Here’s a look at some of the things that are more expensive than gold.
Things You Eat
Da Hong Pao Old-Growth Tea: $39,700/oz.
If your garden variety Earl Grey isn’t fancy enough, this ancient variety from the Wuyi Mountains of China is sure to impress at around $10,000 per pot. Gathered from 350-year-old bushes that no longer produce, leaves from the last harvest in 2005 are being hoarded, meaning the price for what remains will surely go up even more.
But Not Saffron
It’s often said that saffron, the pungent red stigmata of the Crocus sativa flower, is more expensive than gold. But at around $700 an ounce for the more expensive varieties, it’s not even close. The last time gold was that cheap was 2006, which may be when the rumor got legs.
Other famously expensive foods like Diamond Beluga caviar, white truffles, and civet cat coffee don’t measure up, either, at $1000, $140, and $187 per ounce, respectively. So when you see bits of gold leaf on your food, know that you’re eating large.
Drugs and Cosmetics
Specialty drugs to treat rare or hard-to-cure diseases like cancer and autoimmune diseases can run into thousands of dollars per gram (.035 ounce). But other more common potions can be expensive, too.
Anti-venom: up to $42,000/oz.
Made from venom extracted from poisonous snakes and other nasty creatures, the poison is harvested, usually by hand, and injected into animals like horses and sheep. The hosts develop antibodies to combat the venom that are extracted from their blood to make the anti-venom. Regulatory costs, low demand, and high profit margins contribute to the high cost of this drug.
Viagra: up to $22,000/oz.
While generic alternatives are available, the name-brand product is more expensive than gold. Generics aren’t cheap either, but some people think it’s worth it.
Rhino Horn Powder: around $2800/oz.
While China has largely stopped the use of the powder in folk medicine, it’s hugely popular in Viet Nam as an aphrodisiac and a cure for everything from hangovers to cancer. Horns are made of keratin, the same substance in fingernails and hair, so you could get the same alleged effect from pulverizing the sweepings at your neighborhood salon. Poaching bans have made harvesting the horns of this critically endangered creature largely illegal, but a large black market still exists.
Facial Creams: up to $2,000/oz.
Holding back the clock generates over half a trillion dollars worldwide every year, and beauty creams are at the top of the list when it comes to cost. For instance, a moisturizer called RéVive will set you back over $227 an ounce; Crème de la Mer, around $2,000 an ounce.
Cold Sore Medications: around $1,350/oz.
OTC medications for this common ailment can cost almost as much as gold with some running even higher.
Metals
Tritium: $850,000/oz.
While this radioactive isotope of hydrogen has exotic uses like in nuclear reactors and weapons, its beta particles are too weak to penetrate human skin. This makes its luminescent qualities useful in things like watch dials and other glow-in-the-dark instruments. Its largest civilian use is in self-illuminating exit signs, over two million of which are in schools, theaters, and commercial buildings across the US.
Rhodium: $5,000/oz.
An important component of catalytic converters in combination with platinum and palladium, rhodium is also used as a coating to improve the luster of white gold and add tarnish resistance to sterling silver.
Palladium: $1,670/oz.
This silvery-white metal is used mostly in catalytic converters but in other medical, dental, and industrial applications too. It’s also a key component of fuel cells, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water.
Also-Ran—Platinum: around $900/oz.
Formerly at or above the price of gold, besides its popularity in jewelry this silvery metal is used as a catalyst and in cancer drugs.
Of course there are other pricey metals like plutonium ($113,000/oz.) and Californium ($765 million/oz.) that are handy in nuclear weapons, reactors, and scientific applications, but even if you can afford them, plan on a visit from the authorities.
Maybe you should concentrate on making antimatter. If you can figure that one out, one source figures it would bring about $2,835 trillion an ounce. Fortunately, it only took a speck to power the Enterprise. In the long term, you’ll probably get more benefit from having some more affordable precious metals in your collection or portfolio.
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