Posted 10/04/2012 9:57 pm
UHR, I believe you're thinking of "neodymium". Niobium isn't magnetic (though its alloys can be used in superconductors for powerful electromagnets), nor is it a rare earth element.
It is not a "precious metal". It is one of a class of "high tech" metals, such as titanium, scandium and vanadium, that are in demand by industry; it is mainly used in adjusting the properties of steel and other alloys. The Austrians and Canadians have both struck bimetallic niobium-and-silver NCLT coins; other countries have recently jumped on this bandwagon too, such as Latvia. Niobium is readily anodized into all sorts of different colours, and it is this effect that everyone who makes niobium coins uses on their coins, to give them funky colours like green, purple and blue which "normal" metallic alloys and elements can never attain. Titanium is another space-age metal that accepts anodization well and some countries have issued bimetallic anodized titanium NCLT too, but niobium is much easier to work with than titanium.
In short, yes, it's "just marketing fluff" - a novelty or gimmick.
I'd buy one for the right price, just to add to my "periodic table of the elements" collection, though for that purpose I'd prefer to buy a pure niobium coin, rather than one contaminated with silver. Unfortunately, the only solid niobium coins struck so far are issues of dubious authenticity from places like Liberia or Somalia. If I had to buy one of these niobium bimetallics (since no-one yet has actually made a solid pure niobium coin), I'd buy one of the Canadian ones, since some niobium is actually mined in Canada. It isn't mined in Austria, or Latvia, or Liberia, or anywhere else that has actually struck niobium coins. Most of it actually comes from Brazil, and they haven't issued any niobium coins yet, to my knowledge.
It is not a "precious metal". It is one of a class of "high tech" metals, such as titanium, scandium and vanadium, that are in demand by industry; it is mainly used in adjusting the properties of steel and other alloys. The Austrians and Canadians have both struck bimetallic niobium-and-silver NCLT coins; other countries have recently jumped on this bandwagon too, such as Latvia. Niobium is readily anodized into all sorts of different colours, and it is this effect that everyone who makes niobium coins uses on their coins, to give them funky colours like green, purple and blue which "normal" metallic alloys and elements can never attain. Titanium is another space-age metal that accepts anodization well and some countries have issued bimetallic anodized titanium NCLT too, but niobium is much easier to work with than titanium.
In short, yes, it's "just marketing fluff" - a novelty or gimmick.
I'd buy one for the right price, just to add to my "periodic table of the elements" collection, though for that purpose I'd prefer to buy a pure niobium coin, rather than one contaminated with silver. Unfortunately, the only solid niobium coins struck so far are issues of dubious authenticity from places like Liberia or Somalia. If I had to buy one of these niobium bimetallics (since no-one yet has actually made a solid pure niobium coin), I'd buy one of the Canadian ones, since some niobium is actually mined in Canada. It isn't mined in Austria, or Latvia, or Liberia, or anywhere else that has actually struck niobium coins. Most of it actually comes from Brazil, and they haven't issued any niobium coins yet, to my knowledge.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
