With this selenium ounce bar Luciteria dips its toes way into the deep end of the pool of exotic bullion. It’s safe to say that not one person has ever thought about hoarding this element… much less take the trouble to fashion it into a precisely weighted Troy ounce. But we’re ok with positioning ourselves as a boutique among the many big established bullion firms that outdo each other for prominence in the traditional PGM offerings. Selenium will not be on their radar, probably ever.

This element is unusual. It is fragile, like glass, but upon breaking it has the heft and feel of a hard plastic. Even though on the Periodic Table it sits riding the fence between metals and non-metals one not familiar with its chemistry could be excused for thinking it a ceramic - or maybe even some sort of hardened road tar!

Give this one the kid gloves treatment. It probably won’t survive a fall on a floor unless it’s carpeted. Plush, 1970s shag-level carpeting!