Top 10 things that are inherently more expensive than gold (11 photos)

Throughout most of human history, gold has been one of the most valuable substances. People have tried to turn lead into gold, it has been the backbone of the nation's economy, and it looks great in jewelry.





Despite its rarity and intrinsic value, gold is perhaps the most valuable substance available to us. These ten things will cost you much more than a gram of gold (about $57 in August 2021), and they are inherently much more expensive.

10. Caterpillar mushroom



Caterpillar fungus is one of the most appropriate names on our planet, and just look at it to understand why. It is a mushroom that grows from the soil with a worm-like protrusion. Dig it up and you'll find a part that looks exactly like a caterpillar. In Tibet, this mushroom has an even more beautiful name - “yartsa gunbu”, that is, “summer grass, winter worm”. The reason the mushroom looks like a caterpillar is because it is actually a caterpillar. "This caterpillar burrows a couple of inches into the soil. Meanwhile, without knowing it, this fungus is digesting it from the inside, and in the spring this... tissue bursts out." "The remaining piece of the caterpillar is a valuable part, and you can probably guess why. The caterpillar fungus is known as the Viagra of the Himalayas. A 15th-century Tibetan medical text refers to it as the "Ocean of Aphrodisiac Qualities." You might think that the black truffle is the most valuable mushroom , but it doesn't compare to the caterpillar mushroom. Black truffles sell for about $1.76 per gram, and the much rarer caterpillar mushroom costs about $110 per gram. This makes it almost twice as valuable as gold.

9. Iridium





Iridium is one of the rarest elements found in the earth's crust. It is mainly found in meteorites. The extinction of the dinosaurs by a massive impact 65 million years ago was determined by a layer of iridium found in the layers of the Earth. The metal was first discovered in 1803; it is silvery-white, but incredibly hard and brittle at the same time. It is the second densest metal known and is rarely found (on our planet). Iridium is prized for its corrosion resistance, making it ideal as a hardening agent for platinum-containing alloys. It has other commercial uses that caused its value to increase exponentially in the early 2000s. It was then that flat-panel LED TVs, the main component of which is iridium, became popular. Iridium is expensive due to its rarity. Since we can't mine it from asteroids (yet), finding it requires a lot of effort and expense. Iridium sells for about $6,100 per ounce, or about $215 per gram. This makes this scarce metal approximately 3.75 times more expensive than gold.

8. Rhodium



Depending on market fluctuations, rhodium is often the most expensive metal in the world. It is a silvery-white metal belonging to the platinum group of noble metals, resistant to corrosion and chemically inert. You may have some rhodium but didn't know it because it is used as a catalyst in your car's three-way catalytic converter. This accounts for about 80% of its use worldwide, but there are other uses that may appeal to you. Rhodium's anti-corrosion properties make it an ideal material for plating substances like white gold and sterling silver, so there's a good chance you've come into contact with rhodium at some point. However, the automotive industry is a major consumer of rhodium, and the need for this rare metal often drives up its price. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rhodium cost around $950 per gram, but the price has dropped slightly since then. By mid-August 2021, one gram of rhodium will cost about $550. Another reason for rhodium's value is its rarity, as it is the rarest of the platinum group metals. In the earth's crust it can be found only in quantities of one part in 200 million. In comparison, gold occurs in quantities of 0.5-5 parts per million, depending on mining methods.

7. Snake venom



Most people probably think of snake venom as a bad thing because it can cause severe injury and/or death. This is exactly what happens when a deadly snake injects its precious venom into an unsuspecting human. Snake venom is used not only to make antivenom, but also for other medical purposes. It can be used as a powerful pain reliever, can break up blood clots and lower blood pressure, so it shouldn't be taken for granted. Collecting it is not entirely easy (snakes need to be “milked”), so it is an expensive process. Some types of snake venom are more valuable than others, and you can probably guess why. The most expensive snake venoms come from the deadliest snakes. The king cobra's venom contains a powerful painkiller, and its venom costs about $153,000 per gallon, or $3,785 per gram. The coral snake, which is the snake with the second most powerful venom (after the black mamba), has venom worth $4,000 per gram. This makes it just under 11 times more valuable than the shiny material.

6. Da Hong Pao Tea



You probably weren't expecting to find something like tea on this list, but chances are you've never heard of Da Hong Pao tea. This Chinese tea is made from the leaves of the Da Hong Pao tree, and its production process is strictly traditional. It is also strictly controlled by the Chinese government. There are only six Da Hong Pai mother trees left in the world. They grow on the cliff of Mount Wuyi and are considered a national treasure. Harvesting and processing the leaves requires seven steps: picking, withering, cooling, cooking, toasting, kneading and baking. Da Hong Pao tea is green/brown in color and smells like orchids. It is believed to have a long aftertaste. Unlike most teas, Da Hong Pai tea can be steeped nine times. It is used to treat several ailments as it contains various compounds that promote blood circulation. Because the trees are so rare - there are only six of them - the price per gram of tea is $1,400, and a teapot costs about $10,000. In 2002, 20 grams of Da Hong Pao were sold for $28,000. When Nixon opened relations with China, he was given 200 grams of this tea. One gram of this tea costs almost 25 times more than a gram of gold.

5. Plutonium



If you don't have a spare DeLorean with a flux capacitor, chances are you've never come into contact with plutonium. And that's a good thing, since this rare metal is incredibly radioactive. It can accumulate in human bones and is dangerous to handle. Of course, this does not make it useless, since it is very valuable. Since plutonium-239 and 241 are fissile, they can be used to fuel a nuclear chain reaction. This makes plutonium a key element in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. It can and is often synthesized, as its rarity makes it difficult to collect. It was first discovered in 1938, but it was not until 1940 that it was synthesized as part of the Manhattan Project. Although it can be (and often is) synthesized, it occurs naturally. It can be found in trace elements of natural uranium-238, but is rare as it only occurs when the uranium is exposed to neutrons emitted by other decaying atoms of uranium-238. Regardless of how it is produced, its value is incredibly high. If you're in an industry that requires plutonium (which is the only reason anyone would want this material), you'll have to spend about $4,000 per gram. This makes it approximately 70 times more valuable than a gram of gold.

4. Red Diamonds



Gram for gram, diamonds are worth more than gold. However, when you think of one of these gemstones, you most likely picture the clear variety. In the world of diamonds, they are considered ordinary, but colored diamonds are considered truly valuable. Red diamonds are scarce, but not just in terms of diamonds; these are the rarest gems on the planet. Only about 30 of these stones are known to exist/have been found, and most weigh less than half a carat (about 0.1 gram). Depending on market conditions, red diamonds can fetch up to $1 million per carat ($5 million per gram) . The largest of these stones was sold in 2011 for $8 million and measured just 5.11 carats, making it slightly heavier than a gram of gold. Unlike everyone's favorite shiny metal, red diamonds are 87,719 times more valuable than gold. Of course, this would change if someone dug up thousands of small gems, but that's unlikely to happen since they're ridiculously rare.

3. California



Californian is a synthetic element first discovered in 1950. It was named after California because it was created at the University of California Radiation Laboratory. The element has many practical uses, and although it is synthesized, very little is produced in the process, making it relatively expensive. California is the most expensive chemical used as a valuable trade commodity. It occurs naturally, but since the most common isotope has a half-life of 2.6 years, it does not occur in any significant quantities in the Earth's crust. When it was first produced, only about 5,000 atoms were created, with a half-life of 44 minutes. Californium is produced primarily by two laboratories - the Atomic Reactor Science Center and the Oak Ridge Atomic Reactors in the United States. Some isotopes emit neutrons, and this is often used to run nuclear reactors. It can also be used in some treatments for brain and cervical cancer. Because californium is difficult to produce in large quantities, one gram of californium sells for approximately $27 million. Prices fluctuate, but this is the average. The commodity market value of californium is approximately 473,684 times that of gold.

2. Francium



Francium is the last element on the Periodic Table to be discovered in nature for the first time. However, it can be synthesized, which is good because it is so rare that it almost doesn't exist. According to experts, there is only 20-30 grams of francium in the earth’s crust at any given time. It occurs in trace amounts in thorium and uranium, but its half-life is only 22 minutes, so it decays constantly. In addition, it is radioactive and difficult to create through synthesis. The largest sample ever obtained or isolated consisted of 300,000 atoms. This may seem like a lot, but it is still too little to observe. Because francium is so rare and degrades so quickly, it has no commercial use. Its only current use is in scientific research, although it may be useful in diagnosing some types of cancer. Although there is no commercial use, its rarity makes it valuable. The price for one gram of france is about $1 billion. That's a billion dollars for something that disappears in less than an hour. However, it is used in scientific research, so it has value. One gram of franc will cost 17,543,859 times more than a gram of gold.

1. Antimatter



Antimatter is the stuff of science fiction to most people, but it exists and has been known to exist since the early 20th century. Antimatter is any matter consisting of antiparticles of any corresponding particles of ordinary matter. It can be created using particle accelerators, but the problem with antimatter is that upon contact with matter, annihilation occurs. It cannot be stored in a regular container, so it must be kept in electric and magnetic fields. There are various methods, but it is not easy. The longest that has been maintained is 405 days, although attempts are being made to improve this figure. Producing antimatter using a particle accelerator is expensive, and the amount produced is infinitesimal. Antimatter has many practical and theoretical applications, including medical imaging and spacecraft propulsion. Antimatter isn't exactly a hot commodity, but NASA has put a price on it. In 1999, NASA estimated that one gram of antihydrogen costs about $62.5 trillion per gram. This is a ridiculously high figure, making it the most expensive thing ever known. Compared to gold, antimatter is 1,096,491,228,070 times more valuable.