An assortment of poured vintage silver bullion bars in 5 and 20 troy ounce sizes manufactured by SilverTowne, JPM (Jackson Precious Metals) and Johnson Matthey. The SilverTowne bars pictured are actually vintage issues, fabricated before the company resumed pouring new silver bars recently.
Promises, promises, promises. The world is full of promises that aren't kept. Lovers softly coo sweet lies to their partners. Politicians solemnly swear to implement government reforms they know will never happen. Friends cheerfully, if falsely, pledge to reimburse you for their excessively high bar tab after cajoling you into paying.
Likewise, the financial world is full of promises that won't be kept either. The city of Detroit's pensions, Lehman Brother's commercial paper and Greece's sovereign debt all are pertinent, timely examples of financial promises broken.
And there is undoubtedly more where that came from. The old saying still holds true, "What cannot be paid back, will not be paid back." However, there is at least one investment that will earnestly keep its vows: vintage silver bullion bars.
Possessing many outstanding properties, silver is the quintessential metal. It is not only mesmerizingly lustrous but also extraordinarily reflective. Silver is the best conductor of both heat and electricity among all elements. Its exceptionally high density (10.5 grams per cubic centimeter) exceeds that of both copper (9.0 g/cm3) and iron (7.9 g/cm3). Unlike most metals, silver is extremely resistant to chemical attack, tarnishing only in the presence of highly corrosive substances such as ozone, sulfur or the halogens (like chlorine).
These compelling physical properties have contributed to silver's use in a plethora of industrial, scientific and monetary functions. But perhaps silver's most ancient use - as a store of value - is still its best. A vintage silver bar, with its unmistakable heft and soft metallic glow, is the near perfect embodiment of tangible wealth.
There is something truly mesmerizing about vintage silver bullion bars. Their chunky style, rounded corners and slightly irregular surfaces are immediately, viscerally attractive. An old silver bar's finish may be wonderfully patinaed from decades of storage, or as seductively lustrous as the day it left the mint, or even subtly frosted as if coated by a million tiny sugar crystals. Bullion bars evoke time-honored financial traditions, when physical wealth could be firmly held in the palm of your hand. Vintage silver bullion bars gently whisper to be treasured and possessed.
Poured Vintage Silver Bullion Bars for Sale on eBay
Silver bars are fabricated in three basic ways; they are struck, extruded or poured. Most modern bullion bars are made via striking or extrusion. Today, smaller bars are usually struck while larger bars can be either struck or extruded. Silver bars created via striking or extrusion typically have very crisp details and a mirror like finish. They are unmistakably machine-made and lack the charming surfaces and mellow patina of older hand poured bars. The striking and extrusion methods, being amenable to automation, have almost completely displaced pouring as a manufacturing method.
In contrast, poured bars are created via casting molten silver into a mold and then allowing it to cool. Finally, the bar is removed from the mold and carefully struck with its weight, fineness and maker's mark. Poured bars are oftentimes hand cast and thus significantly more labor intensive to make than struck or extruded bars. This has resulted in few refineries continuing the venerable tradition of fabricating silver bars in the old style.
One highly coveted type of poured silver bar frequently encountered is the "loaf" shape bar. These loaf-style bars are very thick and chunky with extremely rounded corners. This gives them the characteristic shape of a miniature loaf of bread. Another shape commonly found is the "kit-kat" style bar. These bars, while also thick and chunky, have somewhat sharper corners, giving them the form of an oversized kit-kat candy bar. Some vintage kit-kat style silver bars were extruded instead of poured. However, if genuinely older, these extruded kit-kat bars are still quite desirable.
Loaf Style Vintage Silver Bullion Bars for Sale on eBay
The 1960s to the early 1980s were the heyday of poured vintage silver bullion bars. As the global inflation rate started to rise in the early 1960s, people began looking for alternative, inflation-resistant investments. Consequently, demand for small and medium sized silver bars skyrocketed during this period. Private refiners and mints thrived as the inexorably rising price of precious metals translated into healthy demand for their products.
However, it all quickly unwound after silver prices experienced a bubble peak early in 1980. The public reacted to the bubble by quickly dumping its collective silver stash on the market. This led to massive amounts of fine sterling silverware, rare silver coins and beautiful vintage poured silver bars being thrown into the melting pot. It is a tragedy that most of these unique, old silver bars ended up exiting refineries as soulless 1,000 troy ounce COMEX good delivery bars.
Kit-Kat Style Vintage Silver Bullion Bars for Sale on eBay
A wide variety of reputable refineries, both large and small, manufactured poured vintage silver bullion bars. Some of the old bar makers frequently encountered include Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, GA (Golden Analytical), Star Metals, NCM (Nevada Coin Mart), JPM (Jackson Precious Metals), Academy, CCM (California Crown Mint) and Phoenix Precious Metals. All of these companies are now either defunct or no longer produce silver bars.
Engelhard, for example, was the world's leading silver bar manufacturer from the 1960s until the mid 1980s. But the company only made poured silver bars earlier in that period, later switching over to struck/extruded bars. Engelhard completely ceased silver bar production after the mid 1980s.
Due to high demand, a handful of companies have resumed production of poured silver bars. SilverTowne L.P., Scottsdale Mint, Prospector's Gold & Gems, Monarch Precious Metals, Atlantis Mint, Yeager's Poured Silver and Bison Bullion currently (as of 2015) produce poured silver bars. These seven refineries' poured silver bars are recent and should not be confused with genuine, older poured bars.
Although they are not investment vehicles on par with vintage issues, these newer poured bars are still an exceptionally beautiful way to own silver bullion and might acquire collector's status over time. Because they are still being manufactured today, pricing is competitive with other modern struck and extruded bars on the market. If you are interested in finding out more about new poured silver bars you can read my article titled "The Investment Case for Hand-Poured Silver Bars".
New Poured Silver Bars for Sale on eBay
Poured silver bars typically range in size from 1 troy ounce to 100 troy ounces. Common sizes are 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 and 100 troy ounces. 1,000 troy ounce poured bars do exist, but are industrial in size (almost 70 pounds each) and cost (approximately $15,000 with spot at $15 per ounce). These 1,000 ounce behemoths should be avoided due to their limited collectability. Similarly, very small 1 troy ounce bars lack the universal investment appeal of slightly larger sizes. Stepping up to a minimum of 2 or 3 ounce bars easily remedies this minor issue.
Occasionally you will come across odd weight silver bars. For example, the bar might be stamped "10.34 troy oz." These odd weight bars are an almost certain indicator of an older, vintage bar that is both unique and desirable.
Vintage silver bullion bars have compelling investment potential, especially when considering their impressive appearance and high intrinsic value. Premiums over bullion value range from about 25% on the low end to over 300% for extremely rare types. Larger bars typically have lower premiums than smaller bars, but will cost more because of their higher intrinsic value.
Pricing realistically begins around $120 for investment grade silver bars weighing 2 to 5 ounces. Imposingly monolithic 100 troy ounce bars the size of a small brick can easily run from $2,000 to $4,000, depending on rarity (with spot silver at $15 per ounce). Lovers, politicians and even friends may prove unreliable, but vintage silver bullion bars will always remain true.
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