Purchasing Engelhard / JM & others Silver Bars.... A "How To"
SilverBaron
Posts: 767 ✭
Some folks here have been wondering about the best ways of purchasing silver bars. Let me list some suggestions and observations.
Brands.....
The 2 top brands in the US are Engelhard and Johnson Matthey. These brands have not been made since the mid-80s.
The good news is that they made a lot of them. The bad news is that in the last 25 years so much of it has been melted for industry. There are many other brands, to numerious to list, that are all of perfect quality but are not always as popular.
Sizes...... [ most common / popular.]
1 oz. ........ The most popular and avaliable. The round is the most prefered due to fitting in tubes for storage.
There are several thousand different types of 1 oz silver bars, both round and rectangle. These are
often called ART bars. Art bars were a popular collectable in the 70's.
5 & 10 oz. ........ Very popular. These bars come in cast and Die Struck.
Cast bars were made by pouring molten silver into a mold. These are usually "older" bars.
Engelhard made many styles of cast bars. The early bars cooled in the mold forming cooling
lines, or "stretch" marks on the surface of the bar. Later, Engelhard came out with the
"Loaf" bar. These bars have a rounded semi-shiney top. Die struck bars were the last style of bar
made. These bars are actually struck with dies, like a coin, and have a rim and proof like surface.
There are several styles of Die struck bars. There are several companies making 10 oz bars today.
100 oz ........... The 100 oz. bar is the largest bar NORMALY purchased. These bars are usually of the cast style.
Engelhard did switch from the cast style to an " Extruded, Rolled, Machined" style in the early 80's.
Johnson Matthey came out with a die struck, proof like, 100 oz. bar that came in a cardboard box.
Other sizes...... You name it.... some one has made it. From fractions of an oz. to 10,000 oz.
Were to buy and what to expect.
First.... Pricing.... Silver is priced based on Spot. The spot price is set on the major commodity exchanges. I try not to sell any bars at below spot...... I try not to pay more than .50 oz. over for 1 oz or 100 oz bars ... or more than .75 oz. over for 5 & 10 oz bars. This depends on brand, availability and spot at the moment. I believe that these are very realistic guide lines..... buttttt ..... you can often do better.
Your local coin shop.... [PRO]... You may get the best price at your local shop. They normaly buy at below spot and are eager to sell without shipping it off to one of the major dealers. This is due to the fact that most local dealers are so cash strapped at any given time that a cash sale of what is normaly a low profit item is very wellcome. [CON] Local shops usually buy below spot. Local shops may not have the brand, size or quantity of silver you are looking for at the exact moment you wish to purchase. Most shops will order in what ever you want, if they can find it! The price will be higher than "in stock" silver due to major dealer pricing and shipping.
A Major Dealer........ [PRO]..... The big dealers will usually have the quntity you want. If you want a specific brand, they are most likely to have it. Several majors make their own brand....and have as much of it as most of us could ever afford! [CON].... Prices are usually higher than a local shops "in stock" silver....BUTTT ... the major dealers prices are usually a set amount over spot.... not so much subject to the cash position of the owner. Shipping. Many majors have minimum order amounts.
On line auctions and local coin shows...... [PRO] .... Small quanitys. You might get a bargin. [CON].... You may not find the quantity or brand you are looking for at the exact time you want it.
* Warning [1] about some listings on the on line auction sites... Some times the seller will use a stock photo of a bar...and the bar you get is NOT the same.... be sure that the seller states that the bar in the pix is the one you will get. [2] A Troy pound of silver is 12 oz. !!..... that is only 12 1 oz. bars...NOT the BIG PILE in the pix!!
There are several major dealers in metals. I personally like APMEX..... Perhaps others will offer some suggestions of majors that they have had good exper. with.
Happy Hunting!!
Brands.....
The 2 top brands in the US are Engelhard and Johnson Matthey. These brands have not been made since the mid-80s.
The good news is that they made a lot of them. The bad news is that in the last 25 years so much of it has been melted for industry. There are many other brands, to numerious to list, that are all of perfect quality but are not always as popular.
Sizes...... [ most common / popular.]
1 oz. ........ The most popular and avaliable. The round is the most prefered due to fitting in tubes for storage.
There are several thousand different types of 1 oz silver bars, both round and rectangle. These are
often called ART bars. Art bars were a popular collectable in the 70's.
5 & 10 oz. ........ Very popular. These bars come in cast and Die Struck.
Cast bars were made by pouring molten silver into a mold. These are usually "older" bars.
Engelhard made many styles of cast bars. The early bars cooled in the mold forming cooling
lines, or "stretch" marks on the surface of the bar. Later, Engelhard came out with the
"Loaf" bar. These bars have a rounded semi-shiney top. Die struck bars were the last style of bar
made. These bars are actually struck with dies, like a coin, and have a rim and proof like surface.
There are several styles of Die struck bars. There are several companies making 10 oz bars today.
100 oz ........... The 100 oz. bar is the largest bar NORMALY purchased. These bars are usually of the cast style.
Engelhard did switch from the cast style to an " Extruded, Rolled, Machined" style in the early 80's.
Johnson Matthey came out with a die struck, proof like, 100 oz. bar that came in a cardboard box.
Other sizes...... You name it.... some one has made it. From fractions of an oz. to 10,000 oz.
Were to buy and what to expect.
First.... Pricing.... Silver is priced based on Spot. The spot price is set on the major commodity exchanges. I try not to sell any bars at below spot...... I try not to pay more than .50 oz. over for 1 oz or 100 oz bars ... or more than .75 oz. over for 5 & 10 oz bars. This depends on brand, availability and spot at the moment. I believe that these are very realistic guide lines..... buttttt ..... you can often do better.
Your local coin shop.... [PRO]... You may get the best price at your local shop. They normaly buy at below spot and are eager to sell without shipping it off to one of the major dealers. This is due to the fact that most local dealers are so cash strapped at any given time that a cash sale of what is normaly a low profit item is very wellcome. [CON] Local shops usually buy below spot. Local shops may not have the brand, size or quantity of silver you are looking for at the exact moment you wish to purchase. Most shops will order in what ever you want, if they can find it! The price will be higher than "in stock" silver due to major dealer pricing and shipping.
A Major Dealer........ [PRO]..... The big dealers will usually have the quntity you want. If you want a specific brand, they are most likely to have it. Several majors make their own brand....and have as much of it as most of us could ever afford! [CON].... Prices are usually higher than a local shops "in stock" silver....BUTTT ... the major dealers prices are usually a set amount over spot.... not so much subject to the cash position of the owner. Shipping. Many majors have minimum order amounts.
On line auctions and local coin shows...... [PRO] .... Small quanitys. You might get a bargin. [CON].... You may not find the quantity or brand you are looking for at the exact time you want it.
* Warning [1] about some listings on the on line auction sites... Some times the seller will use a stock photo of a bar...and the bar you get is NOT the same.... be sure that the seller states that the bar in the pix is the one you will get. [2] A Troy pound of silver is 12 oz. !!..... that is only 12 1 oz. bars...NOT the BIG PILE in the pix!!
There are several major dealers in metals. I personally like APMEX..... Perhaps others will offer some suggestions of majors that they have had good exper. with.
Happy Hunting!!
Silver Baron
********************
Silver is the mortar that binds the bricks of loyalty.
********************
Silver is the mortar that binds the bricks of loyalty.
0
Comments
Mark
"... A Troy pound of silver is 12 oz. !!..... that is only 12 1 oz. bars...NOT the BIG PILE in the pix!!"
Heard a few people get hosed on that one. A great bit of knowledge to burn into your memory.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
Silver is selling very well at retail, and we are constantly net sellers. The last time we bought 10 oz. Englehards for inventory we had to pay 75 cents per ounce over spot to get them. We sell them retail at KITCO spot plus $1.75 per punce cash and carry.
If you can buy them at 50 cents over spot because somebody happens to to be long, go for it!
TD
Mark