1000oz Silver Bar Variation
MJPHELAN
Posts: 781 ✭✭✭
HI All,
I have noticed that the Johnson Matthey 1000oz Comex bars are not exactly 1000oz. Does anyone know the range over which they are made? I bought one from the Tulving Co. awhile back and it weighs 1029.1oz.
Mark
I have noticed that the Johnson Matthey 1000oz Comex bars are not exactly 1000oz. Does anyone know the range over which they are made? I bought one from the Tulving Co. awhile back and it weighs 1029.1oz.
Mark
Mark
0
Comments
<< <i>NWT Mint states on their website they can vary + or - 70 ounces. They didn't state if the price reflected this difference. These bars also need to be assayed when sold. >>
Weights vary from around 15 under to 40 over on most bars. They tend to be over 1,000 far more often than not.
NWT does need to be assayed. J&M doesn't.
J&M and Engelhard are the only two that have the COMEX seal of approval, hence the price differences.
John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
I've seen as low as 950 oz. bars
and as high as 1055 oz. bars.
<< <i>they can't pour exactly 1000 oz. >>
Why not?
<< <i>
<< <i>they can't pour exactly 1000 oz. >>
Why not? >>
Because it is physically impossible to precisely control the flow of molten silver into a mold. The manufacture of extruded bars is much more precise, but also a much more expensive process.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
Mark
<< <i>they can't pour exactly 1000 oz. >>
That seems pretty hard to believe. If they can produce 100 oz bars with great precision, they should be able to produce 1,000 oz. bars with simiilar precision. At a minimum, they could process the bar after pouring to shave it down to exactly 1,000 oz.
My guess is that it has nothing to do with technology. It's probably a function of there not being demand (backed up by people willing to pay a little extra) for bars that are exactly 1,000 ounces. At that level, there is probably more demand for bars that are cheaper to make and which are 1,000 plus or minus 30 or 50 ounces.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>they can't pour exactly 1000 oz. >>
Why not? >>
Because it is physically impossible to precisely control the flow of molten silver into a mold. The manufacture of extruded bars is much more precise, but also a much more expensive process. >>
Physically impossible, unlikely. Difficult enough to not be profit worthy, highly likely. No one will ever convince me that it's impossible to make a poured bar that is 1000 ounces, + or - less than 1 ounce. Even if they don't do it because it's not profit worthy I don't see why they couldn't use shaving and/or adjustments to make it exactly 1000oz. I think that those that are spending the kind of cash it takes to buy a 1000oz bar simply do not care about a measily dozen or two ounces that it could be + or -.
1000oz Bar
Mark