Poll: Favorite 10oz Silver Bar
Cladiator
Posts: 18,050 ✭✭✭✭✭
Pick your favorite type of 10oz silver bar.
0
Comments
--Severian the Lame
I also didn't see the "10 oz" on the poll otherwise I would have chosen differently.
ps. I voted for JM struck.
Loves me some shiny!
Kind of remind me of a tablet or certificate--almost like currency. The design itself says "valuable" even before you know it's made of precious metals.
There is something about them, though. Sure seems like someone with the right amount of creativity would be able to create a high end bar with a sought-after design.
Here's another one that has that same "currency" feel to it. The Vietnamese Kim Thanh gold bars (37.5 grams):
--Severian the Lame
<< <i>What is it about the JM struck bars? Is it the finish, the name brand? >>
I can't speak for others. For me it's a combination of the reliability and trusted reputation of the company itself and an attractive, professional, non-gimmick looking appearance. The bars with the imprints of coins or skyline of a city or cartoonish characters just don't convey the same professional messege to me, even though I'm sure their silver content is exactly as stated.
The poured bars seem to me that they would be easier to counterfiet than struck bars, even though I'm sure their silver content is exactly as stated (for the big brands anyways). Their stampings are usually much more simplistic than the struck counterparts and anyone can pour a bar in their garage.
There are other bars that convey a similar level of professionalism as the JM struck bars in my opinion (like Heraeus, A-Mark, Credit Suisse). The reason I chose the JM struck over those can be seen by the results of this poll. I'm relatively assured that when/if I go to sell them there will be a very healthy pool of potential customers.
<< <i> The bars with the imprints of coins or skyline of a city or cartoonish characters just don't convey the same professional messege to me, even though I'm sure their silver content is exactly as stated. >>
That's the truth and why I've never liked "art bars". There's just something like tourist-trap ashtrays to them. When you think about it, the whole point of having pure bars is the integrity. A straight-forward, trusted, conservative design adds to that. A busy, overly-artsy or tacky bar subtracts from the integrity. Probably why I've never liked any type of non-governmental round, too. They're almost all tacky, silly, or worse.
And as a coin collector, bars and rounds with classic coin designs immediately turn me off. I *know* what a Morgan dollar or buffalo nickel looks like, and that ain't it. Trying to market something as trustworthy when the first thing that comes to mind the very instant a potential customers see it is "not real", "copy", "counterfeit", "fake" just seems like the dumbest way to shoot yourself in the foot imaginable. I can't think of anything less appropriate to put on a round or bar than a classic coin design.
That said, I have to admit that hype aside, the norfed series are attractive and I would own them.
--Severian the Lame