Unidentified silver bar

Exo2012

I was digging through the silver junk box in a jewelry store, and found a 5 gram bar that I can not identify. Can anyone identify the maker?

F S I (inside a crown with 5 points) / 5 gr/ fine silver / 999 / 7128300
reverse is blank.

It looks like it once had a loop at the top. Maybe it was once a pendant, or on a key chain? Actual weight on my scale is 5.4 grams.

You would think with a serial number in the 7 million area that this was a large and well known firm. But I could find nothing online to identify the maker.

Wish I could do photos. But I am kind of low tech here.

Thanks.

1970SilverArt

<< <i>I was digging through the silver junk box in a jewelry store, and found a 5 gram bar that I can not identify. Can anyone identify the maker?

F S I (inside a crown with 5 points) / 5 gr/ fine silver / 999 / 7128300
reverse is blank.

It looks like it once had a loop at the top. Maybe it was once a pendant, or on a key chain? Actual weight on my scale is 5.4 grams.

You would think with a serial number in the 7 million area that this was a large and well known firm. But I could find nothing online to identify the maker.

Wish I could do photos. But I am kind of low tech here.

Thanks. >>



I think that the bar you are referring to looks like this one in this following ebay auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FSI-5-GRAMS-999-FINE-SILVER-BAR-INGOT-7128300-C2537-/330654486278


EDIT: So far, I have not found any information in my silver art bar guidebooks on this particular bar.

Exo2012

<< <i>
I think that the bar you are referring to looks like this one in this following ebay auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FSI-5-GRAMS-999-FINE-SILVER-BAR-INGOT-7128300-C2537-/330654486278 >>



That's the one. It even has the same serial number as my bar !!! What the heck. Aren't the serial numbers supposed to be different on all the bars???

The back on my bar is different from the one on Ebay. Mine looks like it had a loop that was removed from the top (maybe was a pendant?). The Ebay bar looks like it was glued to something. I wonder what?

LOL. I paid $5 for mine, and the guy on ebay wants $77 for his. I hope he gets the price, too.

1970SilverArt

<< <i>

<< <i>
I think that the bar you are referring to looks like this one in this following ebay auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FSI-5-GRAMS-999-FINE-SILVER-BAR-INGOT-7128300-C2537-/330654486278 >>



That's the one. It even has the same serial number as my bar !!! What the heck. Aren't the serial numbers supposed to be different on all the bars???

The back on my bar is different from the one on Ebay. Mine looks like it had a loop that was removed from the top (maybe was a pendant?). The Ebay bar looks like it was glued to something. I wonder what?

LOL. I paid $5 for mine, and the guy on ebay wants $77 for his. I hope he gets the price, too. >>



That particular seller overprices all the silver art bars but someone will make a good enough offer to get the seller to move it out of his inventory. All of those prices are outrageous IMO but there is a "Make an Offer" option. That is very interesting that the serial number is the same. The serial # of any silver art bar is always going to be different. I cannot speak for this FSI bar. The ebay picture of this bar appears to be an "ex-Jewelry" piece especially if it was used as a pendent which would make sense to me given the size of that bar.

Exo2012

<< <i>
That particular seller overprices all the silver art bars but someone will make a good enough offer to get the seller to move it out of his inventory. All of those prices are outrageous IMO but there is a "Make an Offer" option. That is very interesting that the serial number is the same. The serial # of any silver art bar is always going to be different. I cannot speak for this FSI bar. The ebay picture of this bar appears to be an "ex-Jewelry" piece especially if it was used as a pendent which would make sense to me given the size of that bar. >>



Thanks for the info. I suspect that any serial numbers from F S I may be meaningless? Maybe all their bars had the same serial number? Maybe it was a product number? Maybe a bangle on a ladies purse?

I wonder if the bar is from outside the U.S. ?

I wonder what 'F S I' stands for?

1970SilverArt

<< <i>

<< <i>
That particular seller overprices all the silver art bars but someone will make a good enough offer to get the seller to move it out of his inventory. All of those prices are outrageous IMO but there is a "Make an Offer" option. That is very interesting that the serial number is the same. The serial # of any silver art bar is always going to be different. I cannot speak for this FSI bar. The ebay picture of this bar appears to be an "ex-Jewelry" piece especially if it was used as a pendent which would make sense to me given the size of that bar. >>



Thanks for the info. I suspect that any serial numbers from F S I may be meaningless? Maybe all their bars had the same serial number? Maybe it was a product number? Maybe a bangle on a ladies purse?

I wonder if the bar is from outside the U.S. ?

I wonder what 'F S I' stands for? >>



That is certainly possible that this bar could be a "foreign" bar. I think that there were some PAMP silver bars that were 5 grams in weight but I am not completely sure about that. I do not even know if this "FSI" bar is a PAMP bar or not. I wish I had some luck finding it in my Archie Kidd books because I do not know anything about it. So far, I had no luck so far finding it in the guidebooks. Sorry that I am not much help here. I am stumped on this one.

RGJohn

Does '5 Gr' mean grams? I thought it meant 'grains'. Which of course is an entirely different bucket of bolts as there are 480 grains in 31.1035 grams.
-----
The serial number thing also indicates an intention to deceive in that it attempts to replicate what bona fide refineries place upon their products. It is a number but it is not in any sense 'serial' as that implies each item is a unique member of a series.
---
I wonder if it's even actually silver and even if largely silver, the purity is more than somewhat suspect.

Exo2012

<< <i>Does '5 Gr' mean grams? I thought it meant 'grains'. Which of course is an entirely different bucket of bolts as there are 480 grains in 31.1035 grams.
-----
The serial number thing also indicates an intention to deceive in that it attempts to replicate what bona fide refineries place upon their products. It is a number but it is not in any sense 'serial' as that implies each item is a unique member of a series.
---
I wonder if it's even actually silver and even if largely silver, the purity is more than somewhat suspect. >>



I am sure it is silver. It has the right color, and the right 'ring' to it. Purity is something I can not test. But it does weigh in at 5.4 grams.

I am thinking it was intended to be a pendant, or attached to a money clip, maybe a woman's purse? Something like that.......

WhiteTornado

Linked the eBay item referred to above:

linky

tneig

There is high pricing, then over pricing. Then there is taking advantage or as some call it, rip off.
Melt value is $4.52. The numbering is fake just to have some thing stamped on it (decorative), likely because it was attached to something.

Looking at some of the other items for sale, like the 2gr bar for $67, you can see a pattern of creative selling....

Hey, maybe they super rare and worth thousands! lol

Pokermandude

Like anything, it is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. There are a ton of numismatic coin examples where a coin is worth insane multiples above it's melt or face value. Bars and jewellery are no different in that respect.