A Primer to Ingots

daOnlyBG

Hello everyone.

I'm a bit new to bullion trading/investing/collecting, but it's something I've definitely wanted to try out. Though I'm still a college student, I've amassed quite a bit of silver in junk US coins, American Silver Eagles, and silver bars, as part of a savings account. Something that I've had my eyes on for a while is the silver ingot- they hold a chunk of collector value, look pretty sweet, and are a cross-section of history, available to hold in your own hand.

When looking through eBay, I noticed the cool ones (and it seems to me, the most expensive) are the San Francisco US Mint silver ingots. Because I'm extremely unfamiliar with their premiums, can anyone here provide some valuable information/recommend any sources on how to begin collecting them? Where are good places to buy them? What would be considered a "bargain" to buy them at? Have you ever cherry picked them at a store?

Perhaps they're a poor purchase altogether compared to other bullion? I have no idea.

Thanks in advance,

Bassil

LukeMarshall

Cherry Picked these a while back....



These bars do not even represent Bullion, IMO. They are more like a piece of history, and a piece to the historic puzzle of the opperations of the mints.

There are also other mint/assay bars in a variety of sizes, shapes and Prices!!!

The smaller San Fran bars like the one pictured are the most valuable type, excluding an example of a 25oz ish.. block that had been poured on a dozen or more times...

Hope this helps

-luke

Weiss

I guess I'm having trouble understanding what you mean by "the silver ingot".

Ingot and bar mean the same to me. Bar is easier to say, so it's what most of us use in reference to any silver or gold bar not in coin form.

If you're speaking specifically about the silver bars issued by the treasury or US mint in the early to mid 20th century:



They're interesting, and lots of people love them. But something about them has always rubbed me wrong. Like they'd be incredibly easy to fake and carry such a premium that I wouldn't doubt a big % of them are fakes (though they're probably still real silver).

If those are the ones you're talking about, keep in mind that there are tons of silver bars proclaiming to be made of "US Strategic Silver Stockpile":



That ARE NOT the same thing, and I wouldn't walk across the street to buy. If the "real" ones aren't worth the money to me, then ones purporting to be made from melted US silver is worth diddly to me.

Weiss

Case in point. Look at the difference between the eagle on LukeMarshall's bar and the bar I posted above. Not even close to the same thing. That seems really odd to me. Not saying they're not both "real", but I can't think of any other instance when the US Mint has been so haphazard about minting and/or coining precious metal.

LukeMarshall

<< <i>Case in point. Look at the difference between the eagle on LukeMarshall's bar and the bar I posted above. Not even close to the same thing. That seems really odd to me. Not saying they're not both "real", but I can't think of any other instance when the US Mint has been so haphazard about minting and/or coining precious metal. >>



The bar I referenced in my earlier post in fact went to an avid collector of San Fransisco ingots.... there is actually a great deal of history behind them.

Your bar weiss was made Sometime before the 1950's and has the "older" stamp. The 217 is made sometime after WWII and before The 1960's if I remember correctly...

For a time the mint opperated as an assay office only and did not produce coins, but you could redeem silver for these assay bars.

daOnlyBG

<< <i>Case in point. Look at the difference between the eagle on LukeMarshall's bar and the bar I posted above. Not even close to the same thing. That seems really odd to me. Not saying they're not both "real", but I can't think of any other instance when the US Mint has been so haphazard about minting and/or coining precious metal. >>


Very interesting. This might sound like a dumb question- sorry if it does- but is there a reliable source that tells you what's a legit San Francisco US Mint bar, and what is not? I think they look amazing, and as LukeMarshall said, their historical significance is quite appealing. But yeah.. blowing 4-5 times spot per ounce is a really heavy premium, and unlike coins, they're not all uniformly created so that you can spot giveaway details of a fake.

Sadly, I have a feeling that with some pretty decent technology, and a little bit of practice, I could go ahead and produce my own SF Mint bars

ricko

PM's in any form have value (collector, bullion), however, for me, I stick to coins since they are the most trusted and more easily 'converted'... Cheers, RickO