Identifying ingot markings - post your unknown bars here
dcarr
Posts: 8,310 ✭✭✭✭✭
Maybe this thread could become the place on the internet to get help identifying the makers of ingots.
I'll start with three that I have.
This first one has been posted before and still not identified, but the mark is distinctive enough to where it seems like it should be identifiable. Some sources on the internet speculate that it is "MTE Bell", but I don't think it is the shape of a bell. Other sites call it a "Comstock Mold", but that only identifies the type of mold that it was poured in, not the maker. One other picture I have seen has a similar marking with a "1970" date inside the circle above the "flower" (or whatever it is):
BRC rectangle.
Some sources claim this is "Bahamian Refining Company", but the style of the bar is vastly different than the other "BRC" (script logo) molded bars:
IRS triangle.
I have no info on this bar or who made it:
Comments
Great idea!
I've posted this before... no markings other than .999 and weight. Someone mentioned that they have seen one before (maybe this one?)
Unknown or little known?
AARO
The 999FS stamp is a modern stamp so this bar is probably just a random garage pour from the last 10-20 years.
I dunno, but in hand it looks better than a "garage pour" IMH
First is the same maker as dcarr above. 1970 “MTE BELL”
Second is a unique small bar. Less than an ounce and hollow. The bars are marked as 999, but XRF reports coin silver .900. I reached out to a dealer in the general area and he did not remember seeing any examples come through his shop.
The only other “hollow base” style bar I have seen just sold on MineralX for a large sum of money.
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The "A.G.J." is probably a clue, but still a mystery for now.
$479 for less than 1 oz.
I have seen that "Denver" bar before.
They are not marked "999", so 900 fine is possible.
I have not seen the Teton Peaks type before.
It does look like the same make, just different markings applied.
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AARO Metals Company Sugarland, Texas.
1965 - 2001
Anyone seen this one before?
BA in cursive. with 20 GR & .999 stamp
Click on this link to see my ebay listings.
dcarr: oh wow you picked the tough ones.
1) My best guess is that it may have been someone that contracted World Mint Corp to make the bars. Purely speculation and the stamp has never been ID'd as far as I know. It is called the mte bell-- i assume just from how it looks. I really don't see the mte part.
this 'bell' stamp appears on 3 varities of bars that I am aware of. These Comstock bars look like world mint to me but I don't see a lot of people talk about that. The stamp also appears on a very different World Mint-looking bar. and another i haven't looked closely at.
The earliest I have on world mint is 1969 in los angeles. the YCE bars I also have a 1969 ad for. Their early history is a bit of a mystery I believe. Corporate headquarters would have been in Phoenix in the 70s and the company got around. It seems they also used agents and affiliates a bit liberally.
2) My guess is Bahamian Refining Company but haven't seen 100% proof. That's what they are usually labeled.
These BRC bars are likely made by the same refiner as the fancy logo 1 oz eagle bars. I'm basing this on a fairly recent FB group post from a user who said that a family member purchased the items via a friend through a company they liked to order from. He did not have the receipts but had both varieties pictures together. and some of them were not common examples. He had some fractional gold pieces. I have an ad from them mentioning fractional gold jewelry bars of a different weight, I believe. There is a letterhead from the company with their address that can be viewed with BRC logo and box around it. it is towards the bottom:
http://docs.azgs.az.gov/OnlineAccessmineFiles/M-R/MineralhillLapaz278-3.pdf
3) something obscure I'm sure, never seen
I tried to type this up quickly. Hope you can understand, I'll answer Q's if you have any
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Thanks for that. I believe it is conclusive proof that the "BRC" rectangle is the Bahamian Refining Corporation of Phoenix Arizona.
The World Mint silver bars that I have seen are either 1-oz stamped "art bars", or 1, 5, or 10 oz sheared slabs with a globe outline imprinted on them. I have not seen any World Mint poured-style bars.
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Bel Air Mint. Lots of old auction results on worthpoint.com
what's the square with a diagonal line thru it on liberty smelting & refining silver bar's mean ? ( aka liberty mint )