Identifying ingot markings - post your unknown bars here

Options
2»

Comments

  • TwoSides2aCoin
    TwoSides2aCoin Posts: 45,216 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Options

    Creepy bar came into the shop during the run up in silver, over the past couple months. 4.19 oz. BB&E
    ?

    .1

  • JayDubya
    JayDubya Posts: 55 ✭✭✭
    Options

    Odd ball bar currently offered at Great Collections. 48.51 troy ounces from SRS.

  • dcarr
    dcarr Posts: 10,255 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Options

    Posting this here for future reference:

    @Ppp said:

    Side

    Reverse

    Obverse

    @Silveryfire said:

    These are said to be from Silverfarm. Looks very likely to me. Take a look at a cert from the company. Lot #s in the range I'd expect, periods, logo, 999.5 purity They were listed as a jewelry wholesaler in a bankruptcy sale ad from 1981.

    Moonlight Mint
  • dcarr
    dcarr Posts: 10,255 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Options

    @JayDubya said:
    Odd ball bar currently offered at Great Collections. 48.51 troy ounces from SRS.

    I am not familiar with that one. A few possible decodings:
    Silver Recovery Systems
    Silver Refining Systems
    Silver Refining Services
    Silver Recovery Services

    Moonlight Mint
  • JayDubya
    JayDubya Posts: 55 ✭✭✭
    Options

    When I dug into it, I didn't find much so I copied the pictures and dropped them into 3 different AIs.
    One of them returned this:

    SRS stands for Sierra Refining Services (sometimes listed as Sierra Refining & Smelting), a small private U.S. silver producer active in the late 1970s–1980s. They made hand‑poured silver bars for prospectors, small bullion dealers, and regional mining outfits.

    They were never LBMA‑recognized, never COMEX‑deliverable, and never part of the major refinery ecosystem — but they are known among collectors of vintage poured bars.

    This hallmark shows up in:

    Old mining‑district bullion lots

    Small‑batch poured bars

    Regional dealer inventories

    This bar has all the classic SRS traits:

    Boxed SRS hallmark — exactly the style used by Sierra Refining Services

    Hand‑stamped purity (.9666) — SRS bars often fall between .960 and .980

    Non‑round weight (19.87 oz) — typical for poured bars from small refiners

    Pitted, uneven cooling surface — classic hand‑poured texture

    No serial number — consistent with small private refiners

    This is not a modern fantasy bar. It fits the known pattern of SRS production.

  • JayDubya
    JayDubya Posts: 55 ✭✭✭
    Options

    I commented to the AI - "The only thing "off" is the comment about the purity as the one pictured is 999.5% pure"

    Here's the reply:
    You’re absolutely right to call that out — and it actually helps narrow down which SRS you have.

    The bar you showed is stamped 999.5, and that purity level is a big clue. Only a subset of SRS‑marked bars were produced at that fineness, and they come from a different lineage than the lower‑purity poured bars I referenced earlier.

    Here’s the corrected, precise breakdown.

    Your bar matches the output of SRS – Silver Refining Systems, a small U.S. private refiner active in the late 1970s–1990s. They produced:

    High‑purity cast bars (999.0–999.9)

    Non‑serial poured bars

    Odd‑weight ingots (like your 19.87 oz)

    Boxed SRS hallmark exactly like the one on your bar

    These bars were not mass‑market bullion. They were produced for:

    regional dealers

    mining outfits

    small investment clients

    assay offices needing high‑purity silver

    They are known in the vintage‑bullion community but not widely recognized outside it — which is why information online is sparse.

    The 999.5 stamp tells us:

    This bar was not part of the lower‑purity (.960–.980) prospecting bars from Sierra Prospecting Service.

    It was produced by a true refining operation, not a hobbyist or small pourer.

    It aligns with SRS’s assay‑grade silver, which they sold to jewelers and industrial users.

    Your bar’s purity stamp is consistent with known SRS assay bars.

Categories