Month: May 2020

After conducting research on the origins of these ingots, I believe they are from E.D. Marshall Jewelers out of Scottsdale, AZ, who have been in business since 1971 and still have a chain of stores in AZ to date. It’s the only E.D. Marshall I could find that fits the profile, so I’m placing a high likelihood that it’s them. For those that collect bars from this sought after hallmark, you will know that the Sandoval Jewelers ingots in 5 and 10 oz are identical. I’m convinced that E.D. Marshall made these for Sandoval, which was likely a related operation in AZ. The premiums on both refiners are very high. The 5 oz E.D. Marshall is about as scarce as it gets, along with the Sandoval 5 oz.

I wish I knew more about Electrum. These are scarce pieces that came in both kit kat and poured variety. I have only come across this one kit kat and jumped at the opportunity to buy it. If you have looked at California Crown Mint kit kats you will notice that both the purity stamps, weight stamps and lot number stamps appear to be identical. I think that it’s possible that CCM did these bars for Electrum because CCM has dated bars at the exact timing of this date below. For those that collect kit kats, enjoy this one.

EPM was a mystery to me for quite some time, but as the hobby has grown, more and more collectors have done due diligence in finding provenance on these bars. I formerly referred to EPM bars as Empire Precious Metals, which is inaccurate. Thanks to silveringotinfo.com, this mystery has been cleared up. They posted an old advertisement confirming this is in fact Eastern Precious Metals and it was started in 1980 out of Lancaster, PA. It was affiliated with a business called Steinmetz Coins and Currency. I have a type 1 and type 2 example. There as an extruded type 3 ten oz bar that I sold a few years back.

When it comes to collecting vintage silver bars, it’s hard to top Engelhard. They have been the biggest name over the years in the silver bar game and have a very large following among serious collectors. While I’m not an expert on Engelhard, there is a lot of great information available on the company, and particularly the reference site allengelhard.com, which breaks down the different sizes, varieties, estimated mintages, etc. Check out this resource if you have not already. I started slow with Engelhard, but over the years started to hoard them and believe these are value bars with fair premiums in many cases. Some can get ridiculously expense, but such is the game of supply and demand. The P series “waffle backs” are one of my favorite Engelhard bars to stack because they can still be found for premiums that don’t break the bank. With that said, these will most certainly appreciate in value as more collectors enter the market and hold these in their collections.

7th series ‘P’ serial variation and 10th series ‘P’ serial variation. These were made out of Plainville, Massachusetts in the late 70s, hence the ‘P’ serial. Estimated 50,000 were made of each, but many have not survived over the years due to being melted down, especially in 1980 during the height of the silver rush.

One of my personal favorites is the 9th series ‘W’ prefix Engelhard bars that were made on the West Coast out of Anaheim, CA from 1979 onward until they ceased operations there in 2000. These bars have really appreciated in value over the 6 years that I’ve been collecting. I’m really fortunate to have a nice group here.

It could take a lifetime to collect all the varieties that Engelhard has to offer. I’d like to share some additional varieties that I have acquired over the years.

My favorite Engelhard is the rare 6th series in ‘P’ serial variety with SilverTowne counterstamp. I waited a long time to acquire one in this condition.

My real love is 5 oz pieces, though, and I have some nice examples, but always looking to add more Engelhard pieces in this weight class.

These are my rarest of the 5 oz Engelhard pieces below.

Hope you enjoyed these. I’ll be added a few more in the near future to this blog post.

Happy to add some more updates today on 6/4/20. My friend and fellow collector Brian R. has a very impressive Engelhard collections. Below are pictures of his Engelhard ingots.

Here are a trio of 5 oz class Engelhard MFR ingots shared by Prashant K.

To round out the “D” box, we have a few notable refiners to share. DHF has been in operation for many years and operate on the West Coast with offices in Southern and Northern California. They still operate today, but have not poured bars for the retail market for quite some time to my knowledge. The example shown below is consistent with 70s era characteristics.

DMSI is another that you don’t often see. I have seen examples in 5 and 10 oz class, but not a lot of available information on this refiner. It’s a classic old pour style and very collectible.

Doral is an old New York operation that has been around since 1972 and still in business out of Freeport, NY. They are a family owned and operated business providing full service precious metals refining nationwide. To my knowledge they no longer pour silver bars, nor have they for quite awhile. They do, however, still pour gold bars. Here is a 5 and 10 oz example. These are quite scarce and highly collectible.

There are a few smaller bars that exist, but they are extremely rare and sought after. I’m fortunate to have a 2+ oz example to share here.

Doyle’s Mint has always been a highly popular old refiner among collectors. Not a lot of information available, but believed to be out of Southern California circa 70’s-early 80s. The iconic Lion hallmark is one of the more distinguished hallmarks you will come across. They don’t come up often and when they do, they get snapped up quickly. They came in 5, 10 and 25 oz variety. Here are a few examples of Doyle’s Mint pieces from my collection.

And here is a 25 oz example from Brian R’s collection.

Dugan & Helterbrand operated out of Marshfield, Missouri from 1980 until 1991. They were a precious metals recycling business and the ingots that have survived have become very sought after. Their ingots are known for the “Scales” hallmark that was used by other notable companies like United States Smelting and Refining and David C Davis. Some of the pieces had picture frame molds and others more traditional molds without picture frame. I only have one D&H piece having traded my other away, which I miss dearly.

I’m please to share a very nice D&H collection from Brian R. below. He has some spectacular pieces in different varieties and sizes.

There are niches within collecting vintage silver bars, and collecting extruded bars, particularly kit kat style extruded bars has become a very popular niche within the hobby. The first kit kat bar I ever owned was a California Crown Mint, but the DURO was always the one at the top of my list. There just are not a whole lot of them that have survived. There is not a lot of information on DURO, but they came in 5, 10, 25, and 50 oz sizes. I have yet to see a 100 oz, so not sure they went beyond 50. Here’s my Duro collection for your enjoyment.

I believe the stubby 5 oz predated the traditional 5 and 10. It’s not proven, just a hunch. The style is much different, slightly more primitive and I mean that in a good way. The hallmark is different with no outlines on the letters or shape enclosing the hallmark. 5 F.T.O. and .999 on the stubby, as well as LOT are different. I have also come across a few images of 10 oz DUROs that had the same style of hallmark and weight/purity stamps with LOT. Again, I believe these were produced in very limited numbers before changing the style to the type 2 five and ten oz that I have pictured at top in the image above.

There were many refiners in Texas back in the day, but only a handful stand out, Don Casey being one of those. The company started in the early 70’s out of Garland, Texas. He later integrated Silvex Silver Systems into the operation and I’m pleased to share examples of Don Casey bars and bars that have the Silvex Silver Systems counterstamp. Typically the the bars with the Silvex Silver Systems counterstamp are more scarce. Regardless, premiums on Don Casey pieces have gone up significantly over the last several years.

Here is a big boy that I formerly owned. I miss this piece.

We have a few more excellent example to share from Brian R. Enjoy!

Here is a recent addition to the Don Casey post that was sent in on 3/14/21 by collector John G. Thank you for sharing this great piece.