Month: June 2020

HPM is another well known vintage hallmark that you don’t see a lot of anymore. The company operated out of Seattle, WA in the 1970s. Not a lot of information available, unfortunately. These are typically found in 10 oz class. The 1 and 5 oz varieties are extremely scarce.

Here are a few more great examples that Brian R. shared for this post, including a first gen 10 oz class HPM. Very cool.

Hoffman and Hoffman is a favorite for vintage collectors. Just an iconic hallmark which is an “Alchemy” symbol. They made bars ranging from 5 to 100 oz and are known for their cool old vintage rounds with the “Alchemy” symbol and “Unicorn.” They are unique in many ways from the flat 5 oz rare pour to the 10 oz that has the fine circular marks that many show from the way they did the pour. Look closely at the pics to see what I’m referring to.

The 5 oz class are the most scarce as far as Hoffman and Hoffman ingots go. They fetch very high premiums.

Here is a stubby 5 oz example that I own.

And now the finale…the family photo.

Harringtons ingots are right up there at the top of my favorites list. I’m a huge fan of the beauty and care that went into producing these. Harringtons is an was an Australian refiner in the early 80s and stopped operations around mid 90s. They are some of the most sought after pieces and their smaller ingots are some of the highest per oz vintage silver that you will come across.

And for the grand finale, a trifecta of Australian goodness. These are phenomenal examples and extremely rare.

Hard not to lover pieces made by Hoover & Strong. I’ve been a huge fan of these for a long time and happy to own several pieces. A bit of history about the company, they were started in Buffalo, NY in 1912 by Jay Hoover and Harry Strong. Their original market was the recovery of platinum from industrial light bulbs. Harry Strong was only with the company 3 years, but his name stayed on after he left. The company later moved into purchasing platinum and scrap gold jewelry. In the 1930s jewelry manufacturers started moving out of Buffalo and Hoover started a mail order business for their products. During the depression years, the company sold most of its gold to the US Mint. Jay passed away in 1947. Fast forward to 1970, Jay’s grandson, George Hoover took over operations and the company grew. The moved the business to Richmond, VA in 1979. George’s son, Terry Hoover, took over in 1981. They have grown over the years through acquisition and are still in business today.

https://www.hooverandstrong.com/

These pieces are very tough to come by these days and carry huge premiums.

Another more rare variety of the type 2 has “Ozs” versus “Oz.”

Hoover & Strong also made award presentation pieces for a company called RPP. See below for two styles.

As much as I’d like to do a blog post for each individual “G” refiner, there are just a few too many, so I’m going to consolidate the rest in this post. Enjoy. First up is Global Metal Refiners, which came in 1, 2, 5, 10, and 25 oz from what I have seen. I’m going to include pics of the 5 and 10 oz here, but later when I do my “smalls” section of the blog, I’ll include the 1 and 2 oz, which I do own.

Another favorite of mine that you rarely ever see, are the Gulf Metals buttons. These are very cool pieces that I’ve owned for several years. These were made by Collector’s Resource, Inc. “CM,” which was the trademark of a company in Minnesota that handled rare coins, limited edition medals, sports memorabilia and other collectibles. They came in 3, 4 and 5 oz from what I have seen. They also originally came in a blue collectors box with the name of the company above noted inside the box liner.

Goldhorn is another fantastic vintage hallmark that has become very coveted. They are very high premium and I’ve seen limited pieces on the market in 1 oz, 10 oz and 15 oz. Happy to share a few below.

General Metals is another old “G” refiner. Not much information on this, but have a few examples to share. Commonly found in 10 oz.

Geomin is an old Australia pour and happy to share one example here.

Lastly, another great example of a “G” refiner is Gulf Coast Coin out of Texas. So many great bars came out of Texas.

Arizona refiners have always held a special place among serious collectors of silver ingots. One, that has really gained traction in past years is Gila bars. I’ve been privileged to own several and still own one today. Based on discussions among the serious collector community, it is thought that the company operated out of Tempe, AZ. I’ve seen many dates discussed regarding their years of operation (as early as 1916), but there was a Gila Development Corporation established in AZ in 1960 and dissolved in 1985. This could be the one, but not definitive.

These bars only came in 5 and 10 oz class from what I have seen. Both 10 oz and 5 oz are extremely rare and hard to find.

Have always been a fan of these ingots out of Pittsburgh, PA circa 70s. I’ve only come across 5 and 10 oz class bars from Gateway. In my experience both are scarce, but 5s even more so. I’ve got a few great examples to share below.

Brian R. has a larger collection of these and was nice to share photos for this post.

I’ve always been a fan of these, particularly being from the West Coast. GWCB came in many sizes and variations, but most commonly found in 10 oz class if and when they come up for sale. The 5 oz class are extremely scarce and when they come up, they generally fetch very healthy premiums. I’ve got some nice examples to share from this old refiner out of Modesto, CA.

Colorado has a rich history of mining and many silver ingots have come out of this state previously. One of the more well known vintage bars come from GA out of Golden, Colorado. I’m a big fan of these and have been collecting them for years. I have sold off some of my GA’s but still have some really great examples to share. They came in 5, 10 and 25 oz class with multiple varieties.

The 5 oz class, however, are my favorites and I’ve been hoarding them for awhile. Type 1 is the skinny long pour style and type 2 is shorter and chubbier.

Here are a few from Brian R’s collection. Thanks for sharing!

Just a few to round out the “F” box. First we have Federated Bullion Company, which is one of my top 15 5 oz ingots that I own. I love this piece with the unique hallmark with cursive style font, to the incredible patina and pour lines. Hard not to love it. I’ve never seen another 5 like this, but only a 10 oz, which doesn’t quite have the appeal of this piece.

First American Bullion Company is affiliated and considered second general Bear Paw Mining. Very rich history behind these ingots and incredibly difficult to come by. The company mined silver and gold in Northwestern Montana and Northern Idaho. The original mines were in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana. In the 1920’s, Bear Paw became 1st American Co-Op and then years later became Consolidated Silver (CS hallmark). These second and third gen bars like the one pictured above are known as “Baby Bear Paws.” If you have ever seen a Bear Paw ingot, you will notice “CWP” stamped on the bar. These are the initials of the founder C.W. Paulsen. All companies used the same equipment and molds. Lot number sequences are close from one gen to the next.

The next ingot is shared by Brian R., a regular contributor to the blog. In the 70s a number of companies, notable Rainbow Vacuum and TriStar Vacuum made ingots for their sales people and customers. These are generally in a 15 oz class and really neat pieces. Filterqueen is another and this bar is incredibly rare. I own a Rainbow vacuum bar and have seen 5 or so of the TriStar bars, but this is the only Filterqueen I’ve come across.

FG is another that is interesting, but not much known. I have looked at this one many times, and sometimes believe it could be “AG.” If we find out, we will certainly make an update here. Thanks Brian R. for this one, as well.