International Vaults Refining

International Vaults Refining are a collector favorite as far as “I” refiners go. These have the iconic hallmark of a “Vault” on the obverse of the bars. They came in 5, 10 and 25 oz. Premiums are very big on these, as they are incredibly scarce and very sought after. After doing some digging on the history, I got a hit from an old legal brief from 1983. One of the founder, William Johnson, helped create International Vaults LTD in 1977 as a California corporation to engage in trading gold and other precious metals. Long story short, they violated securities and exchange rules by issuing bogus promissory notes with investors and ultimately filed bankruptcy around 1980 timeframe.

10 oz class with estimated mintage of <500. This pieces has nice patina. Not the weight stamp. It appears the corrected the first stamp appearing to be an “8” with a “7.” Absolutely love this bar.
Reverse of 10 oz above.

The 5 oz came in two types, a first generation with the letters “IV” and a second generation with the hallmark of the vault on obverse.

First gen with estimated mintage of <50.
Reverse shot.
Beautiful example of a second gen 5.
Reverse of second gen 5 oz.
Family photo.

Really pleased to share more International Vaults pieces from Brian R’s collection, including a really rare round from the maker. This one is high on my wish list.

Amazing examples here!
Close up of the uber rare 1 oz vintage IV round, #382. Note the LTD versus Refining on this example. This was the official name of the company.
Reverse of the round. Spectacular piece.

Author: Vintage Poured Bars

New blogger with a passion for old poured silver bars. I'm a Bay Area native and self employed. Active buyer of vintage silver poured bars and occasional seller.

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