Johnson Matthey

Hard not to kick off the “J” hallmarks without starting with the very famous JM, who have been in business since 1817 when Percival Johnson set up a gold assayer business in London. In 1851 George Matthey joined the firm and the name was changed to Johnson & Mathey. In 1852, they became the official assayer and refiner to the Bank of England. Fast forward to year 2020, Johnson Matthey operates in more than 30 countries and employs more than 15,000 people. They are based in London, UK.

Vintage collectors are often into both JM and Engelhard, as these were the two heavyweights in the industry through the years and produced many beautiful varieties and sizes of gold and silver ingots. Below are some pieces from my collection.

Large Diamond JM variety in 10 oz. Estimated <2000.
Nice looking reverse.
Small Diamond/JM variety in 10 oz class. <2000 mintage.
Some cool pour character on reverse.
5 oz type 1 with a more rounded “o” in oz. These 5’s are tough to come by. Estimated <500 mintage.
Reverse of 5 oz.

Here are some examples from Brian R’s collection. Some really nice bars here.

More rare variety with the taller “0” in oz. <200 mintage.
Reverse of more rare type 2 5 oz.
Beautiful trio of 10’s here.
Love the smooth reverse at far right.

According to allengelhard.com, a collector set of 3oz, 4oz, 5oz, 7oz and 10oz ingots was offered in 1965 by Guardian Trust Company of Montreal, Canada. Below is the very set. Fantastic.

Stunning collection here.
Amazing group shot of some various 20 oz JM pieces.
So many different looks here. Awesome.
Nice 500 gram example. <2000 mintage.
Reverse of 500 gram.
Kilos!
Kilo reverse.
Killer trio of Johnson Matthey & Mallory Canada pieces. That 10 is expensive!
Check out the bubbles and character on bar at far left. Wow.
Awesome 1/2 kilo Matthey Garrett Australia example at top with Walker & Hall flag. <250 mintage. At bottom a kilo MG with W&H flag. Rare example with large flag and serial number. <25 mintage.
504 gram MG example with <500 mintage.
Reverse of 504 gram.

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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