Month: August 2020

We will close out the “M” box with some very nice examples, all highly collectible vintage pieces. Enjoy.

A favorite of mine and I wish I had more examples, is Mastiff Metals. Iconic hallmark of a Bullmastiff. These are so hard to find and considered tier one bars among collectors. Found in 5 and 10 oz class, albeit hardly ever, you’d be lucky to come across one in the wild.

Here is an absolute stunning example of a 5 oz class shared from Brian R’s collection. This is as good as it gets

Next up is an MSR ingot, a nice old pour with picture frame on both the 5 and 10 oz. Not an easy bar to find, particularly in 5 oz.

MEE is another neat vintage piece that typically is found in 5 oz class. I like the look at style of these.

Morris and Watson is an Australian refiner that’s been around for years and still in business today. This is a nice 250 gram example.

Next is a Mehlos Refinery ingot. Classic old pour style.

Next is another very cool old pour from MCR Division of Greb.

Last is MSC, that can be found in 5 and 10 oz class. Note this mold is same mold as Doyle’s Mint, RCG, Regold, and a few others.

Love this mold.

Arizona is another state with a very rich history of silver refining and many highly coveted hallmarks come out of this state, including Yellow Daisy, Arizona Assay Office, and Gila Development Company, just to name a few. For a number of years until recently, collectors were discovering these beautiful ingots with a “Cactus” hallmark, but nobody knew the maker. We finally have provenance. I believe one of the few who has paperwork that goes with the ingots pictured below.

Love this old refiner out out of Brandon, MS. Very unique hallmark of a Magnolia flower, which is the state flower of Mississippi. These came predominately in 5 and 10 oz class bars. They are very high premium and scarce today. Here are a few from my collection.

Something about ingots from Nevada. The state has a rich mining history and many collectible ingots have come from this area of the country. I’ve always been a big fan of Metalrex ingots, out of Reno, NV. They came in sizes ranging from 1+0z (very scarce) to 25+ oz. They are not common by any means and have become very sought after by serious collectors. Below are a few from my collection.

Her’s a nice 10 oz example from Brian R’s collection. This is a type 2 10 oz. Note the differences from my 9 oz odd weight above. Thanks for sharing.

W.E. Mowrey has a rich and long history in the precious metals industry. They started in 1899 in Minnesota and still do business there today. Here is a snippet taken from their website that gives a bit of history.

“The company was founded in 1899 on Robert Street in St. Paul, Minnesota by William Edwin Mowrey and moved to its present location on University Avenue in 1911. William developed a line of dental alloys as an outlet for the gold he refined.  The company has changed ownership four times since its inception and remains at its second location in the midway area of St. Paul.” http://www.mowreygold.com.

They are made beautiful ingots ranging from 1 oz to 20+ oz. They are very rare and hard to come by. Based on style, my guess is they were made late 70’s to early 80’s timeframe. I’m fortunate to own the 3 pictured below. These are keepers!

One of my favorites to collect are the Omega pieces that were made by M & B Mining out of Las Vegas, NV starting in 1969. They were only around several years and believed to have gone out of business in 1974 when the owner passed away. They came in sizes ranging from 1/2 oz (ultra rare piece) to 100 oz. Their small pieces are some of the most coveted currently among silver smalls enthusiasts.

Here is a family photo shared by Jon M. of his 1st gen Omega pieces. Very nice!

There are not a lot of refiners from this box, but below I’ll showcase several, some more known that others.

First up is Liberty Mint, which are typically found in 5 oz (there are multiple 5 oz varieties), but very scarce in 1 oz and 10 oz class.

Next up is one of my favorites, L.C. Murray. These came in two varieties, with Torch Hallmark and without. We can call these type 1 and 2. I think the non hallmark came first. Below is a non hallmark type 1.

Nice type 1 with picture frame. I have the 3 oz version that I’ll post at a later time with my “smalls” collection.

Next is a 10 oz class Louisville Metals Company ingot. These are typically only found in 10 oz class, but I have seen one 50 oz variety.

Next up is a very rare 5 oz class LCR with Bell hallmark. I’ve only come across 5 or so of these in all my time collecting. They are serialized and were made in very limited quantity based on the serial numbers I’ve seen. They are really neat pieces an very expensive if you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to buy one.

This came from Ken Conaway’s collection. Very lucky to have it.

Another set I collect is the Lawrence and Sons ingots from Mohave, CA. These are fantastic and very tough to find. They come in 1, 2, 3 and 5 oz. I have the whole set now, but will feature the other pieces in my “smalls” posts. I’ll try and get a family phone up, as well.

Last up is a mystery, but regardless, a fantastic piece. I’ve seen this listed as LCE, but the special thing about this other that the killer style and hallmark, is it matches exactly the mold of the 5 oz Comstock Mine pieces.