Month: January 2021

MMM Colorado are sought after pieces, however, very little information about this old refiner has been uncovered. The first gens only come with an MMM Stamp and typically are sub 5 oz. Later varieties, assuming they are related and the same refiner, have the MMM with the Colorado stamp. These range from sub 3 oz up to 10 oz from what I’ve seen. Looking for more information on these.

Pictured here is the MMM with Colorado stamp.

I received a new MMM first gen image today from Jon M. Thanks for sharing this sub 2 oz example

These have been a mystery for me. They are unique and based on style and patina, clearly quite old. My guess is these were 70s era based on experience of looking at so many pieces from that era over the years. There are very few comps available on these. I have come across two 5 oz class previously, but the pictured ingots below are the only ones I’ve come across to date. Any help on these would be appreciated.

I’ve always loved these unique 3 oz pieces that came from Kenneth and Freda Shonback, who had a shop on Clement St. in San Francisco in the 60’s. As the story goes these bars were made between 1966-1968 and made various sizes that were put into wooden presentation boxes. They were well received by the market at the time and made their way into national magazines advertising as great investments. These have become very sought after and premiums have risen dramatically over the last few years.

I noted the 5 and 10 oz Circle City examples when covering “C” hallmarks previously. Here are a few examples of 2 oz variety that you don’t see as frequently, but there are examples out there and they come up for sale from time to time. I’ve always been a fan of vintage bars from Arizona. They have a rich history of mining.

I have a few more very rare and unique pieces from Rosario Mining to share today. I shared a 4 oz example in my “Notable R Hallmarks” post some time back. Rosario mined the Mochito Mine in Honduras (the H in the NYH stamp). Most of their rectangular shaped ingots were presentation pieces to shareholders, but these below, I believe were done in very limited capacity, perhaps for employees, but hard to say for sure. Enjoy the pics.

Sunshine Minting is typically associated with modern bullion, however, most don’t know that they have been around since 1979. The organization was founded in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 1979 and have since grown into a full-service leader in silver and gold bullion products. I have acquired two vintage sub 5 oz pieces that are interesting examples. Both have the pick and shovel hallmark on the obverse, which is a pillow top style. One is serialized and one is not. My theory is the first run was serialized and continued the run with non serialized later. The reverse is flat with weight and purity. See pics below for comparison.

I have two more beautiful examples that were just shared by fellow collector Jon M. Thank you for your support and help with these additional images!

I did a previous write up on this old refiner out of Anaheim, CA. I’ve been able to acquire a few sub 3 oz pieces. Enjoy the pics.

Here is another slightly different variety that Jon M. was nice enough to share with the community here.

100 gram ingots are some of my favorite to collect and its hard to talk about 100 gram without mention of Dorfman Bankers London ingots. These are fantastic in hand and beautifully done. They came with a blue presentation box, which I have one in my collection with that I’ll share shortly. First, a bit of history on this maker.

Sir Lloyd Dorfman whom these ingots are named after, founded Travelex (now a division of Finablr) the largest foreign exchange retailer in the world. He got his start in 1976 opening a small foreign currency exchange business in Central London. His firm was merged into Travelex in the mid 80s. These ingots appear to be late 70s/early 80s era. Here are examples from my collection.

I did a previous post on Silverfarm showing a few 10 oz examples. Again, they operated out of San Francisco circa 1970s. For those who have not seen their 1 oz, pieces, I have a few in the collection that I wanted to share. These are unique chunky 1 oz pieces that have hallmark on obverse and lot number on the back.

Montana Gold and Silver are another well known refiner that operated out of Helena, Montana from 1959 until 1978 based on public records. The premiums have grown dramatically on ingots from this refiner. Like the W.H. Foster Eagle hallmark, the Montana Eagle as it’s sometimes called, is also HOT! These pieces came in 1 to 25 oz variety. The larger pours have eluded me over the years and now out of my budget :). I’m luck to have put together a handful of the 1 oz pieces, however. They came in two types as you can see below.

For more information on Montana Gold and Silver, visit silveringotinfo.com that has some great images of other varieties rarely seen. Here is the link:

http://silveringotinfo.com/doku.php?id=m:mgsc