Month: February 2021

Finally getting through the majority of the “Smalls.” It’s been a work in progress for quite some time. Hope you enjoy.

Over the last several years, I’ve tried to add unique vintage ingots from various parts of the World. Today I’m going to share a handful of 2+ oz to 100 gram size pieces from various countries. Enjoy.

For other international ingots, check out my blog on Perth Mint and Harringtons, where you can see some other gems from Australia.

Today, I’m covering a handful of known vintage 2 oz class ingots. “Silver Smalls” is one of the fastest growing segments of the vintage silver collectibles market and has been hot for some time. I think these are a fantastic store of value.

I decided to dedicate a short piece today on Spiral Metal Company (out of New Jersey), as this particular hallmark eluded most of us until some recent provenance was discovered (thanks Mike B. if you are reading this). Looking at the hallmark, many guessed that this was PM, but it’s actually a style of cursive, not commonly used by any means. Take a look and you will see how this would be difficult to figure out.

I’ve said it before, but the genre of “Silver Smalls” collecting is and probably always will be my favorite area of focus. I believe for value and holding premiums, this is where you get the most bang for your buck and it’s no surprise that scarce vintage 1 oz and 1+ oz pieces carry the biggest per oz premiums. Enjoy these beauties.

I started collecting silver ingots from the US and Canada primarily, but as I went down the rabbit hold of collecting vintage silver ingots, I began venturing outside my immediate market and started seeking out collectible pieces from other parts of the world. I’m fortunate to own a few Irrawaddy pieces, which were believed to have been produced from the 1950s to the 1970s. These are designated in Taels, which is common in many parts of Asia. For those not familiar with a this measurement, one tael equates to 1.21528 troy ounces. Rangoon is in the country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma at the time these ingots were produced). They have a very nice shape and thickness an great in hand. There are several varieties of these with various purity differences ranging from .90 fine to .999 fine. I have seen these in 5 Tael and 10 Tael class. Here are a few from my collection.

Brian R. was nice enough to share a trio from his collection, including the “Star”variety.

I thought I’d do something different today and share some different varieties of various 3 oz hallmarks. Some of these are high up on my favorites list.

I’ve done previous blog posts on Delta ingots, which are highly collectible vintage Canadian silver bars. They did a piece commemorating 1958 British Columbia Centennial. My first one below is the toned larger piece, which is 1.75 troy oz. The smaller piece is 1 troy oz. For those wondering what the hallmark on the reverse of the bar is, it’s a Dogwood blossom that grows in British Columbia.

“The blossom of western flowering dogwood is the floral emblem of British Columbia, though officially it is depicted with five bracts, which it very rarely has! Occasionally, it will bloom twice a year, in spring and early fall, the latter never coming to fruit.”

BV Hi-Desert was an old refiner from the western Mohave Desert area of California. This is a very cool and highly collectible ingot that rarely comes up for sale. These are known for the Joshua Tree hallmark that sits between the letters “B” and “V.” Underneath is the “Hi-Desert” stamp. Joshua Trees are common in this area and can survive high heat. I’ve only seen these pieces in 3 oz, but have come across one 5 oz variety in all my time collecting. These are very high premium ingots.

Thank you to Freddy V. for sharing another example for our viewers here. Much appreciated!

Logam Mulia is an Indonesian metals company that is quite large and has operated for many years from what I can tell. Logam Mulia means “Noble Metal” when translated from Malay to English. I was able to acquire a pair of older pieces a year or two back that I have never seen. They appear to be older, but I don’t have an accurate date on these. Very happy to have them.