Vintage Silver Bars

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.

I’ve written previously about World Mint, but wanted to share a popular variety that are getting harder to find nowadays, which are 3 oz pieces.

Definitely a favorite stamp among serious collectors, SMITHS has developed a cult like following over the years, as each piece that came from this old Texas refiner has a unique shape and look. There are so many varieties and examples that I’ve seen over the years. These now rarely come up for sale, because of their scarcity and the fact that collectors are now hoarding them. I have a few examples to share. First up is one from my collection that is among my very favorite smalls in the entire collection.

Here are a few stunners from Brian R’s collection. Love these!

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.