I picked up 40 ozt of silver from a friend of mine at $28 an ounce. (He must've needed the dough, but wouldn't say) some good rounds, like one with Robert, John, and Edward Kennedy. Another with Ronald Reagan in proof finish, some Super bowl rounds, and rare Silver Maui Trade dollars. Some bars too!! I love bars, and thought Id share some pics. The Graduation bar has no mint The "Good Luck" from 1973 is from the Great Lakes Mint A Southeast refining bar A turkey on a "Justice Mint" bar. San Fransisco Centennial on a "Patrick Mint" Tombstone Arizona bar, No mint name (anyone know?) The other 8 bars are "State" bars, all from east coast states.
good deal! I picked on ebay some of these for +$3 over spot ... looks like there is no friend on eBay ))) I'm eyeing 1 oz tiger for awhile now ... unreasonably priced it is the animal I want very much
Here is the bar I've got from eBay for $35 including shipping 2 weeks ago ) P.S. BTW if anyone is willing to sell bars keep me in mind, willing to pay up to 5% over spot
I love old bars, especially from little known mints. Most of my LCS either don't have them, or want $4-$6 over spot for them. So I hardly ever go there. I pick them up at the jewelry/coin store of a guy I know, that sells them to me for $1.00 over when he does get them. Or I pick them up at antique flea markets. In this case I just happened to get really lucky.
They're actually coming down in price now. A couple months ago it was $99, now you can find them in the $70 range. I bought my first one back in 2010 and thought I was crazy paying $22.
According to the 6th edition Archie Kidd silver art bar price guide, that Tombstone, AZ bar is listed in the "misc." section. It does not list the mint or the company that made it. It also does not mention when it was minted. According to the 4th edition of Archie Kidd silver art bar price guide, the "State" silver art bars are Hamilton Mint bars that are part of a 50-bar set called "Official Ingots of the United States". Those were minted between 1974 to 1976 and the mintage for each of them is 15,000. Generally speaking, Hamilton Mint silver art bars are very common since they typically have mintages ranging between 5,000 and 15,000 for each one. EDIT: That Justice Mint bar with the serial number (1583?) was minted in 1973.
Like most Father's Day theme silver art bars, this USSC one is a fairly common one and the price you paid for it is about what a person would expect to pay for one on ebay since most common silver art bars on ebay tend to sell between $5 to $10 over spot silver price.
The main LCS that I go to sells old silver art bars for $3.00 over spot but for the last few months, they did not have much in stock and as a result, I have not bought many there this year. So far, I have been most successful in finding silver art bars that I like at the coin shows that I attended this year for decent premiums over spot silver price. I have also had some limited success at the local flea market.
another three bars added yesterday ... $35 plus shipping 1) 2) 3) I've never seen bar catalog ... and absolutely new to bars
The "Buntline Special" silver art bar was minted in 1973 by the Belford Mint. The "Libra" was minted by a Canadian Mint and those are fairly common. The Rosario Resources "Mexico" silver art bar is not a bad buy IMO. Congrats. The Archie Kidd silver art bar guidebooks that I referred to in post # 429 of this thread can be found and bought on ebay but they can be expensive depending on the edition that a person buys. Prices for them range from $80 to as much as $300 on ebay.
SilverArt, is there any general way to determine good value bars? What makes some bars worth more than others ... other than mintage?
Demand is one factor that determines the value of silver art bars IMO. Popularity is also another factor that can determine the current value of one on ebay. For example, certain '70's silver art bars that are popular such as the World Wide Mint Coca-Cola bars will always carry a large premium over spot on ebay. Certain Coca-Cola bars with high mintages of 10,000 to 50,000 can carry ebay premiums that can range from $10 to $25 over spot because they are Coca-Cola bars and many people look for and buy these types of bars. The type of theme can also determine the value of a silver art bar. For example, generally speaking, adult-themed bars tend to do very well on ebay. When it comes down to it, it honestly depends on the silver art bar being auctioned on ebay as well as the current demand for that bar on that particular day. On average, a fairly common silver art bar will sell for between $5 to $10 over spot on ebay. When it comes to rare ones and popular ones, then it could be almost any price at that point depending on how badly a collector wants it. Some good value silver art bars that I can think of are the following: 1.) World Wide Mint Coca-Cola 2.) Certain World Wide Mint (non-Coca-Cola) 3.) Greathouse Productions 4.) Green Country Mint 5.) The Mint (these are sports-themed silver art bars in that some are enameled and some are not) 6.) Adult-themed silver art bars 7.) Certain silver art bars that were minted by the Silver Mine in the early '80's. Those above mentioned are the ones that I have seen to consistently get high premiums on ebay when they get put up for auction. There are others that also get high premiums on ebay but the ones that I mentioned are the main ones. A lot of the above mentioned ones will not show up on ebay that much because of the very low mintage numbers and collectors tend to bid those type of bars to what they perceive to be the true worth on ebay.
does this look legit? http://www.millyjewelry.com/Metal-N...-Chain-pendant-wt-of-4-1-grams-chain-2-7.html
Thanks for the info! I would love to have a copy of Archie Kidd's book, but man the money they want for one is crazy. Even used ones on ebay are expensive, but maybe for Christmas!
2 good finds!!! Oh boy, I just went to the jewelry store I do scrap metal with..he gets bullion from time to time, but does not specialize in it for the most part unless you order stuff. But I walked in today...and he had a couple little GEMS that I couldnt pass up. 5 oz Sunshine mint COORS LIGHT SILVER BULLET BAR and a 2002 Kookaburra, both for $1.00 over spot per ounce.
2002 Kookaburra....Sorry, I was trying to post both pics, but It posted without my adding the second pic. Its posted now.