Odd things people do to a silver bars.

Anyone else have any crazy pictures of altered bars?




Years ago I was at my local gold and silver store, in the dollar over box were two chunks of a Johnson Matthey old pour silver bar.

Looked like someone cut a 10 ounce bar in half and removed the serial number portion. (Top half and bottom half)
It just screamed stolen bar...
I almost bought it just because you could still see the Johnson Matthey stamps and recognize it was a Johnson Matthey old pour bar.
I passed it over...three weeks later looking through the $1 over spot box I found another chunk of a bar.
(This chunk was stamped 20 OZ)
I asked if they still had the other two pieces from weeks ago??
The owner said yes they put them in back headed for the scrap bucket.
He dug them out and we put them together...turned out someone cut a 20 ounce Johnson Matthey old pour Silver bar in three pieces.
It was a low mintage old pour bar without the stamped serial number.
A premium bar IF complete we'll worth 2x spot.
I was now intrigued, why would someone do this?
I told the owner to weigh it up and I'll give him a dollar over spot.
He said NO WAY, not for sale yet it's going into the case as a conversion piece.

I stated that if I didn't find the missing chunk you were willing to sell it for scrap, but now it's a hot commodity?
He said YEP, you should have bought it the first time you saw it...let that be a lesson (we all had a good laugh)
I saw it in the case for another three weeks
or so priced at a premium, but I wasn't that guy...someone paid a premium to have it. as it disappeared.

 

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Oh, nothing shady or sinister here, just someone who wanted some 6.66-ounce chunks of silver...

 

I have used 10 ounce bars in my garage to hold stuff down. I prefer lead bars, but I own a bunch of old 10 ounce Engelhards I have used to glue with. I am weird though, once I needed to turn the screws on the toilet seat and the nearest thing I could lay my hands on the right size, (really thick opening), was a Hadrian Alexandrian drachm depicting the Pharos. It was vg though, and no harm done.

 

What was the price once he had it back in the case ? He should have sold it to you. Crazy that he did not know it went together. Who buys a bar that big not knowing the 3 pieces went together ?

 

It was spot plus $5 after the third piece was located.
Spot was around $14/15? at the time September 2018.

Story was it came in with a bulk order from NYC.
They put an order in for XX amount of silver and never know what comes in.
Don't know if it came in different orders or not but the Post Pour alteration wasn't worth a premium.

Within six months they had a few more vintage bars that I picked up a little more than spot and then their supplier started charging more for vintage silver...they deal in volume and not quality so the vintage silver went away.
They said they could still order vintage bars But the price was $5/$6 over and no idea of what would come in.

 

I am not sure how that would be even valued..LOL, but it all melts the same !

 

I am not sure how that would be even valued..LOL, but it all melts the same !

 

That is weird.

 

It’s only worth what it weighs out to be.

 

Yes, to most of us you're right, but to a person who collects old pour's you never know!

 

I can agree with valuing old pours based on what you collect. The issue arises, for me, when the old pour is damaged after the pour. I'm not sure how someone puts a premium on intentional damage. Seems flippant to me.

 

Vintage bars always get a high premium. Look on Ebay for crazy high prices. A lot of silver stackers love those vintage bars and will pay the premium to get them.

 

I don't know why anyone would do that to an old bar

 

Comes down to what someone is willing to pay.
If you have it displayed long enough more people see it and your chances of selling for premium is better achieved.
I just wasn't the guy.
Good for the shop to see the potential value and hold out.

 

On another visit to the gold and silver store I saw a couple vintage 10 ounce bars that I didn't know anything about.
Priced a little higher than regular silver, but Iliked them so I set out to do some searching on the internet.
Didn't find much in a quick search, but returned with money to buy both as they were somewhat rare and cool.
A week later in the shop were two more
Hey I thought these were rare?
The owner said he heard I bought the other two...yes I did.
These were $50 a bar more expensive than the last two.
I dug deep and returned with my money yet again.
Some things we just buy when we see them.
I still have two of the four bars, I moved two bars on to people that wanted them more then I did and recovered most of the cost on all the bars.

 

If I recall that bar is/was one of about 750?
No way to trace it without a serial number SO it's a head scratcher as to why... maybe it fit better in a three fold wallet.

 

Anyone's guess.
Makes for a good story, would like to know why just because you don't see that every day.
I'm sure people in the business see some wild stuff.

Like that episode of pawn stars where they drilled that large silver grease bar...that didn't help the value but the owner didn't seem to mind as he was already selling.

 

with all the talk in certain circles of when SHTF ... just use silver or parts of silver to barter and buy stuff ... then we find chunks of a silver bar ... hey, why not practice what 'ya preach.

 

Maybe there were 3 people after a deceased person had a will where all mentioned got equal portions designated, and all 3 wanted it.

 

Some families I hear fight for the last dollar, this could have been one of them.
Can you see the executor reading a will... per the deceased request I cut everything worth anything in thirds and ruined it all.
Your welcome.