Photo Credit: Barry’s Postcards
3 Troy Ounce VPS Silver Bar – Crack Jenny’s Teacup
Buy It Now Price: $110 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This limited edition 3 troy ounce VPS silver bar features pirate cutlasses, oxidized surfaces and Vollmer Poured Silver’s skull and crossbones logo.
-This artisan hand-poured silver bar weighs 3 troy ounces and is made from solid, .999 fine silver.
-Vollmer Poured Silver, also known as VPS, is a precious metal micro-foundry located in the picturesque Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. All VPS silver bars are individually designed and hand-poured using traditional methods by the studio’s founder, Devin Vollmer.
-Modern hand-poured silver bars are becoming increasingly popular among collectors because of their superior workmanship, pleasing compositions and interesting visual effects. I consider hand-poured silver to be a stealth tangible asset investment suitable for the adventurous alternative asset investor.
-This VPS silver bar is #4 of a strictly limited edition run of only 5 specimens. This is an incredibly small mintage in the world of hand-poured silver, where limited editions of 100 or 200 examples are the norm.
-This VPS silver bar comes with its original certificate of authenticity signed by Devin Vollmer himself. It also identifies the work’s name as “Crack Jenny’s Teacup” – a reference to pirate slang from the 17th and 18th century.
-There are many different small companies that specialize in hand-poured silver bars, including Yeager’s Poured Silver, Bit Bullion, Mutiny Metals and MK Barz. But in my opinion, none of them can compare to the sheer artistic character and aesthetic qualities of Vollmer Poured Silver bars.
-I believe this Crack Jenny’s Teacup silver art bar is well worth the $110 price tag. The low asking price also means that this VPS silver bar is attainable by investors of even modest means. This is an underappreciated advantage in a world where it can be difficult to open a brokerage account for less than $1,000.
Cons:
-The cost per ounce for this work is $36.67 ($110 asking price / 3 troy ounces), which is on the high side for a silver art bar. Artisan hand-poured silver bars from other makers can often be found in the $25 to $30 range. However, given the absurdly low mintage and tremendous artistic beauty of this VPS silver bar, I feel the higher cost per ounce is justified.
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