Bullion Archives - Antique Sage

Natural 4.2 Gram Californian Gold Nugget

Photo Credit: Estates Consignments

Natural 4.2 Gram Californian Gold Nugget

Buy It Now Price: $375 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This compact, 4.2 gram Californian gold nugget conjures up images of grizzled prospectors in the American Old West wading into ice-cold streams in search of treasure.

-This Californian gold nugget measures 12.8 mm (0.50 inches) long by 9.3 mm (0.37 inches) wide. Although this is a fairly sizable nugget at 4.2 grams (0.1350 troy ounces) in weight, it is actually smaller than a dime due to gold’s incredibly high density!

-California has a longstanding association with gold, with deposits of the glittering yellow metal found scattered throughout the state. But it is best known for the California Gold Rush, which lasted from 1848 to 1855. Some men struck gold and made fortunes during this time, although most found little or no precious metal.

-California rivals Australia in producing some of the purest gold nuggets on the planet. The purity of Californian gold nuggets generally ranges from about 90% fine on the low end all the way up to 99% pure. So the seller may be low-balling this nugget’s fineness by saying it is only 22 karat (91.67%) gold!

-Almost all gold nuggets found throughout history have been indiscriminately melted down for their metal content. It is only within the past 30 years or so that collector demand has prompted miners and prospectors to save some of their finer specimens. As a result, gold nuggets of any size are quite scarce today.

-Because gold has been mined in California for over 160 years, most of the state’s primary mines and placer deposits were worked out long ago. This makes Californian gold nuggets much rarer (and more expensive) than similarly sized nuggets from Australia or Alaska (which are already rare to begin with).

-This genuine Californian gold nugget would make a great gift for the mineral collector or gold bug in your life at a price of just $375, or $89 a gram. I find it amazing that for only a few hundred dollars you can buy the very thing that 19th century prospectors struggled so hard to find!

Cons:

-Because of their greater rarity, Californian gold nuggets are more expensive than Alaskan, British Columbian or Australian gold nuggets on a per-gram basis. So if you want the absolute largest nugget possible for your money, this isn’t the one for you. Instead, this nugget would be a good fit for a Western mining buff or Old West history aficionado.

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1970s 10 Ounce CMI USS Constitution Silver Bar

Photo Credit: hrcpm

1970s 10 Ounce CMI USS Constitution Silver Bar

Buy It Now Price: $220 each (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-Each vintage 1970s USS Constitution silver bar contains 10 troy ounces of .999 fine silver and bears a logo depicting the famous U.S. Naval vessel.

-This USS Constitution silver bar has been extruded into a classic kit-kat shape. Struck and extruded silver bars were first produced in the 1970s as a response to overwhelming consumer demand for precious metal investments as a hedge against inflation. Extruded bars were faster and cheaper to produce than hand-poured bars. As a result, by the early 1980s poured silver bars were no longer commonly made.

-The USS Constitution, also known by the nickname Old Ironsides due to its stellar performance in the War of 1812, is a three-mast U.S. Navy frigate built from live oak. The ship was launched in 1797 and, after a gallant career, retired from active service in 1881. She is currently open to the public as a museum ship in Massachusetts’ Charlestown Naval Yard.

-The Constitution Mint Inc., or CMI for short, was a silver fabricator that operated out of Provo, Utah during the 1970s. It was known for producing 1 ounce silver rounds and extruded, kit-kat style silver bars in 10, 25, 50 and 100 troy ounce sizes.

-CMI silver bars are some of the more readily available vintage ingots in the marketplace today. They were produced in quantity during the 1970s and a fair number have escaped the melting pot over the past 40-odd years. This means they generally command modest premiums over the spot price of silver, making them a great choice for novice antique silver bar collectors.

-This USS Constitution silver bar comes in its original shrink-wrap plastic! The snug factory plastic has kept most of the bar shiny and bright over the decades, while allowing its unprotected ends to tarnish.

-Vintage ingots – like this USS Constitution silver bar – are an economical way to stack silver while also providing some numismatic investment exposure to the desirable antique silver bar market.

-Vintage poured and extruded silver bars are currently trading at some of their lowest premiums over spot in the last several years. With spot at around $17.50 an ounce right now, this USS Constitution silver bar is selling for a premium of only 25.7%. At an asking price of $220, this CMI silver bar is quite a bargain – with as low a premium as you could realistically hope to get.

Cons:

-If you’re really lucky, you might be able to pick up one of these wonderful old silver bars in your local coin store’s junk silver bin for only 50 cents or $1 over spot. Sadly, this is becoming a rarer and rarer occurrence as word gets out about the insatiable collector demand for these unique pieces.

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90% Silver Proof Roosevelt Dime Rolls

Photo Credit: Sandspur Coins and Collectibles

90% Silver Proof Roosevelt Dime Rolls

Buy It Now Price: $76.90 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-These gorgeous proof Roosevelt dime rolls feature 50 frosted coins struck from solid 90% silver, giving them a face value of $5 each.

-Each dime is exactly 2.5 grams of 90% fine silver, giving a total net silver content of 112.5 grams (3.617 troy ounces) per roll.

-Proof coins are special presentation issues struck from specially prepared dies under ideal conditions. They are intended primarily for collectors and usually sell for significant premiums over non-proof versions.

-All Roosevelt dimes were struck in 90% silver from the inception of the series in 1946 until 1964, when silver was removed from most circulating U.S. coinage. No silver dimes were struck for the next 28-years. Then, in 1992 the U.S. government began issuing annual proof sets that contained regular-circulating coin denominations (including dimes) minted in silver.

-Although the seller is not specific about the dates you might receive, the photos seem to indicate that most of these silver proof Roosevelt dime rolls will be modern (i.e. 1992 and later) in nature. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that you might receive early 1960s, or even late 1950s, silver proof Roosevelt dimes.

-Modern silver proof dimes struck since 1992 are much rarer than their circulating counterparts, with mintages usually less than 1/1000th of the latter. They are also rarer than non-silver proof dimes, having been minted at only 1/2 to 1/3 their rate.

-With spot silver trading for around $14.85 a troy ounce, these silver proof Roosevelt dime rolls contain just under $54 worth of silver each. This means you are only paying around $23 over melt per roll – a premium of about 43%. This is quite a low premium for proof coins, which will always have at least some numismatic potential.

-I’m normally not a fan of most modern coinage from a collector’s perspective. They are often staggeringly over-issued base-metal abominations, with little hope of future numismatic demand. However, I am willing to make exceptions for extraordinary situations. And these silver proof Roosevelt dime rolls certainly qualify as extraordinary, with their blazing gem cameo specimens minted in precious metal.

-I believe these 90% silver proof Roosevelt dime rolls are well worth the $77 asking price. They would be a great addition to any silver bullion stack, adding the diversification of collector’s value to what is otherwise a straightforward bullion purchase.

Cons:

-If you are just looking to stockpile junk silver, you can buy a roll of circulated 90% silver Roosevelt dimes for maybe $60 to $65. So each silver proof Roosevelt dime roll will cost you an extra $15 over an equivalent junk roll. But this hardly seems like a con to me, given the added investment potential of proof issues.

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3 Troy Ounce VPS Silver Bar – Crack Jenny’s Teacup

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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