100-oz silver bar
From Silver Bullion
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About 100-oz silver bar
100-oz silver bars offer for all precious metal investors a silver product with low markup over spot silver price and a compact size. 100-oz silver bar is known among investors as a reliably pure bulk product and it is fully IRA acceptable.
100-oz silver bar is the most popular among investors but you can buy silver bars from size 1 oz, 10 oz, 100 oz to 1000 oz. Please keep in mind that the smaller the bar the higher the premium over spot price. But larger bars are harder to sell. Beyond question 100-oz is an optimum size for investing in silver bars.
Investment Advantages of 100-oz silver bars
100-oz silver bars are very convenient way for investors to invest in silver. 100-oz .999 pure silver bars do offer the important investment advantages:
- low premium over spot silver prices;
- always recognized around the world as a trading medium;
- 100-oz silver bar is always liquid;
- one hundred silver bars are easy to stack and store.
Best brands of 100-oz silver bars
Engelhard 100-oz silver bar, along with Johnson Matthey 100-oz silver bar, carry the greatest recognition with gold and silver investors because of their longevity in the precious metals industry. There are no better known names in the precious metals industry than Engelhard and Johnson Matthey.
Please note that Engelhard silver bars not having been manufactured since the late 1980s so 100-oz silver bar made by Engelhard can be available only when sold by investors.
History of 100-oz silver bar
In the early 1970s, inflation ran rampant, and investors moved to protect themselves financially by buying gold and silver products which are proven inflation hedges. But before December 31, 1974, investors could not legally own gold bullion so in early 70s only silver products were available.
To meet the surge of silver bullion buying, small refiners began turning out .999 fine silver products. By the mid 70s, demand was robust and Engelhard, a major precious metals refiner, began producing .999 fine silver bars (ingots) and coins (rounds). Engelhard 100-oz silver bar was instant hit, and shortly thereafter Johnson Matthey, another prestigious gold and silver refiner, began producing 100-oz silver bars.
By the mid 80s the Reagan administration had brought down the rate of inflation, and demand for silver bullion waned. As a result, Engelhard and Johnson Matthey ceased production of silver bullion bars, coins and rounds. However, because of the huge quantities of silver bars issued in the 70s and 80s, Engelhard silver bars and Johnson Matthey silver bars were readily available via the secondary market, until the 2008 Financial Crisis when investors cut back on selling any form of gold and silver. Since late 2008, Engelhard silver bars and Johnson Matthey silver bars have been scarce.
Risk when buying the 100-oz Silver bar
You can be at risk with 100-oz extruded Engelhard silver bars. A lot of 100-oz silver bars were drilled and filled with lead when the price of silver reached US$50 back in the early 80s. Many people purchased the 100-oz silver bars and sat on them for years and years. Holes were drilled into one end and about 50 oz of silver were removed. The holes were then filled with lead, a layer of silver was replaced over the end and then the end was machined smooth and polished so that the only way a person could tell if a 100-oz silver bar is legit is to drill or cut into it. This is the reason why many people avoid 100-oz or larger silver bars.
