ingots 'em
 

I have some Franklin Mint (1970?) "American Wildlife Collection" silver ingots�.rectangles�.stamped .999 on the side, with some other F.M. marks, but no "1 troy oz." stamp.

I have heard some say they feel when buying an ounce of silver, that the "1 troy ounce" should be on the piece, stamped somewhere.

Are these ingots not considered 1 troy ounce?

I was just curious if there is any reason to expect to pay less to a dealer for these type of ingots, or if buying at typical dealer cost equal to silver rounds is reasonable when purchasing these?

Thanks amigos!

Re: ingots 'em
 

Have you weighed them?

Re: ingots 'em
 

I would have asked the (established) dealer to weigh them prior to my purchase, but he issued me a receipt saying that I can bring those in to trade for rounds when he gets some in. He was out of silver rounds.

So I was not going to press it....he is kind of gruff as it is.

He is a very "an ounce of silver is an ounce of silver" kind of guy....take it or leave it.

I don't have the proper instrument to weigh them here at my house.

Since I consider building a rapport with this dealer important as well, I went ahead and bought a few at silver round price since he gave me his note that I can trade in for rounds later.

Should I avoid ingots...or just ask that they be weighed, next time I consider buying some?

Re: ingots 'em
 

I hope you did ok on the deal Cosmo.

Re: ingots 'em
 

I just was interested in the value of pieces like this....even though a dealer says "it is all the same, an ounce of silver is an ounce of silver" kind of attitude, is it best to avoid ingots unless they are priced down somewhat from silver round prices?

Here is a complete set
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/oldatt...sures/item/s-2

I only picked up a few ingots....not a huge investment on my part. But no loss on my part either.

Re: ingots 'em
 

Just no way of telling without the weight. That is necessary to determine value. Lots of comparable ingots from that mint were 20 grams if I remember correctly.

Re: ingots 'em
 

You really need a scale, 1/10 gram. They cost about $15. Tobacco shops often have them, or you can buy on ebay. Try to find Energizer E2Lithium batteries, or get rechargeable. Don't even bother with any other kind of batteries.

Re: ingots 'em
 

Okay. I'll pick one up.

My "best guess" is these ingots are nowhere as low as 20 grams as suggested, but very close to a troy ounce.
I think the dealer would have rolled his eyes if I whipped out a scale. He was willing to let me bring them back to trade for rounds anyway, so I have some confidence in that.

Re: ingots 'em
 

Cosmo, I didn't suggest that the ingots were 20 grams. I said that I remember they (Hamilton Mint) put out a lot of 20 gram ingots. I'm as curious as you about the weight. I've never bought silver without that info so I'm doubly curious. :wink:

Re: ingots 'em
 

Right on...no problem...here's what I can tell ya.

They weigh 31 grams (on a nice kitchen scale I have)

On the top long (thin) side are these stamps:

.999 F.S.

....after that are four small circles with these numbers/letters:

C
77
M ...(I think?) need better magnifier!!
P

and then after that to the right are their numbering, for example, 0078.

I picked up a sealed Englehard ingot when I got these, and it is stamped 1 troy ounce on front. Same dimensionally as the F.M ingots.

Anyway, thanks for your curiosity.
If anyone knows what the four circles are for, let me know!

He had about 15 or 20 more.
dammit, now I want to go back and get the others he had...
they're actually very nice to look at.

Re: ingots 'em
 

You did fine then! Congrats :s9: