100 oz Silver Bar – Random $3705

The Royal Canadian Mint manufactures the most popular silver bars on the market. Silver bullion dealers simply call them RCM 100s.

RCM 100s are uniform in size, making them ideal for safe deposit boxes, and they are the only .9999 (four 9s) 100-oz silver bars that are readily available. Additionally, they are serial numbered.

Silver bars: .999, .9995 and .9999
.999 fine 100-oz silver bars, usually stated as “three nines silver bars” have been industry standards since the early 1970s. And, they remain industry standards despite some manufacturers refining their silver to higher purities.

For instance, the Royal Canadian Mint produces .9999 (“four nines”) silver bars, and Ohio Precious Metals turned out .9995 bars (“three nines and a five”).

Meanwhile, Asahi, which bought Johnson Matthey’s silver bullion business, continues to manufacture .999 bars. .999 bars would probably assay much higher, but it is standard policy for refineries to put .999 fine on their silver bars.

Why 100-oz silver bars are produced
In the early 1970s, inflation ran rampant, and investors moved to protect themselves by buying silver, one of two proven inflation hedges. Gold, of course, is the other. However, before January 1, 1975, investors could not legally own gold bullion.

To meet the surge of silver buying, small refiners began turning out .999 fine silver products. By the mid-1970s, demand was robust and Engelhard, a major precious metals refiner, began producing .999 fine silver products. Engelhard 100-oz silver bars were instant hits, and shortly thereafter Johnson Matthey, another prestigious precious metals refiner, began pouring 100-oz silver bullion bars.

Engelhard and Johnson Matthey cease producing silver bars
By the mid-1980s the Reagan administration had brought down the rate of inflation, and silver buying waned. As a result, Engelhard and Johnson Matthey ceased production of silver bullion products.

Although Engelhard never again produced silver bars, in 2003 Johnson Matthey returned to the silver bar market with its poured 100-oz silver bars. Tens of thousands of JM 100-oz silver bars were produced. As noted, JM has since sold its production facilities to Ashai, a worldwide silver reclaimer.