A study of 2oz Engelhard Australia bars
Recently I received a lot of the new 2oz Engelhard Australia bars for my personal stack. After a discussion with the distributor regarding the process of getting these bars produced, I did some sorting and research on the bars at my disposal, and have identified FOUR varieties amongst these bars that makes for interesting collector information.
Firstly, 1000 bars were serialised after delivery from the original foundry with unique serial numbers (more on that later!), before a commercial decision was made to cease stamping the bars with serial numbers. Presumably the range of 00001 to 01000 was stamped on bars - I received a mix of bars from the 200s through to the 500s. The way these bars are manufactured (they are cast, then pressed) results in some non-uniform shapes, making the stamping process difficult. The bars have the normal "ENGELHARD AUSTRALIA" stamp on the front, same as the 5oz and 10oz bars already in distribution, and on the back, they feature a two line stamp "999+ SILVER" "2 TROY OZ". Now once the bar has been stamped with those initial stamps, it appears that the silver bar "work hardens", and the bar is slightly deformed into the unique shapes seen on every bar. The subsequent hardening of the silver from the initial stamping, and the non-uniform surfaces, made serialising the bars as a separate step very difficult, resulting in many misstrikes that were culled, and non-uniform serial number impressions. The commercial decision was made to discontinue serial numbers after the first 1000 bars were stamped, so there are a potential maximum of 1000 serialised bars available in the 2oz size. The rest of the bars produced to date and in future will not be serialised.
Another difference that was noted was that on some bars, it appears a different stamp was used for the weight stamps on the back of the bar. Some bars feature "2 TROY OZ" as a single stamp, on others, it is apparent that there was one stamp used for "TROY OZ", and the numeral "2" for the weight was done as a second stamp, probably with a bar serialisation stamp set to "2" followed by blanks, as some bars show evidence of the edges of the blank digits (see photo of Type 1 bar - there are horizontal stamp edges above and below the word TROY). This separate "2" stamp is a different font - the word letters are uniform with a flat relief, while the "2" stamp looks like a mildly narrower font, with a "V" profile on the stamp, making it more a incised impression. Side by side they are very different. Also the placement of the "2" stamp is inconsistent - some are almost perfectly in line with the words, others are very much out of alignment. At some point the foundry gave up on stamping the bars multiple times, and introduced the combined stamp for a single uniform strike.
Both the single stamp and double stamped varieties have been observed with and without serial numbers - the change from separate stamps to a single stamp happened in the first production run. As the serial numbers were applied after receipt by the distributor, not at the original foundry where the Engelhard stamp is applied, it was not initially noticed that there was essentially two versions of the back of the bars, and serial numbers were inadvertently applied to bars with both back types. From the consecutive runs I have though, it appears that the first 500 serial numbers were applied to bars with the separate digit and word stamps, and the next 500 serial numbers were applied to bars with the single combined stamp. Even then, I've randomly found in the middle of some runs a very limited number where this has been reversed - I have a few consecutive pairs featuring the separate and combined stamps on the back - which allows for the collection of two varieties with consecutive serial numbers! Out of 200 serialised bars, I've only found four pairs like this, so it is very scarce. I have a single bar with a 500+ serial number featuring the separate stamps on the back, but it's an orphan, I do not have the consecutive numbers on either side of it.
Now lastly, these bars were serialised on a machine that requires the serial numbers to be advanced by hand between each stamping - much to the distributor's chagrin I found a duplicate serial number - 00421 appears twice, absolutely by error. So I have a run of four bars with the serials 00420, 00421, 00421, 00422. The distributor has confirmed that this is an error, and it is likely to be unique, overlooked during the rather manual serialisation process. Separate serialisation of bars on hand operated machinery is a common industry practice for stamped serial numbers - I've witnessed this taking place in two different refineries.
So we have four proposed types for the new 2oz Engelhard Australia bars:
Type 1 - separate stamps for the digit "2" and the words "TROY OZ", no serial number. Presumed out of production, population unknown but likely in high hundreds or low thousands (130 observed).
Type 2 - combined stamp for the phrase "2 TROY OZ", no serial number. Current production style, population in thousands and growing.
Type 1S - separate stamps for the digit "2" and the words "TROY OZ", with serial number. Out of production, population estimated 500 (172 observed).
Type 2S - combined stamp for the phrase "2 TROY OZ", with serial number. Out of production, population estimated 500 (29 observed).
To date we are only aware of single varieties in the 5oz and 10oz sizes. All of those bars have serial numbers to my knowledge.
Might be a research project for the forum to continue to identify the approximate number of Type 1S vs 2S in circulation. Known ranges (based on my observations and subsequent contributions to this thread):
001-250: Unknown, surmised to be Type 1S
251-399: 1S
400-401: 2S
402-408: 1S
409: 2S
410-436: 1S (includes duplicate 421)
437: 2S
438-499: 1S
500-594: 2S
572,588,595: 1S
596+: Unknown, surmised to be Type 2S
Known pairs/triples:
399/400 (1S/2S)
401/402 (2S/1S)
408/409/410 (1S/2S/1S)
436/437/438 (1S/2S/1S)
570/517/572 (2S/1S/2S)
Also the unique:
421/421 (duplicate 1S)
500/501 were not supplied, and there were some gaps in the sequences above, but overwhelmingly, bars 250-499 are 1S except for 4 bars, everything over 500 is 2S except for a single bar. There's 800 other serialised bars out there I have not seen that will need to be researched if there's interest in knowing more accurate population numbers for collector purposes - I only have a few bars over #500, it may actually be that 2S is rarer that 1S if a significant run of 1S bars higher than 500 turns up. As these bars are quickly being "scattered to the winds" as distributors take delivery and make sales, we may never know. In the meantime, if you're an Engelhard afficionado, I suggest now is a good time to jump on any supplies of serialised 2oz Engelhard Australia bars, and look for what's possibly ultra-rare 1S/2S consecutive pairs before they all get broken up! As someone with a pecuniary interest in a reseller of these bars, I doubt staff will take the time to hand-sort bullion bars looking for such pairings, so it will be a luck of the draw.
I don't mind maintaining a list of type exceptions in the thread to help determine rarity - if you find a serial number in a range not listed (e.g. below 250 or over ~600), please post the type - and if you find an exception (e.g. a 2S in the 250-499 range), post it as well as if you have a consecutive pair for it.
Recently I received a lot of the new 2oz Engelhard Australia bars for my personal stack. After a discussion with the distributor regarding the process of getting these bars produced, I did some sorting and research on the bars at my disposal, and have identified FOUR varieties amongst these bars that makes for interesting collector information.
Firstly, 1000 bars were serialised after delivery from the original foundry with unique serial numbers (more on that later!), before a commercial decision was made to cease stamping the bars with serial numbers. Presumably the range of 00001 to 01000 was stamped on bars - I received a mix of bars from the 200s through to the 500s. The way these bars are manufactured (they are cast, then pressed) results in some non-uniform shapes, making the stamping process difficult. The bars have the normal "ENGELHARD AUSTRALIA" stamp on the front, same as the 5oz and 10oz bars already in distribution, and on the back, they feature a two line stamp "999+ SILVER" "2 TROY OZ". Now once the bar has been stamped with those initial stamps, it appears that the silver bar "work hardens", and the bar is slightly deformed into the unique shapes seen on every bar. The subsequent hardening of the silver from the initial stamping, and the non-uniform surfaces, made serialising the bars as a separate step very difficult, resulting in many misstrikes that were culled, and non-uniform serial number impressions. The commercial decision was made to discontinue serial numbers after the first 1000 bars were stamped, so there are a potential maximum of 1000 serialised bars available in the 2oz size. The rest of the bars produced to date and in future will not be serialised.
Another difference that was noted was that on some bars, it appears a different stamp was used for the weight stamps on the back of the bar. Some bars feature "2 TROY OZ" as a single stamp, on others, it is apparent that there was one stamp used for "TROY OZ", and the numeral "2" for the weight was done as a second stamp, probably with a bar serialisation stamp set to "2" followed by blanks, as some bars show evidence of the edges of the blank digits (see photo of Type 1 bar - there are horizontal stamp edges above and below the word TROY). This separate "2" stamp is a different font - the word letters are uniform with a flat relief, while the "2" stamp looks like a mildly narrower font, with a "V" profile on the stamp, making it more a incised impression. Side by side they are very different. Also the placement of the "2" stamp is inconsistent - some are almost perfectly in line with the words, others are very much out of alignment. At some point the foundry gave up on stamping the bars multiple times, and introduced the combined stamp for a single uniform strike.
Both the single stamp and double stamped varieties have been observed with and without serial numbers - the change from separate stamps to a single stamp happened in the first production run. As the serial numbers were applied after receipt by the distributor, not at the original foundry where the Engelhard stamp is applied, it was not initially noticed that there was essentially two versions of the back of the bars, and serial numbers were inadvertently applied to bars with both back types. From the consecutive runs I have though, it appears that the first 500 serial numbers were applied to bars with the separate digit and word stamps, and the next 500 serial numbers were applied to bars with the single combined stamp. Even then, I've randomly found in the middle of some runs a very limited number where this has been reversed - I have a few consecutive pairs featuring the separate and combined stamps on the back - which allows for the collection of two varieties with consecutive serial numbers! Out of 200 serialised bars, I've only found four pairs like this, so it is very scarce. I have a single bar with a 500+ serial number featuring the separate stamps on the back, but it's an orphan, I do not have the consecutive numbers on either side of it.
Now lastly, these bars were serialised on a machine that requires the serial numbers to be advanced by hand between each stamping - much to the distributor's chagrin I found a duplicate serial number - 00421 appears twice, absolutely by error. So I have a run of four bars with the serials 00420, 00421, 00421, 00422. The distributor has confirmed that this is an error, and it is likely to be unique, overlooked during the rather manual serialisation process. Separate serialisation of bars on hand operated machinery is a common industry practice for stamped serial numbers - I've witnessed this taking place in two different refineries.
So we have four proposed types for the new 2oz Engelhard Australia bars:
Type 1 - separate stamps for the digit "2" and the words "TROY OZ", no serial number. Presumed out of production, population unknown but likely in high hundreds or low thousands (130 observed).
Type 2 - combined stamp for the phrase "2 TROY OZ", no serial number. Current production style, population in thousands and growing.
Type 1S - separate stamps for the digit "2" and the words "TROY OZ", with serial number. Out of production, population estimated 500 (172 observed).
Type 2S - combined stamp for the phrase "2 TROY OZ", with serial number. Out of production, population estimated 500 (29 observed).
To date we are only aware of single varieties in the 5oz and 10oz sizes. All of those bars have serial numbers to my knowledge.
Might be a research project for the forum to continue to identify the approximate number of Type 1S vs 2S in circulation. Known ranges (based on my observations and subsequent contributions to this thread):
001-250: Unknown, surmised to be Type 1S
251-399: 1S
400-401: 2S
402-408: 1S
409: 2S
410-436: 1S (includes duplicate 421)
437: 2S
438-499: 1S
500-594: 2S
572,588,595: 1S
596+: Unknown, surmised to be Type 2S
Known pairs/triples:
399/400 (1S/2S)
401/402 (2S/1S)
408/409/410 (1S/2S/1S)
436/437/438 (1S/2S/1S)
570/517/572 (2S/1S/2S)
Also the unique:
421/421 (duplicate 1S)
500/501 were not supplied, and there were some gaps in the sequences above, but overwhelmingly, bars 250-499 are 1S except for 4 bars, everything over 500 is 2S except for a single bar. There's 800 other serialised bars out there I have not seen that will need to be researched if there's interest in knowing more accurate population numbers for collector purposes - I only have a few bars over #500, it may actually be that 2S is rarer that 1S if a significant run of 1S bars higher than 500 turns up. As these bars are quickly being "scattered to the winds" as distributors take delivery and make sales, we may never know. In the meantime, if you're an Engelhard afficionado, I suggest now is a good time to jump on any supplies of serialised 2oz Engelhard Australia bars, and look for what's possibly ultra-rare 1S/2S consecutive pairs before they all get broken up! As someone with a pecuniary interest in a reseller of these bars, I doubt staff will take the time to hand-sort bullion bars looking for such pairings, so it will be a luck of the draw.
I don't mind maintaining a list of type exceptions in the thread to help determine rarity - if you find a serial number in a range not listed (e.g. below 250 or over ~600), please post the type - and if you find an exception (e.g. a 2S in the 250-499 range), post it as well as if you have a consecutive pair for it.
