100 oz Silver Bars

100 oz Silver Bullion Bars

Many times, silver is an overlooked investment opportunity. However, an investment in silver can help diversify a portfolio and protect against financial downturns. Even though silver is more common above ground than gold, it’s sometimes considered more valuable because of its industrial uses in electronics, photography, and medicine.

What Are 100 oz Silver Bars

Silver bars are typically sold in troy ounces, and the 100 oz silver bar is one of the most common bar sizes. As a result of their popularity, this size bar is also an incredibly liquid commodity. There’s high demand for buying and selling this size bar, meaning it’s always very easy to move them on the market. They’re often rectangular in shape, and produced by both government mints and private companies. Additionally, they’re usually called investment bars since collectors normally buy them for investing.

Advantages of Owning and Investing in This Bar

Every precious metal dealer charges an extra fee, as well as the regular price of the metal. This fee, known as a premium, can vary from metal to metal and from the form the metal is in. However, one advantage that silver bars have is that they generally have lower premiums than silver coins. Plus, the larger the bar, the lower the premium. Additionally, investors find that having the physical asset on hand, rather than certificates, makes it easier to sell or barter. Finally, because silver bars are in the shape of flat, large rectangles, they’re very easy to stack in a safe deposit box or personal safe for storage and safekeeping.

Who Makes 100 oz Silver Bars

One of the most popular producers of silver bars is Johnson Matthey. This company, which started out in London, is known for their quality silver bars and low premiums. Another popular producer is SilverTowne. They started in Indiana as a coin shop, and are now one of the biggest silver bullion producers in the United States. Some other well-known producers of 100 oz silver bars include the Royal Canadian Mint and Sunshine Minting.

Designs

It’s always important for investors to buy silver bars from recognizable brands. When it’s time to sell these bars, other investors will be more comfortable purchasing them because they know they’re buying a high quality bar. The same cannot be said for bars from generic producers. Therefore, every producer will stamp their bars with the company’s design for authenticity. For example, Royal Canadian Mint stamps their bars with the company seal, the year of production, purity, weight, and even a serial number.

While the Royal Canadian Mint, for example, may issue its 100 oz silver bars with a mint logo only, others take their own approach to the production of 100 oz silver bars. For example, consider the SilverTowne Poured Silver Bar. On its obverse field it features the enhanced logo of the mint with the full Prospector design. The most popular design from SilverTowne, the Prospector design captures an old gold prospector walking along in right-profile relief with his trusty pack mule in two behind. The ornate, script lettering for SilverTowne is also featured on this side of the silver bars.

Purity and Sizes

Silver bars are sold in many different weights ranging from 1 oz to 1,000 oz bars. The typical 100 oz bar is about 6.5 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, and 1.25 inches deep, and will weigh about seven pounds. For a real world comparison, that means these bars are about the size of two graphing calculators stacked on top of each other. Almost all producers will make their bars with at least 99.9 percent pure silver. Bars are always stamped with their mint of origin, weight, and purity so that buyers know they’re purchasing an authentic silver bar.

Availability

As an example of the varying availability, some producers are no longer active in the precious metals industry. Engelhard ceased producing silver bullion bars in the 1980s and closed altogether in 2006 following its sale to a Germany-based chemicals manufacturer. Johnson Matthey, with a history that dates back to 1817, was active in the precious metals industry manufacturing gold and silver bars until 2015.

Asahi Refining, the company that acquired Johnson Matthey’s precious metals assets, is one of many private mints annually producing large cast silver bars for producers.

Investing in 100 oz Silver at Silver.com

100 oz silver bars are one of the best ways to make large silver purchases in one transaction. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Silver.com customer service is available at 888-989-7223, online using our live chat, and via our email address. You can visit our Payment Methods page to learn more about acceptable forms of payment and applicable minimums.