ENGELHARD WEST COAST SILVER BARS

If you're an Engelhard collector, you have surely come across either a 10oz or 100oz Engelhard silver ingot with a "W" prefix to the serial number. This "W" denotes Engelhard West, Inc.'s plant in Anaheim, California, which specialized in precious metals recycling, and operated from 1979 through 1980 to meet the silver demand driven by the Hunt Brother's upward manipulation of the silver market. The plant was set up in Anaheim to allow a convenient industrial recycling location proximate to the huge Los Angeles metropolitan trade area.

While Engelhard West recycled and processed many metals during it's short tenure, total silver ingot fabrication was tremendous during this two-year period. An estimated 18,000 10oz ingots were fabricated, totaling 180,000 troy ounces; and approximately 25,000 100oz ingots were fabricated, totaling 2,500,000 troy ounces. Both the 10oz (8th series) and 100oz (7th series) "W" prefix ingots from Engelhard West, Inc. were crude in comparison to Engelhard's 10oz 7th series and 100oz 6th series "P" prefix varieties, which incidentally, were produced simultaneously at Engelhard's New Jersey plant. It is rumored that these "W" bars were fabricated for industry and were exact on weight, but lacking in beauty and refinement, and as such were ideal for industrial repurposing, jewelry, etc. Not surprisingly, many of these ingots were utilized/melted within short time after they were produced.

Today, Engelhard 10oz "W" ingots command a healthy 50% +/-premium over spot price, and a 25% +/- premium over their 7th series "P" counter-parts. Conversely, Engelhard 100oz "W" ingots, due to their large size and thus high price point, currently bring only about 10% over spot price, making them a true collector's bargain for a 35+ year old poured Engelhard ingot with great history and few survivors! What's not to like about that!

To read the complete article, see:
THE ENGELHARD WEST COAST RECYCLING FACILITY (https://allengelhard.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/AGWire-ENGELHARD-WEST-5-7-15-2.pdf)

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