Engelhard is one of the big names in silver bars (though the company deals in a wide range of products outside of silver as well). It’s a large, old company, dating back to 1891! Engelhard silver bars are some of the most well sought after bars around because of their purity, beauty and general accessibility, though it’s harder to find these bars now than it was in past days since the company has branched out far beyond in silver and most of the bars are around 22-25 years old.
In 1891, the founder Charles Engelhard was working in the United States having emigrated from Germany. Charles worked in several metal working companies. He was always drawn to platinum because of its wide range of uses, but this of course brought him into contact with other metals such as gold and silver. In 1902, Charles founded his company which would deal in the processing of metals.
It wasn’t until the 1970s-and under his son Charles Jr.-that Engelhard branched out into silver bars. This was because inflation and the oil crisis drove many people to go to hard metal for security in economically rough seas. Engelhard began producing silver bars to meet the demand from consumers. One, Ten, and One Hundred troy ounce bars were minted and their purity was at least .999, making them highly desirable. However, as interest in silver waned into the 1980s (due to improvements in other aspects of the Market), Engelhard dropped the silver bars from their production line.
Despite a short period of time, Engelhard silver bars are some of the most sought after silver bars for investors. They have a guaranteed purity backed by a strong industrial name and this makes very desirable to purchase. Unfortunately, it is now a little trickier to purchase these bars. The best places are online bullion dealers, local precious metal dealers and wide auction sites like E-bay (though the premiums here will be higher). It may be more difficult to get a hold of these bars, but there are many who consider it worthwhile because Engelhard bars are excellent investment bars.
Engelhard silver was only rolling off the mints for a short period of time, but in that time, they distinguished themselves for their purity and simplicity. Engelhard silver bars continue to be a very popular vehicle for silver investment and well worth looking into if this is the route you wish to take with your silver portfolio.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelhard
