ENGELHARD LONDON SILVER INGOTS

 

Our very first All Engelhard article in March of 2015 featured Engelhard London Kilos and Half Kilos. This is where it all started for us… the mystique and allure of these old-world vintage ingots intrigued us on many levels, setting us on a journey that continues to this day. There truly is something magical about these very early, iconic legacy ingots that is more captivating than any other collectible bullion we know of.

Engelhard London began producing 1 Kilo ingots in 1960, in both Silver and Gold, and reliable sources tell us that early production years were shared with N.M. Rothschild & Sons London, who later sold their bullion interest to Engelhard in 1968. The large and heavy font of the Engelhard London ingots was a typical and unique characteristic of Rothschild bullion production. Engelhard ceased production of London ingots in 1973, but their relatively short tenure delivered 100g, 250g, 10oz, 1/2 Kilo, 1 Kilo and even a 200oz example to the market.

In total, only about 15,000 Engelhard London ingots were produced over a 14 year span , with the latter 1 examples now 50 years old. If you visit our All Engelhard Definitive Page on Kilo and Half Kilo, you will see that Engelhard London used most of the alphabet letters to prefix the serial numbers on their ingots, all followed with 1 to 5 numerical digits. Engelhard London used one continuous numerical serial run while shifting and interspersing letter prefixes along the way. While some of the ingots had slightly higher production, like the P prefix Portrait 1 Kilo ingots with the Mocatta Goldsmid Bullion Broker counterstamp (center photo above), only a paltry 7,000 of these were minted and most have been melted over the years, still making this ‘more common' example extremely rare in its own right. Lower production Engelhard London Kilos and Half Kilos are now off-the-charts rare, and seldom seen or offered on the market today. That said, few collectors truly understand their absolute rarity and relative significance in collectible bullion. Please visit our AG / 1/2 Kilo / 1 Kilo Definitive Page that illustrates all varieties, and mintages.

At All Engelhard, we have been logging serial numbers on a daily basis for over 15 years now, and as of this date we have logged well over 30,000 photo verified serial numbers. Yet we have only logged a total of 560 Engelhard London 1 Kilo ingots, and 21 Engelhard London 1/2 Kilo ingots. These numbers represent approximately four percent of estimated original production mintage. While we originally surmised that the sheer beauty of these bars would have led owners to hold and store them indefinitely, resulting in a higher survivability rate (these bars are absolutely beautiful and we can't imagine melting them!), in actuality it was to the contrary. Because these early bars were Engelhard, the finest and most trusted name in bullion of its era, they were the choice bullion ingots of jewelers and fabricators, and sadly most were melted. We would estimate based on the numbers of logged survivors, that overall 15-20% of the 15,000 ingots produced are still with us, so possibly 2,250 to 3,000 survivors in the World, and that number includes all prefix letters and varieties of 1 Kilo and 1/2 Kilo ingots. As rare as that may sound, examples still do come available for sale occasionally, mostly in the UK where they originated, and when they do come to market, they are determinately met with very strong interest.

To read the complete article, see:
Engelhard London (https://allengelhard.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/AGWire-ENGELHARD-LONDON-12-25-2022.pdf)

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