Perhaps the greatest compliment in the art and collectible world is to create and celebrate a tribute in a non-emulative fashion that exemplifies the beauty, character and mystique of the original. That is precisely what the artists below have accomplished in their recent productions of retro silver ingots in honor of our favorite refiner, Engelhard Industries. So, without further ado…
In the truest spirit of patronage and tribute, long time ‘fantasy’ bullion producer Dennis England, who has over the years created some beautiful and highly collectible silver ingots, has done it again. His new creations are a 3oz, 4oz and 5oz tribute to Engelhard’s legacy Benchmark bars of the late 1970’s. One look at these examples literally gives us chills, and in a sense confirms our passion and love for this great hobby. Thank You, Dennis England. Below is a photo of the new ‘retro’ ingots, with an estimated mintage currently of only about 50 units in each size. A 4oz example, serial number DE00037, sold on MineralExchange auction for $1,595USD including buyer fee. WOW. And we’ve heard since this auction that buyers are chasing similar bars throwing $2,000USD+ offers on the table.
We hear collectors say that it’s the low production that creates the demand and high value. But that’s only a small part of it. The creative beauty of these bars encompassing the Engelhard style, shape and character, and the instantly recognizably Engelhard font and even the hallmark – yes it says ENGLAND, but it’s so good that it requires a double-take. After all, many of us stackers refer to Engelhards as ENG’s.
And then there’s ROYAL HARD, the beautiful 3oz ingots produced by Royal Coins. One of our founding members acquired this example and we are impressed with the craftsmanship of these ingots as well! We are including additional detail commentary of these pieces, as provided by Royal Coins management: “These Royal Hard bars were a tribute to the world famous Engelhard 3oz poured bar. The serial number is our coin shop zip code here in Houston, TX. All bars were released with a Certificate of Authenticity. The first run of poured RoyalCoins/FFC Texas are stamped further apart and the second run are stamped closer together. A very low mintage of only 53 were made and that includes the prototype and two bars for the creators to have. These were poured around June 1, 2020 by the world famous pour artist C.J. Lewis, aka: FFC_TEXAS who now goes by Ragnarok Metals, located in Texas.”
Oh, and we have a clever collector who sent us this one recently, and we’re not quite sure what to think of it…
