US Assay Office 175 Oz Silver Bar

I was thinking that since silver is so high right now that I should sell it. Is there any reason to think silver would continue to go up or hold its current value?

Plus I checked checked the market, and the rain outside reflects the market as silver is down 1.80 thus far on the day (probably will be up a buck by close, lol), so the fluctuation us silver buyers need to buy a little time (pardon the pun) may have just kicked in....

Thanks for the tips!
I do not need the cash at the moment.

What is an Assay and how do I get one? :)

thanks for the help.

"fire" assay = they drill holes in several spots to get an accurate sample, melt that sample and test it under some very precise chemistry.
Used to cost $30-75, depending on whether it was one metal or the big four, but that was part of the overall transaction. An assay alone might be $50 or up today, which is why experts advise people to buy stuff like ASEs and 90% instead of pig bars that almost no buyers know the purity of, and will have an impossible time reselling except to a refiner.

Advice: If you feel silver has peaked, I think your best outlet is craigslist, at spot, carrel on the bashhead, no fees.

second is ebay, hopefully for cash pickup to avoid payenemy fees. either way, push the part of its history to explain the lack or markings, and guarantee that it will pass assay.

If you expect higher prices, put yourself in a more liquid position by trading it for ASE, 90% coins, or .999 ounce rounds, in that order. When you go to sell, you'll have something more readily recognizable and can sell part of your holdings, which you can't do now.

If you expect gold, platinum, or palladium to rise at a faster % than silver, you can convert to one of them now, and cash out later.

The last time I heard a comment like that was a few weeks before the Internet bubble burst in the spring of 2000. Lots of people claimed that the tech stocks were "going to the moon". Problem with investments that shoot up like rockets is that they tend to come down the very same way... and usually with a big SPLAT at the end of the ride. Watch your money, folks.




Indeed so. An atomic absorbtion spectrophotometer could do that job quite nicely. If there are labs that specialize in such PM assays that accept public samples and give certified results, that would be the place to check into having this bar assayed. I would guess that they would charge around $150 or so for this but haven't priced it lately.

Another thought occurs to me though. The owner of this bar should check all of the old family photo albums. It's possible that this rather unique family heirloom was photographed at one time. If it was, then maybe they got a pic of the writing that was on it at the time. That would be some useful info.

Ed_B, retired chemist

Grack: Would you like a wheelbarrow with that? (apologies all those burger joints).

I too have 3 from 1968, two are true grease bars at 100.4 toz but the 3rd is 250toz and stamped SS .548 on a short side. I'm baffled by the stamp. I had 6 coin shops look at it and with all the knowledge no one can answer what it stands for.
I am told that the all grease bars were made from coin silver and an average of 90%.
any thoughts on the marked bar......