Engelhard was founded in 1902 in Newark, New Jersey. This company soon became the largest precious metals refinery in the world. In the mid-1970s, Engelhard produced gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bars.
It was not until the early 1980s that the company began producing bullion rounds known as the Engelhard Prospector. They were hit from 1982 to 1987 when their production of precious metals ceased. 1987 was the second year of the American Silver Eagle, which became much more popular.
American Prospector’s gold and silver rounds were struck in 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, and 1 oz sizes. Fractional size silver rounds were produced in smaller numbers and only in 1985. They understandably have higher premiums due to their rarity.
As with other coins, the Prospector series has a key date. The 1983 one is much harder to find than the other coins in this short-lived series. The rounds generally follow the silver bullion market, but the 1983 will typically cost three to four times as much as the other rounds in the series.
Engelhard’s silver and gold rounds are much rarer than the American Silver Eagle, with only 700,000 silver rounds. ever minted Silver Eagle’s lowest production year was 1996, when they made only 3,603,000.
The Engelhard mint was the only private mint at the time that could claim to rival federal mints around the world. They are certainly worth the premium that they don’t seem to get on their products.
The Engelhard brand began as a capital E superimposed on a globe. They used this logo on all of their products until sometime in 1984, when the inverted Prospector became a soaring eagle. This allows collectors to purchase both the eagle-backed 1984 and the original “E” back.
The bars came in many sizes, but the most popular sizes are the 1, 5, 10, and 100 oz denominations. His silver bars have the famous “E” logo along with his name written on both sides of the bar. All bars are clean cut and uniform. The production of silver bars amounted to approximately 4,000,000 units.
Engelhard may be the best-known name when it comes to silver bullion, but he’s not the only big name in the field. Other popular names include Sunshine Minting, Johnson Matthey, Pamp Suisse, and Silvertowne. Each of these companies has been in existence for many years and enjoys a reputation similar to that of Engelhard.
Probably the best place to buy an Engelhard silver bar or round is on the internet. You’ll be able to choose from the lowest margins and you may even find versions of the bar that you didn’t even know existed before. There are many, many variations of his silver bars.