SilverTowne began in 1949, and is based in Winchester, Indiana. SilverTowne actually started as a coin shop in the beginning, and has since expanded into minting and more. This company is interesting as it mints and sells its own products, thus offering a total vertical integration.
The SilverTowne brand includes a family of companies incorporating the mint, four large coin retail outlets and even a cattle interest. From very humble beginnings the company has grown to a multi-million dollar business, serving thousands of customers.
Their reputation is strong in the industry so re-sale value is good, and the silver bars from SilverTowne are popular amongst investors, regardless if they are the SilverTowne logo bars or more intricate art bars.
SilverTowne Products
SilverTowne ships brand new bars to their customers. They produce bars of 1 ounce up to 100 ounce sizes, and in 2012 started offering hand poured bars of 5, 10, 50 and 100 ounces. They also make special bars for special occasions like holiday art bars.
Their smaller bars tend to include attractive designs in an attempt to entice more customers and increase the speed of sale. We don’t typically advocate buying art bars as they carry higher premiums than standard bullion, but if you see a design you like, that is your choice.
SilverTowne is large enough to be efficient but small enough to be personal; a great way to be in the business world of today. The fact that SilverTowne produce smaller sized bars is great for those looking for small bar investments.
SilverTowne’s popular “logo bars” sport the SilverTowne logo and a serial number, as well as the level of purity and weight. The bars tend to be shiny and attractive with a nice feel in the hand. As bars get bigger they have less “personality”, which is not really important as bars are bought for investment rather than as collectables.
The Price of SilverTowne Silver
The premium on any silver product is the price above the market value of silver at a given time. SilverTowne offers their one ounce silver bars at around $3 above the spot price. This is the margin they use to make profits. As the quantity of silver in the bar increases the margin remains around $3 above spot. Naturally economies of scale can mean larger quantities attract slightly reduced premiums.
The price of SilverTowne silver is very competitive and it hard to find much better online or offline. The diversity of products on offer is also hard to match.
A Company Founded on Honesty and Integrity
With so many years in the industry, and diverse experience from the coin sales front end through to the back end minting manufacture process, they really know the sector. They understand their clientele and have repeat business flowing through all divisions of their company. They have gone from strength to strength over the years and are a major option for silver investors looking for good quality, well-reputed silver to add to their portfolio.
The founder, Leon Hendrickson, would be proud of how far the company has come. He and his wife, Rumana, founded a company based on honesty and integrity, and from that solid base it has flourished and diversified through the years.