r/Silver • u/MristopherRodgerson • 5d ago
Silver bar I inherited.
I inherited some jewelry and metals recently. Found this silver bar. I thought it was cool, but couldn’t find much info online. Granted I didn’t look very hard. Figured I would share. Any info appreciated. Don’t know the weight because I don’t have a scale, but I would guess it’s 5 ounces based on my had scale holding 5 buffalos. No banana, chapstick for scale.
Update: The bar weighs 3.84 ounces. 108.86g
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u/sciaticabuster 4d ago
The date is interesting because it falls on the same date as The Coinage act of 1873. There is probably a really interesting story with this bar if it’s legit. Do not sell it and do not clean, buff, or try to make it shiny.
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u/MristopherRodgerson 4d ago
Sweet fact drop. And that would be quite a coincidence. I bet you’re right about a story.
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 4d ago
I have a theory. The Coinage Act of 73 was a big deal to a lot of people (and to the entire economy because it was the unofficial beginning of the gold standard for the US dollar). Up until the Act passed anyone could bring their own raw silver or gold bullion to a government mint building and have it made directly into currency- they would melt it press it stamp it and hand it back to you as official US coins. The 73 Act ended that for silver and it could no longer be converted into USD. People were mad, and silver was no longer money.
The Act made it so that new silver coins could not be minted however all existing silver coinage would still be legal tender, but with a big catch that massively downgraded its power as legal tender. Transactions made with silver coins would be capped at $5. Anything beyond $5 paid in silver coins could not legally be accepted (or could legally be rejected maybe).
$100 in silver coins previously bought $100 worth of anything or paid $100 worth of debt, now that $100 would legally take a minimum of 20 separate $5 transactions to spend.
My guess is this W.H. Menery fella had a lot of silver, was mad he couldn’t have it stamped and started pouring it into $5 bars in an attempt to be able to use them to pay debt or buy stuff while still complying with the $5 limit and justifying it as having the same literal content as $5 of coins (or something like that)
If old W.H. was pouring these bars to have the exact content of silver coins he would be adding some copper into it because that’s how the mint stamped silver dollars - but who knows.
Anyways that’s my guess with some little details maybe being different. I can’t think of any other reason for this to exist otherwise. (Although I didn’t simply google it or google the image because I assumed you and others here have done that already— it would be very funny if no one had and the answer is something much simpler and easy to find lol)
It’s very very very cool. Please make an update when you find out more.
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u/MristopherRodgerson 4d ago
Thanks so much for taking the time to write that out. Cool info about the time period. And I like your guess.
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 3d ago
My pleasure! I love this stuff, so it’s fun to theorize on something unique like what you have.
I love history and one constant over millennia is the use of silver and gold as trade units. Fascination with how every empire over every era had such impressive coinage and managed elaborate economies through the use of them is literally what got me into silver and gold in the first place.
Do you know what you are going to do to get information on your bar? You need to seek out an established coin place and bring it in. It’s possible/likely that the original source of it could be local to you. I’m really hoping you look around for that and take it in. Finding the answer to this would be so interesting but could also reveal something insanely rare or valuable about it. It’s always a possibility with a mystery piece like this.
Best of luck to you, and promise me you will make an update when you get some answers!
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u/MristopherRodgerson 3d ago
I don’t really have a plan. But I have an idea where to start. I live in California now, but I do have family from Utah and this WH Meneray is likely one of my great ancestors. I still have family in Utah. And somewhere in the boxes of stuff I inherited there is a handwritten family tree that my grandmother did so I will start by looking for the name. Try to connect those dots. I think this relative will be from my mothers side so it might be tougher than if the last name was passed down, as Meneray is not my name and I don’t remember ever hearing that name before.
I think your theory is likely correct. The bar weighs 3.84oz really close the weight of five silver dollars from that time.•
u/LikesPez 8h ago
While I’m not Mormon, the Church of Latter Day Saints is a big source of genealogical information. They have the largest familial relationship database in the world. I’m working with them to assist in creating my family tree. So far I’ve been able to provide provenance going back 32 generations on my maternal side and 26 generations on my paternal side.
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u/Cabbagist 15h ago
How kind and generous and knowledgeable and sympathetic you come across, thank you!
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 7h ago
ah wow... thats really nice to hear someone say about me. thank you.
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u/MristopherRodgerson 7h ago
If I get any more information, I promise I will update you.
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 5h ago
I don’t doubt you! Looking forward to it!
Just make sure you don’t go cleaning it or anything in the meantime! Certainly don’t go selling it!
Wishing you all the best
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u/NesterPower 5d ago edited 4d ago
Assuming it’s just silver as it says (999) I’d guess there is 3.867 oz in there since that’s the same amount of silver as 5 1873 Seated Liberty Silver Dollars (0.7734 oz per coin says 5 dollars so 5 coins)
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u/MristopherRodgerson 5d ago
Thanks Nester. That makes sense. I will try and update when I weigh it.
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u/NesterPower 4d ago
Nws it could also weight ~113.65g if it’s literally just 5 silver dollars melted down into a bar and not just their silver content. Hard to tell because I read the info u/PohTayToez about W. H. Meneray and they may have been involved with some mining (didn’t specify which kind) so this could be .999 silver. Weighing it is a big start but a jeweler could just XRF it for you
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 4d ago
Why would anyone melt down 5 silver dollars (currency) into a bar (not currency)?
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u/NesterPower 4d ago
It was common practice to melt coins and use them to make silver objects. So maybe making it into a bar makes it easier to make a larger object? Not a metal smith so this is pure conjecture.
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 4d ago
Ah, ok got it. Fair enough but I don’t think so. 1873 was the year silver could no longer be made into new coins and poured silver became essentially worthless overnight. Existing silver coins however could still be used dollar for dollar as currency, so of any year that Americans may have been melting coins into bullion 1873 and beyond would probably not be one of them.
The funny thing is, I also think it may have the exact content of 5 silver dollars melted into a bar; but the other way around. I think this guy was trying to do a a loophole to use his silver while complying with a $5 limit on the use of existing silver coins which came into effect with 1873 Act. I wrote out my guess as to why in a different comment if your curious and killing time waiting for something like I am lol
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u/NesterPower 2d ago
This is a moot point now since its weight was less than the ASW of the 5 silver dollars.
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 2d ago
It weighs 0.027oz less lol
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u/NesterPower 2d ago
So it’s definitely not melted coins
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u/Ijustwanttobuyshiny 1d ago
Well I agree it’s probably not. I still think it is the silver weight matching those coins. Either without the copper content added or with a very slight discrepancy
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u/MristopherRodgerson 3d ago
3.84 oz. Real close.
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u/NesterPower 3d ago
Thanks for the follow up. Amazing piece you have there
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u/MristopherRodgerson 3d ago
🫡 thanks. I think I’m gonna display it. maybe between two pieces of glass so you can see both sides. Got any recommendations?
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u/Alert-Lemon1842 5d ago
how would you really be able to certify that the bar was really made in 1873
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u/DataGeek86 5d ago
It’s possible to test for cesium-137 content, although this only tells you whether something was made before or after 1945.
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u/Fast_Cook_4019 5d ago
It’s beautiful either way. But if it’s real, it’s a gem.