100g Silver Forum Bars (2019)

[BackyardBullion]

Hello everyone. @ChrisSIlver and I are very happy to announce the official reveal of the 2019 100g Silver Forum Bars!

We have been working on the design year upon year and we have evolved the design one step further to incorporate an all in one "2019" year date stamp. 

These bars are all hand poured, stamped and finished by myself meaning each and every bar is unique in some way. The weights will vary bar to bar (although none less than 100g) and the cooling patterns of the silver will also be unique and different for each one. Even the stamping (again done by hand) is different bar to bar.

The allure of hand poured silver is growing stronger month by month and these bars are a brilliant way to start collecting hand poured silver and at the same time supporting the forum and my own business too!

There are a lot of different aspects to tell you about so I have split this post up into various sections, hopefully this will cover most of your questions but if there is something I have not covered then please feel free to get in touch or comment on this thread. 

What are The Silver Forum Bars all about?

The Silver Forum Bars (in all their sizes) have been created as a way to draw the silver forum community together but also as a fundraising and brand awareness raising exercise. Proceeds from the sales of these bars help keep the forum running in the way we have become accustomed to. Silver Premium and Gold Premium and now Platinum memberships go a long way to helping the running of the forum and to help keep the membership prices as low as practical, The Silver Forum Bars we make help a lot. 

Also, it is about raising the brand awareness of the forum and to encourage new people to join the forum and to make standard members think about supporting the forum by upgrading their membership or simply supporting the forum on a one off basis. 

Hallmarking

As with all of my Hand Poured Silver products these bars will be Assay Tested and Hallmarked by the Edinburgh Assay Office. 

These bars are hallmarked with a 2mm sized mark - it is a larger and more expensive mark than normal but it really shows off the beauty of the Edinburgh Assay Office's work. 

Hallmarking is a very good addition to any poured silver. It is your guarantee that these bars are indeed 999 fine silver and made by me in 2019.

If anyone wants to find out more about hallmarking please feel free to get in touch!

Schedule, production and delivery

These 100g Bars are currently with the Edinburgh Assay Office for hallmarking and I anticipate that they will be back with me in Week Commencing 26th August. 

So I am going to aim for a general release date of  2nd September 2019. 

MINTAGE (PLEASE READ)- REDUCED MINTAGE FOR 2019

Many of you already know about my businesses VAT situation. We are currently NO LONGER registered for VAT. This comes with turnover restrictions for our business. We are very busy at the moment and we also have plans for other fun projects and pieces for The Silver Forum before the end of the year. So in order to not exceed our turnover restrictions annually we have taken the big decision to reduce the mintage of these 100g bars. 

So, the mintage for 2019 will be 100 bars

This mintage is set and will not change.

Serial Number reservations

With the reduction in total mintage comes an issue with serial number reservations. 

Traditionally members have been able to reserve their existing serial numbers from previous years. With the reduction in mintage forum members with serial numbers 101 to 150 will not have this option as those numbers will not exist. 

We have given a great deal of thought to how we are going to proceed with this - and the ultimate problem is we are not going to make everybody happy. 

But we believe that the following is the best way to go about the release and reservations:

• If you own a bar with a serial number between 1 and 99 (bar number 100 is reserved for a charity raffle) then you will be able to reserve your existing bar. 
• If you wish to reserve that number you need to do so BEFORE 2nd September. You also need to pay for your bar before 2nd September!
• If you own a bar with a serial number 101 - 150 and wish to purchase a bar for 2019 you will be placed on a waiting list for bars that go unclaimed by previous owners. 
• Members who do not own bars from 2018 will also be able to put their name down on the waiting list. However, members who own a bar from 2018 will have priority over those that do not. 
• After 2nd September we will know how many bars are still available. 
• We will then communicate a fair and open way to decide who gets what bar on a first come first served basis with priority given to previous owners from 2018.
• How this will work and when we will do it will be decided in the week commencing 2nd September. 

To formally join the waiting list all you need to do is comment on this thread or drop me a PM that you wish to have a bar. 

I hope that all makes sense. In summary, you have until 2nd September to reserve and/or pay for your existing serial numbers if you already own them. 

Prices are set as follows

Standard or Non member price - £82.50 per bar

Silver Premium member price - £77.50 per bar

Gold & Platinum member price - £72.50 per bar

UK Postage: +£3.50 or free for 2+ Bars

International postage: +£10 tracked for 1 bar or free for 2+ bars

Forum membership and pricing 

As you can see there are some very good savings to be had for upgrading your membership - so take a look at the benefits that are available for premium and gold premium members today!

 

 

A few notes on pricing

These bars are hand poured, hand stamped and polished by me. They take a lot of time and energy and equipment to create. These are premium hand poured silver products, not cheap bullion. They are a way to support the Backyard Bullion business, my brand and most importantly, The Silver Forum. As I said earlier, proceeds from the sale of these bars go towards the upkeep and running costs of this forum. This helps keep membership prices as low as possible for premium and gold premium members and ensures that standard members can still use this forum for free. 

Standard members - The difference in price is as a way for you to support the forum in a one off style payment rather than signing up for membership. But also please feel free to upgrade your membership to take advantage of the discounts available. 

The price also incorporates the Hallmarking costs, this includes postage of these bars to and from Edinburgh and the application of the hallmark.

Payment Information

To secure the reservation of your bars and serial numbers you will need to pay me before 2nd September 2019

If you are interested then please let me know in this thread or via PM and I will then reply with the payment information.

Payment will be via Banks Transfer or PayPal. We can accept other forms of payment too, just ask if you would like to find out more. 

Also, I welcome all feedback and any questions you might have about these bars. 

Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting The Silver Forum!

[BackyardBullion]

[augur]

3 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

Very neat (and probably far more efficient) with the composite 100g and 2019 punches 

[BackyardBullion]

8 minutes ago, augur said:

Very neat (and probably far more efficient) with the composite 100g and 2019 punches 

Yes, it makes things a lot more efficient - however these stamps are not easy to use and there have been quite a few that were not up to par!

[5huggy]

Quick question here @BackyardBullion If one is a silver member approximately 2/3 of the period in - Do you know how things are worked out if one then upgrades to Gold or Platinum

Or is this one for @ChrisSIlver

[BackyardBullion]

2 minutes ago, 5huggy said:

Quick question here @BackyardBullion If one is a silver member approximately 2/3 of the period in - Do you know how things are worked out if one then upgrades to Gold or Platinum

Or is this one for @ChrisSIlver

It is based on your membership level when you pay. Feel free to upgrade if you wanted to get the discount. 

[5huggy]

Thanks @BackyardBullion  - Ive followed thro in support of the forum 

[5huggy]

Cracking Bars those - I would love to build a small wall with them 

😉😁

@BackyardBullion    Pm sent

 

[5huggy]

Hey that upgrade was a damn site less painful than the last "Op"  and a lot quicker too!🤣

[ChrisSilver]

54 minutes ago, 5huggy said:

Quick question here @BackyardBullion If one is a silver member approximately 2/3 of the period in - Do you know how things are worked out if one then upgrades to Gold or Platinum

Or is this one for @ChrisSIlver

I have sent you a PM in regards to your account  

[kimchi]

1 hour ago, 5huggy said:

Cracking Bars those - I would love to build a small wall with them

They are absolutely cracking indeed

[5huggy]

4 minutes ago, kimchi said:

They are absolutely cracking indeed

They look SO  - TOP NOTCH PROFESSIONAL  - Ive booked (hopefully )  2 😁

[kimchi]

My usual numbers please as always @BackyardBullion that fall within the new lower mintage

If any don't (sorry I don't have my records to hand, I have so many bars from you I am constantly confizzled, so larks know how you keep track!) then I will let my other spots 'open' up to others so that more folk can be involved and have a chance of grabbing one or two

@5huggy good luck my friend, these bars never disappoint in my opinion, love them, beautiful in hand and so tactile

 

[Tomcbol]

BYB the bars look great.

I don't own a 2018 bar, so can I be put on the waiting list.

[5huggy]

@kimchi -cheers buddy 🍺

 

[mozzer94]

Hi can I purchase and reserve one off these bars please

[BackyardBullion]

35 minutes ago, Tomcbol said:

BYB the bars look great.

I don't own a 2018 bar, so can I be put on the waiting list.

Will do, thanks!

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Added 0 minutes later...

Just now, mozzer94 said:

Hi can I purchase and reserve one off these bars please

Do you have a 2018 bar? If not I will put you on the waiting list 

[mozzer94]

3 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

Will do, thanks!

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Added 0 minutes later...

Do you have a 2018 bar? If not I will put you on the waiting list 

I do not. what's the waiting list is it if theres any left over.

[BackyardBullion]

Just now, mozzer94 said:

I do not. what's the waiting list is it if theres any left over.

Priority will be given to people who had serial numbers between 101 and 150 from last year. We will be in touch after 2nd September to sort everything out 

[mozzer94]

Just now, BackyardBullion said:

Priority will be given to people who had serial numbers between 101 and 150 from last year. We will be in touch after 2nd September to sort everything out 

Ahh ok well let's hope there some left over haha fingers crossed 

[Stuart7]

87 and 107 I have from 2018, so I’d like number 87 of the 2019 bars please

[sgcoins]

The look great, I would love to reserve No. 10 again!!!

[BackyardBullion]

Join me at 5pm today as we do the first video reveal of these 100g bars in a YouTube live chat premiere. 

Feel free to drop in and say hi and ask any questions you have about the 100g bars. 

@5huggy If you are around again to act as a chat moderator that would be great

If there are any other members out there who would like to act as a moderator for the live chat then please message me!

We will talk about the mintage and why we have reduced it. 

Its also great to see the progression of these bars over the last 3 years!

 

[5huggy]

Worth looking in and seeing in the flesh - so to speak!

[Roy]

What format is the numbering? 3 digits? i.e. 001-099/100?

Roy