Sunshine Mining extruded 100 oz. .999 fine silver bar

Silver's high light reflectivity makes photographing silver bullion items difficult.Silver bullion investors can buy Sunshine Mining silver bullion bars knowing that they are getting good silver bullion. Because of the famed Sunshine Mine, the name Sunshine has long been associated with silver. And, during the silver rush of the 1970s and 1980s, Sunshine Mining helped meet the physicals demand by minting various silver bullion items, included 100-oz 999 fine silver bullion bars.

Old Sunshine Mining silver bars often turn up in the secondary market, as there is a good market for all Sunshine Mining silver products. The Sunshine Mining hallmark, bar description, and identification number are stamped into Sunshine Mining extruded bars. A Sunshine Mining bar weighs 6.86 pounds on a bathroom (avoirdupois) scale and measures 6" X 3" X 1".

In 1994, the minting division of Sunshine Mining separated from the company and became known as Sunshine Minting. Today, Sunshine Minting is one of the major suppliers of bullion products, including 10-oz bars, 1-oz rounds, and 1-oz ingots (bars). Additionally, Sunshine Minting produces the 1-oz silver planchets (blanks) that the U.S. Mint uses to stamp Silver Eagles.

(The original Sunshine Mining no longer exists, and its demise illustrates the pitfalls of investing in mining stocks. For more than 100 years, the company's name was synonymous with silver because of the famed Sunshine Mine, which is now mothballed. A few years ago, management borrowed huge sums of money, but low silver prices made it impossible to service the debt. As a result, creditors converted their debt to Sunshine stock, diluting shareholders to about 4% of their previous position. A few months after that, the creditors took for themselves-out of the company-a supposedly "world class" silver property in South America, leaving the "reorganized" Sunshine Mining and Refining Company only a shell. One bad management decision sank a company with over a one hundred year history. Although speculating in mining company stocks can be exciting, physical bullion offers investors much greater security.)