A question that is asked often is what is the difference between a poured silver bar and a cast silver bar?
Both poured and cast silver bars start with melted or liquified silver that is then poured into a mold. The difference mainly depends on the mold itself.
For poured silver bars, the heated silver is poured into an open mold, typically made of graphite or other heat resistant materials. The metal is left in the mold to cool. In doing such, the silver that is exposed to the open face of the mold will show cooling lines or striations.
Cast silver bars are also poured into forms or casting molds. However, these forms or molds will not have an open face like those used for open poured bars. These will not typically show pour lines because the mold is a usually a closed mold.
Casting is a technique often used when making silver and gold jewelry and silver art pieces, thus have a more consistent appearance.
Poured and cast bars can have a similar look to them as they are both poured silver. Other types of silver bars, such as those that are manufactured using stamping or extruded methods will look distinctly different.
There are many investors and silver stackers prefer to buy poured or cast silver bars. These styles of silver bars often unique and show the craftsmanship that goes into creating each silver bar. Some that collect vintage silver bars, such as those made by Engelhard, Johnson Matthey and others have a preference for poured bars.
There are some current private mints that produce poured and cast bars. Argor-Heraeus has a new line of 10 oz cast silver bars that are also available in cast kilogram.
Germania Mint also now includes a line of cast silver bars that are available in a variety of different weights. Both are very popular with investors and collectors and are notable for their classic look.
Recently, even the notable Swiss refinery, PAMP Suisse, released a line of cast silver bars. The bars initially are available in 500 gram, 1 kilo and 100 oz sizes.
