SCARCE ARIZONA ASSAY OFFICE SILVER BAR
20 OUNCES OF .999 SINE SILVER
POURED BAR INGOT
THE FACE OF THE BAR BEARS THE ARIZONA ASSAY OFFICE COMPANY STAMP TO THE LEFT, WHICH HAS THE REGISTRY NUMBER "5479" WITHIN THE OUTLINE OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA. THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL STAMP OF A NAME ON TOP OF THIS "C. RHYNE" ; TO THE BOTTOM LEFT IS STAMPED THE FINENESS "999+", WEIGHT "20+ OZS" AND SERIAL NUMBER "0385".
THE ARIZONA ASSAY OFFICE OPERATED THROUGHOUT THE 1960'S BY A MAN NAMED JACK STONE. THIS BAR WAS MORE THAN LIKELY MADE FROM LOCALLY MINED ARIZONA SILVER.
THESE BARS ARE SAID TO HAVE BEEN MADE FOR PAUL FRANKLIN AROUND 1969.
REFERENCES TO PAUL FRANKLIN RANGE FROM A WELL-KNOWN NUMISMATIST AND COLLECTOR OF PRECIOUS METAL BARS THAT SOUGHT OUT ASSAY OFFICES TO CREATE BARS FOR HIS COLLECTION, TO THE MORE FREQUENT ASSESMENT AS A NOTORIOUS COUNTERFEITER AND FORGER WHOSE TERRITORIAL GOLD COINS AND WESTERN BARS WERE OF LEGENDARY INFAMY. FRANKLIN MOVED TO ARIZONA FROM NEW YORK IN 1963, THIS BAR IS GENUINE, AND ACCURATELY STAMPED AND ASSAYED, OFFERING AN INTERESTING ORIGIN OR PROVENANCE FOR THE COLLECTOR.
THE OVERSTAMP (OVER THE ARIZONA ASSAY OFFICE LOGO) FOR C. RHYNE BELONGED TO C. (CRAIG) RHYNE AND ASSOCIATES (RHYNE PRECIOUS METALS), WHICH OPENED IN 1974 IN WASHINGTON STATE, AND CLOSED ALLEGEDLY DUE TO "FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES RELATED TO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS" IN 1996.
BAR CONTAINS 623.5 GRAMS OF .999 FINE SILVER (20.082 OZS ASW)
123 MM IN LENGTH 52 MM IN WIDTH AND 9 MM TO 10 MM THICK
