D Refiners - Vintage Silver Bars

Delta was a prolific refiner out of Canada who produced beautiful ingots in all sizes. They are known for their pour character, dimples, pour lines, etc. I have been buying these whenever I can find a reasonable price, as premiums are very high on Delta bars and deservedly so. I’m pleased to share some great examples from my collection below.

5 oz class with 3 varieties pictured. Notice purity differences from 9995 to 999. The 999.9 is hands down my favorite and the nicest 5 oz, I’ve come across. We say “permastack” when we acquire pieces like this.

Not as rare as the 5 oz, but still particularly scarce are 10 oz class. Below are a few examples for your enjoyment.

Notice all bars are same with the exception of the small 10 oz stamp on top right ingot. The large 10s typically are more scarce, but I was fortunate to buy these from an LCS that had acquired from a collector.

I saved a few beauties for the following picture. The 5 oz above paired with an incredible 20 oz and 10 oz double hallmark variety.

Nice reverse pic. Purple toning going on around the back of the 20 oz.

Another share from my collector buddy, Brian R. He has several beautiful Delta pieces in his collection.

Note the small 10 variety bottom right is 999.9 fine. A more scarce purity to be found in 10 oz class.

Adding a really amazing historical image from the Delta office of Keith Law who has contributed more information on this famous old Canadian company than anyone previously. The insights of a long-term employee are invaluable.

This is Keith in his office at Delta in 1976. The image was used for the brochure producer, but if you notice shows the rejected bars to the left of him. Read his comments in this blog post for full context. Absolutely fascinating!

Drew Refining is another one of the many West Coast bars that I love. I’m a native Californian and have grown to love pieces from Drew. They were out of Berkeley, CA circa mid-late 70s. Not a lot of information is available on Drew, unfortunately. They are more commonly found in 10 oz, but even the 10s have become hard to find. The 5 oz are my favorite as you will see from the following pic.