silver bar??

[rgb4]

my dad gave me this bar many years ago and never did tell me anything about it and i had it put back for a long time in my closet,and now that my dad has past away i have no one i can ask about this bar,i do not have a picture but on the front in reads j.j. conway&co. mint assay, and is a eagle with both wings opened up and on the back it has an engraved bust of a lady head the bar is about 1and half inches wide about 3 or so inches long and about half inch thick, and it seems to be made out of lead? not sure is dull silver color and the metal has hard surface oh and i forgot it is date on the front 1861. hope some1 can tell me something.
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[Klaatu]

Lead is very soft. If it is lead you will be able to scratch it easily.

 

[PrizmIV]

Like this? If it is in pretty good consishon ur looking at a $550+++ coin!

 

[PrizmIV]

If its that its a Liberty Seated Type Heraldic Eagle Nice find!! Reverse here

 

[PrizmIV]

O,,,,,,My bad its a bar i thought u were talking about a coin. IM DUMB

 

[rgb4]

thanks for your reply klaatu, the metal is not very soft i tried putting a small stratch on it and is not easy to do, i try to get a photo asap.
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[rvbvetter]

I hope it's silver. I can't be sure but i'm thinking it might be nickel.
I dug up a silver looking ingot bar some 10 yrs ago with the dimentions you describe, except mine was 5 in. long. Looked silver but proved to be nickel. Hope i'm wrong. Cool find! HH

 

[maxpower]

Sounds like what you have there is a silver ignot. please don't scratch it up.
here's a little info on J.J. Conway.

John J. Conway and company was a mint that ran for a very short time in Parkville Colorado back in 1861, they basicall advertised to melt dow gold that was being found by the miners, they minted some coins as well, there coins are VERY rare, conterfeits are known to exsist and commemoritive restrikes were done in the 1950's. i can find no reference to silver ignots made by J.J. Conway . however when metals such as gold and silver were melted down most of them were in the form of ignots. the restrikes of J.J. Conway and the conterfits were in coin form, and the restrikes were done in a brass color finish.
if this ignot is a real J.J. Conway from 1861 it could prove to be quite rare.

good luck.

 

[tammahawk]

yes if the coins are that rare the ingots must be more rare, where did your dad get it?,maybee it was a clue from dad to someday look for more?, I would md the area lookin for more if I was you,anyone with bar knows its safe in the ground unlike paper currencency, get looking! where did you live at that time and any place after tammahawk

 

[tammahawk]

and what about your mom did you ask her about it ,if she knows anything? tammahawk

 

[DJ_Quinn]

It would have to be silver if it is an assay bar; there is no reason to assay nickel.
This is a very collectable item. Finding a suitable buyer willing to pay top dollar may be a challenge, but if you can I'm sure it would prove to be very valluable. Of course, it is also a family heirloom and of obvious sentimental value.

What is the weight, in ounces? Common weights are 10 oz, 100 oz, and 1,000 oz. Siver bullion is trading around $7/ ounce, but what you have is much more valuable, and could be worth as much as $50/ oz to the right collector, if it is authenticated.

I wish you luck, whatever you decide to do with it.

 

[omnicognic]

Absolutely! Don't judge this by the per oz. price of silver, but rather the collectable/historical value. Don't try to clean it as this may degrade it's potential value! I recommend getting it professionally appraised! Good luck and keep us posted! HH omnicognic 8)

 

[omnicognic]

Oh, by the way, try to get us a pic!

 

[ronnieglen4]

Here is a photo of the bar.