Credit Suisse Silver Bars
Credit Suisse Silver - popular with institutional investors
Compared with other silver bar producers, Credit Suisse silver bars are more commonly traded on the secondary market. Many institutional investors like banks however buy silver bars that are issued by Credit Suisse. That is because of Credit Suisse's stellar reputation as one of the most respected financial institutions in the world. The long history of the Credit Suisse Bank of Switzerland started all the way back on the 5th of July 1856 when it was founded by Alfred Escher, the Managing Director of the Northeastern Railway Company.
All Credit Suisse silver bullion bars are manufactured by the private mint Valcambi Suisse. Both cast and minted bars are produced out of 99.9% fine silver in a wide variety of sizes such as 250 gram, 500 gram, 1 oz, 10 oz and 1 kg. The design of the silver bars is identical to that of the gold bars and the Credit Suisse logo, assayer's stamp, serial number, purity and weight information appears on the bars in the same way as on the gold bars. A diagonal pattern of multiple boxes with the Credit Suisse logo appears on the reverse side of the bars. American consumers that are investing in silver for their retirements can of course include Credit Suisse Silver in their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's).
Why buy Credit Suisse Bullion?
Credit Suisse is a bit more focused on the production of precious metal bars out of gold, platinum and palladium at present. Therefore, you will not often find Credit Suisse silver bars listed in the online catalogs of precious metal dealers. However, Credit Suisse Silver is much more popular with institutional investors. You will therefore find the bars occasionally listed on the secondary market. The range of sizes that Credit Suisse silver bullion bars come in is nevertheless impressive. They exist in the sizes of 100 oz, 10 oz, 1 oz, 1 kg, 500 gram, 250 gram, 100 gram, 50 gram, 20 gram, 10 gram and 5 gram. Out of those, the bar sizes of 1 kg, 500 gram and 250 gram are the most common but still much rarer than the silver bars of other producers.
Whereas other refiners of precious metals like PAMP Suisse try to appeal to buyers with the artistic design of some of their bars as well, Credit Suisse bars all have the same bland design. The Credit Suisse Liberty bars that bear an image of the American Statue of Liberty on their reverse side are NOT available in silver!
If you are lucky enough to find a Credit Suisse silver bar listed online, rest assured that there is no more respectable and trusted financial institution in the market than Credit Suisse. Its long history speaks for itself and it has issued bullion bars on the world market since 1979.
Credit Suisse has outsourced the entire production of precious metal bars to the leading private mint and refiner Valcambi Suisse. Valcambi is based in Switzerland as well and recognized as one of the prime refiners in the precious metal industry. The assayer's stamp that you will find on all Credit Suisse bullion bars (CHI ESSAYEUR FONDEUR) is therefore Valcambi's assayer signature.
Another benefit of buying Credit Suisse bullion is that the authenticity of the bars can easily be verified by checking the bar's serial number. Every Credit Suisse silver bar bears a unique serial number just below the assayer's stamp and is fully backed by the Credit Suisse Bank of Switzerland.
Frontal Design
The front of Credit Suisse silver bars is stamped on top with the company name CREDIT SUISSE in bold letters within a rectangle with rounded edges. Information about the silver weight and purity appears in the middle part of the bar. For example, on the 1 kg silver bar the text reads "1 KILO SILVER 999,0". The official assayer's stamp of the Valcambi Suisse refinery appears near the bottom of the bar. That stamp consists of the French words "CHI ESSAYEUR FONDEUR" inside a rectangular box. Finally, a unique serial number appears all the way at the bottom.
Reverse Design
The reverse of Credit Suisse silver bullion bars displays several small boxes with the CREDIT SUISSE name in a diagonal pattern. Older vintage bars are blank on their reverse sides.
Credit Suisse Gold Bars
Credit Suisse gold bars are 99.99% pure and produced at the Valcambi Suisse refinery in a wide variety of sizes. The smaller sizes of 1 gram, 2 gram, 5 gram, 10 gram and 20 gram are perhaps more commonly available for sale online. However, the availability of Credit Suisse gold bullion bars online is quite limited compared with the other major producers listed on this page. The bars are much more often traded on the secondary market though. Only Credit Suisse's Liberty gold bars bear an artistic design. They display an image of the American Statue of Liberty on their reverse side. Other bars show a diagonal pattern of multiple boxes with the Credit Suisse logo on the reverse. The front side of the bars shows the Credit Suisse logo, assayer's stamp, serial number, purity and weight information. The gold bars are eligible for inclusion in a Precious Metals IRA.
The Credit Suisse Gold Bar page gives more information about the gold bars that Credit Suisse issues and allows you to compare current prices.
Credit Suisse Platinum Bars
All Credit Suisse platinum bars are fully backed by the Credit Suisse Bank of Switzerland. The bars are minted at the Valcambi Suisse refinery in Switzerland. That can be clearly seen on the front side of the bars which bear Valcambi's official assayer's stamp "CHI ESSAYEUR FONDEUR". The bars are 99.95% pure like all platinum bullion bars and available in the sizes of 1 gram, 2 gram, 5 gram, 1 oz and 10 oz. Tamper-evident packaging encases all bars and an assay card is included in the packaging. The front side of the bars displays the Credit Suisse logo, assayer's stamp, serial number, purity and weight information in the same layout as the gold and silver bars. The reverse of the smaller Credit Suisse platinum bullion bars shows America's Statue of Liberty whereas larger bars display a diagonal pattern of Credit Suisse logos. Precious Metals IRA's are allowed to include the bars.
The Credit Suisse Platinum Bar page gives more information about the platinum bars that Credit Suisse issues and allows you to compare current prices.
Credit Suisse Palladium Bars
Credit Suisse palladium bars are mostly available on the secondary market and harder to find than palladium bars of other producers. The bars are 99.95% pure and available in the sizes of 1 oz and 10 oz. Credit Suisse has the bars produced at the Valcambi Suisse refinery just like all its other precious metal bars. All bars have a unique serial number that appears on the front side of the bar along with the Credit Suisse logo, assayer's stamp as well as purity and weight information. The layout of this information on the front side of the bar is the same as on the gold, silver or platinum bars. The reverse of the bars is either plain or displays the repeating diagonal pattern of Credit Suisse logos. All Credit Suisse palladium bullion bars are eligible to be included in Precious Metals IRA's.
The Credit Suisse Palladium Bar page gives more information about the palladium bars that Credit Suisse issues and allows you to compare current prices.