10 oz OPM Metals Lunar Silver Bar

A Discontinued Zodiac Bar from an American Refinery

The 10 oz OPM Metals Lunar silver bar pairs the most popular silver bar weight with annual Chinese zodiac designs from Ohio Precious Metals, a refinery founded in 1974 in southeastern Ohio. OPM was the largest good delivery refinery in the US following its 2003 expansion, and one of the few private refineries operating solely within the United States. The Lunar bars ran from roughly 2012 to 2015 in 5 oz and 10 oz formats, all struck in .999 fine silver, before the company's rebranding to Elemetal Mint ended OPM-branded production.

The appeal today is twofold. First, the economics of the format: 10 oz silver bars are widely considered the best balance of premium savings and liquidity in silver, and OPM Lunar bars are generally available at lower premiums than comparable Perth Mint or PAMP Lunar products, making them attractive to stackers who want themed bars at near-generic prices. Second, a mild collector angle: because OPM rebranded in July 2015 after merging with NTR Metals, the Lunar bars are among the last products to carry the original OPM branding, which gives them minor collector interest beyond their silver content.

The trade-off is that these are discontinued, secondary-market items from a brand that no longer exists. They lack the government backing and broad recognition of sovereign mint zodiac coins, and resale will lean on the silver content plus a small design premium rather than strong brand recovery. For buyers who want zodiac themes primarily as cheap silver weight, that is exactly the point.

10 oz OPM Lunar Bar Specifications

Each annual release carried the corresponding zodiac animal on the obverse, while the reverse of all bars featured a repeating OPM corporate logo pattern with a larger single logo and the OPM inscription in the bottom-left corner. The bars carry no specific anti-counterfeiting features beyond the OPM hallmark; the manufacturer's stamp serves as the standard authentication for a minted bar of this era.

Buyers verifying a secondary-market example can rely on the usual silver bar checks: precise weight against the 311.035 g standard, dimension measurement, and a magnet slide test, since silver is diamagnetic and plated base-metal fakes respond differently. Counterfeits in the 10 oz size class do circulate, so purchasing from a reputable dealer matters. The .999 purity qualifies the bars for US Precious Metals IRAs. Note some branding confusion exists between OPM and NTR Metals on 2013-2014 zodiac issues, as the two companies later merged; checking the logo pattern on the reverse settles which refinery struck a given bar.

Tax Treatment of OPM Lunar Silver Bars

These are privately minted silver bars, not legal tender, so they get the standard silver bar treatment everywhere.

• United States: the primary market for these bars. State sales tax varies; roughly 35 states exempt bullion, with several others applying thresholds. The .999 purity qualifies for Precious Metals IRAs, which require silver of 99.9%+ purity. Outside an IRA, long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• United Kingdom: 20% VAT applies on purchase, and as bars with no legal tender status they are also liable to Capital Gains Tax on disposal. Pre-owned examples sold under a dealer's VAT margin scheme can reduce the effective VAT substantially, which is relevant for a discontinued product that mostly trades second-hand.
• Canada: silver refined to 99.9% or higher in bar form is GST/HST exempt under the federal exemption, so these .999 bars qualify when bought from Canadian or cross-border dealers.
• Australia and New Zealand: silver at 99.9%+ purity is GST-free in both countries; .999 meets the threshold.
• Singapore: Investment Precious Metals treatment requires 99.9%+ silver in qualifying bar form for the 0% GST rate, and Singapore levies no capital gains tax.
• Hong Kong: no sales tax, no import duty, and no capital gains tax.

From Garage Refinery to Elemetal: the Short Life of the OPM Lunar

Ohio Precious Metals began in 1974 when a group of precious metals enthusiasts started reclaiming metals stripped from telephone equipment, operating out of a garage. By the 2000s it had grown into the largest good delivery refinery in the United States, and in the early 2010s it joined the wave of private mints producing Chinese zodiac bullion with its Lunar bar series.

Confirmed releases track the zodiac calendar: the Year of the Dragon in 2012, the Snake in 2013, the Horse in 2014 (produced by OPM for distribution by Provident Metals), and the Goat in 2015. The Goat appeared as a 5 oz bar featuring a mountain goat atop a rocky outcrop in a modern linear art style, with engravings of the year, the series name, and the Chinese character for goat alongside weight, purity, and metal content. The 2012-2014 issues anchored the 10 oz format.

The series ended abruptly. In July 2015, OPM merged with NTR Metals and rebranded as Elemetal Mint, at the time the largest private mint operating in the United States, and the OPM-branded Lunar line did not continue. The 2015 Goat stands as one of the last products to carry the original OPM name. The Elemetal group later faced legal trouble when NTR Metals pleaded guilty in 2018 to handling illegally sourced gold, though OPM's silver refining operations were separate from that case. For collectors, the discontinued branding is now part of the bars' modest appeal.

OPM Lunar vs Perth Mint, PAMP, and APMEX Zodiac Silver

The benchmark for zodiac bullion is the Perth Mint Lunar series, struck as legal tender coins with government backing, higher production values, and far greater collector recognition. Those advantages come at a price: Perth Mint Lunar products carry collector premiums that the OPM bars were designed to undercut. A buyer who wants the zodiac theme but is really accumulating silver weight gets more ounces per dollar from the OPM bar; a buyer chasing long-term collectibility is better served by the coin series.

PAMP Suisse's Lunar bars occupy the premium end of the bar market, with Certicard packaging, serial numbers, and higher production quality. The OPM bars were simpler and more affordable, with no assay card and only the refinery hallmark as authentication. The same logic applies against the 5 oz APMEX Lunar silver bar, a retailer-branded zodiac series that remains in distribution, whereas OPM bars trade purely on the secondary market.

The closest relatives are the NTR Metals Lunar bars, similar zodiac designs from the company OPM eventually merged with; some branding confusion exists between the two on 2013-2014 issues. Against plain generic 10 oz bars, the OPM Lunar asks only a small design premium, and its discontinued status gives it modest upside that a logo-stamped generic lacks. Within the 10 oz weight class the bar competes on the format's usual strengths: premiums well below 1 oz products and ready dealer buyback.