2 oz Tombstone Silver Bar

The 2 oz Tombstone Silver Bar

The Tombstone is a hand-poured 2 oz bar of .999 fine silver from Monarch Precious Metals, shaped like a gravestone with rounded lower edges rising to an arched top. It was the original shape for Monarch's 2 oz silver bar, produced from around 2013, and it stands out in a category where nearly every private-mint bar is a plain rectangle. Each bar is individually hand-poured, hand-stamped, and hand-finished, so no two pieces are exactly alike; the cooling process leaves natural textures and striations that machine-minted bars never show.

Monarch's own story explains the artisan character. The company was founded in 2008 out of Oregon Coin and Jewelry in southern Oregon's Rogue Valley, and began pouring silver as a workaround when the parent coin shop could not source enough bullion to sell, starting with a small induction melter of the kind used in jewellery making. It remains a privately held, family-owned operation, now based in a larger warehouse in Phoenix, Oregon.

The standard tombstone shape is no longer in regular production. Monarch retired it and now reserves the format for limited-edition seasonal Halloween releases, which has made original bars scarce on the secondary market; Monarch itself describes remaining stock as extremely limited. That scarcity, plus the artisan production, means the Tombstone carries a higher premium over spot than generic 2 oz bars. Buyers who simply want the cheapest silver should look at standard 10oz silver bars; the Tombstone is for stackers who want their silver with some character.

Tombstone Silver Bar Specifications

The bar contains two troy ounces of .999 fine silver in the distinctive tombstone profile. As a hand-poured product, individual bars vary slightly in surface texture, but the documented specifications are:

The obverse carries the hand-stamped hallmarks and Monarch crown logo; the reverse of the original bars is blank. There is no micro-engraving or advanced anti-counterfeiting technology, so authentication relies on the distinctive hand-poured texture together with weight and dimension checks. Limited-edition seasonal versions carry individual serial numbers, typically in runs of 999 pieces, and the darkened, antiqued lettering seen in some product photos appears only on those special editions; standard originals ship without it. Note that 2 oz is itself an unusual bar weight, as most refiners jump from 1 oz straight to 5 oz or 10 oz.

Tax Treatment of 2 oz Silver Bars

As a private-mint bar with no face value or legal tender status, the Tombstone receives standard silver bar treatment, which is less favourable than gold almost everywhere.

• US: Monarch is Oregon-based and the bar sells mainly through US dealers. Most states exempt bullion from sales tax, though several apply thresholds (Florida exempts over $500, New York and Massachusetts over $1,000) that a single 2 oz silver bar will not reach on its own. Long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• UK: 20% VAT on new silver bullion, and no CGT exemption since that applies only to UK legal tender coins. Bars are the least tax-efficient silver form for UK buyers. The bar is in any case rarely stocked by UK dealers.
• EU: Full local VAT rates on silver (17-27% by country).
• Canada: GST/HST exempt, as silver refined to 99.9%+ purity in bar form qualifies for the federal exemption.
• Australia and New Zealand: GST exemption for silver requires 99.9% purity, which the .999 Tombstone meets at the threshold; accreditation requirements may also apply in Australia.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Hong Kong has no sales tax. Singapore's Investment Precious Metals exemption requires silver from accredited refiners, which a small artisan pourer may not satisfy.

For UK buyers wanting tax-efficient silver, a CGT-exempt coin such as the 1oz silver Britannia is the better-structured choice.

From Standard Shape to Halloween Collectible

The tombstone began life around 2013 as the ordinary, everyday shape of Monarch's 2 oz silver bar, with plain hallmarks on the obverse and a blank reverse. It was a workhorse product with an unusual silhouette rather than a collectible. That changed when Monarch retired the shape from standard production and began reserving it for themed seasonal releases timed to Halloween.

The seasonal line started with the Witch in 2017, a hand-coloured edition serialised to 999 units. The Haunted Tree followed in 2022 with an antiqued finish, again serialised to 999, and shipped in a custom oak display box. The Vampire arrived in 2023, hand-stamped with "R.I.P." and vampire imagery in another 999-piece run, and a Mummy edition with antiqued finish has also appeared. The solid oak boxes with magnetic closures are unusual packaging for silver bullion and position these editions somewhere between bullion and collectibles.

The retirement of the standard shape has had the predictable effect on the originals: they are now scarce on the secondary market, and Monarch notes its own remaining stock is extremely limited. For collectors, the distinction matters. Originals carry plain hallmarks only, while seasonal editions add themed imagery, hand-colouring or antiquing, serial numbers, and display packaging. Both trade above generic 2 oz bar prices, but for different reasons: the originals for scarcity, the seasonal editions for their limited runs and presentation.

Tombstone vs Generic Bars and Other Hand-Poured Silver

Against a generic 2 oz bar, the comparison is straightforward: most private-mint bars at this weight are rectangular, machine-made, and priced closer to spot. The Tombstone costs more per ounce because of the artisan hand-pouring and the collectibility of the shape. A buyer accumulating silver weight should buy the generic bar or step up to a 5oz silver bar where per-ounce premiums fall; a buyer who values distinctiveness pays the Tombstone's markup knowingly.

Within the hand-poured niche, Yeager's Poured Silver is the closest comparison: another artisan operation producing hand-poured bars, but without Monarch's novelty-shape focus. Bison Bullion in Canada also pours distinctive shaped bars, though typically at larger weights of 5 oz and 10 oz, so it competes less directly at the 2 oz level. Among these, the Tombstone's claim is the shape itself plus the Halloween seasonal editions, which have built a following among collectors that ordinary poured rectangles do not attract.

The honest assessment is that this is not a premium-efficiency product. Hand-poured bars from small mints lack the brand recognition of LBMA-accredited refiners at resale, and the 2 oz weight is non-standard, so the exit market is collectors and poured-silver enthusiasts rather than every dealer's standing buyback list. What the Tombstone offers in exchange is scarcity (a retired shape with limited remaining stock), individuality (no two bars alike), and a design that has become a minor cult item in the poured-silver community.