2 oz Privateer Silver Round

Elemetal's Ultra-High-Relief Pirate Series

The 2 oz Elemetal Mint Privateer silver round is part of a seven-design pirate-themed series that defined the ultra-high-relief collector round market during 2015-2016. Each round contains 2 troy ounces of .999 fine silver struck under extreme pressure with multiple impressions to achieve a proof finish with frosted design elements against mirrored background fields. The series is now complete and no longer in production, making all seven designs secondary-market-only products.

The common obverse across all seven rounds features a human skull centred over a ship's wheel, set against a tattered sail. Braided line elements frame the design with the motto "No Prey, No Pay" encircling the skull. That motto references a genuine clause from historical pirate articles of agreement: crews operating under this rule received no guaranteed wages and instead divided plunder according to shares agreed before sailing.

The seven reverses tell a sequential maritime saga. The Privateer (a ship under sail), The Siren (a mythical sea creature), The Captain (a pirate at the helm), The Kraken (a sea monster attacking a ship), The Plank (a mutineer sentenced to walk), The White Whale (a breaching whale inspired by Moby Dick), and Davy Jones Locker (the legendary underwater resting place of drowned sailors). Mintages range from a confirmed 61,640 (The Siren) to an estimated 25,000 (The White Whale), with most designs in the 60,000-70,000 range.

Privateer Series Specifications

Mintage by Design

The ultra-high-relief striking technique requires multiple impressions under immense pressure to achieve the three-dimensional sculptural effect. Each round features a proof finish with frosted design elements against mirrored background fields. This combination makes counterfeiting inherently difficult due to the extreme precision required in die-making and the multi-strike process.

No formal anti-counterfeiting features (serial numbers, assay cards, or mint marks beyond the Elemetal branding) were included. The proof finish quality and ultra-high-relief depth serve as informal authentication markers. The 2 oz weight in the UHR format produces a noticeably thick piece with substantial heft, distinct from the thin profile of standard 1 oz rounds.

Tax and IRA Considerations

The Privateer series receives the standard private-mint round tax treatment in all jurisdictions, with one added consideration: the collector premiums these rounds now command on the secondary market make capital gains tax more relevant than for near-spot generic rounds.

• United States: State sales tax varies. The .999 purity qualifies for Precious Metals IRAs. Secondary market premiums on complete sets and the scarce White Whale design mean capital gains at the 28% collectibles rate could be substantial on disposition. Form 1099-B reporting applies on sales exceeding $1,000.
• United Kingdom: 20% VAT on import/purchase. Not CGT-exempt (no legal tender status). The collector premium amplifies the effective tax burden relative to metal value.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt at .999 purity.
• Australia: GST-free at .999 purity from accredited sources.
• European Union: Standard VAT applies. No margin scheme for rounds (only pre-owned coins from authorised dealers qualify in Germany and the Netherlands).
• Singapore: GST-exempt at .999 purity. No capital gains tax, making Singapore one of the most favourable jurisdictions for holding collector-premium pieces.
• Hong Kong: No tax of any kind.

From Active Production to Secondary-Market Collector Piece

Elemetal Mint released the seven Privateer designs across 2015-2016 as a cohesive narrative series. The 2 oz ultra-high-relief format was unusual for the bullion market at the time; most collector rounds used standard relief in 1 oz format. The combination of proof quality, substantial weight, sequential storytelling, and pirate-era theming created strong initial demand.

The White Whale's dramatically lower mintage (estimated 25,000 vs 60,000-70,000 for other designs) was not pre-announced. It simply sold out faster or was produced in smaller quantities, making it the key date of the series and the piece most sought by set completionists. Secondary market premiums for The White Whale substantially exceed those of other designs.

Elemetal Mint has a complex corporate history that adds context to the series' collectability. The company's NTR Metals subsidiary was involved in a gold refining scandal concerning smuggled South American gold, resulting in federal guilty pleas in 2018. The Privateer series was produced before these events became public. The corporate controversy, combined with the series' completion and finite supply, has contributed to increasing secondary market interest.

Complete seven-piece sets now command premiums well above the sum of individual piece prices. The series has developed a dedicated collector following, with some buyers specifically seeking matched capsule sets or original packaging. The proof/UHR combination gave these rounds a numismatic-quality appearance at what were originally bullion-level prices, and the market has since repriced them accordingly.

Privateer vs Other 2 oz Collector Rounds

The Privateer's closest competitor in format is the 2 oz Cook Islands Norse Gods series, which also uses ultra-high-relief striking on 2 oz .999 silver. The Norse Gods carry legal tender status ($10 Cook Islands) and have just 1,000 mintage per design (vs 25,000-70,000 for Privateer). This makes the Norse Gods individually scarcer and more expensive, but the Privateer's seven-piece narrative arc and completed status give it a different kind of collector value.

The 2 oz Germania Mint Ragnarok round is a newer entrant in the Norse-themed UHR space. At just 500 mintage for the 2 oz antiqued version, it is substantially scarcer than any Privateer design. It also features UV-reactive elements and embedded gemstones, representing a more experimental approach to bullion art. The Privateer is classical proof striking; the Ragnarok pushes into mixed-media territory.

Against the 2 oz Golden State Mint Morgan round, the comparison is simple: the Morgan is a near-spot stacking round, the Privateer is a collector piece. The Morgan delivers maximum silver per dollar; the Privateer delivers artistic and narrative value above metal content. Buyers choosing between them are answering a fundamental question about why they buy silver.

The Intaglio Mint produces similar UHR rounds in different themes but without the Privateer's unified series structure or maritime narrative. Provident Metals' Zombucks series was a contemporary collectible round series (during the same 2015-2016 period) but used standard relief and 1 oz weight, making it a lower-commitment alternative.