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Per Diem Metals
Silver bullion rounds minted by Per Diem Metals

Per Diem Metals

Per Diem Metals is perhaps one of the more interesting private mints. Bill Ayers, it's creator, officially began operations in late 2015.  The idea for the mint originated from the financial crises of 2007. The crisis prompted Ayers to consider the question of what money really is which in turn led him to precious metals. He was intrigued by silver casting so he began experimenting in that arena.

Over the course of the next few years he also began to consider the possible valuation increase in silver and it's implications for the size of silver products. Ayers wanted to explore something completely different than the larger pieces of poured silver common found. He opted to attempt to cast 1/10 Oz size rounds. It turned out that casting small rounds was difficult. With a one-tenth ounce pour, the silver simply turns into a little bead due to the surface tension.

What began as a desire to cast 1/10 Oz rounds turned into an eight month journey of figuring out how to do something which hadn't been done before. As it turned out, Ayers had to develop almost every aspect of the casting from start to finish. He experimented with several types of molds and finally settled on a kiln system with a two piece mold. In the bottom half of the mold, grains of silver are weighed and placed into individual compartments. After melting the silver, the top half of the mold is gently placed onto the bottom mold flattening out the beads of silver into the shape of a round. The combined molds are reheated to make sure all the bubbles are out. Then it is removed from the kiln and allowed to cool. Each 1/10 Oz round is hand-stamped, polished, and checked for weight.

The name "Per Diem" came from the fact that historically 1/10 Oz of silver has roughly been equivalent to a day's wages (Per Diem). This is still true today in many of the world's poorer countries. Per Diem Metals was in operation for a couple of years, but the mint is no longer producing any rounds.

 

Per Diem Metals Products

     • 1/10 Oz hand poured Per Diem rounds

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