Based out of the city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Sunshine Minting is one of the most renowned private minting facilities in America. Not only does this mint process gold bullion, silver bullion, and other precious metals, but it also supplies silver planchets to the United States Mint. The US Mint then strikes silver coins using the some of the Sunshine Mint supplies silver planchets.
Of course as displayed here, the Sunshine Minting Inc. also has high quality, anti-counterfeit, low priced bullion products that are highly regarded in the bullion industry.
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Sunshine Mint History
Sunshine Minting was founded in 1979. Over the past three decades, it has become the world’s largest silver supplier to the minting industry (Source).
Although Sunshine Minting is based out of Idaho today, it began its journey as a small business in Chino, CA. It started this journey with the name ‘TENTEX,’ which is an amalgam of the words Texas and Tennessee – the birthplaces of the husband and wife team who started this venture.
The company’s primary focus was set on making silver rounds and silver bars for bullion dealers and marketing agencies across the country. TENTEX quickly gained recognition for its quality and reliability.
Five years after its inception, Sunshine Mining, a mining enterprise based out of Kellogg, Idaho, acquired TENTEX in 1984. The company shifted its operations from Chino to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho that year, and took on the name – Sunshine Bullion Company.
The Sunshine Bullion Company expanded its client-base significantly and launched a line of exceptional silver bullion products – the famous Sunshine Silver Eagle Rounds. This series caught on quickly and attracted buyers from every section of the precious metals market, and it still does even to this day. However, these Silver Eagle rounds are not to be confused with the American Silver Eagle coins, which are coins struck by the US Mint, materializing over a year later in 1986.
After close to a decade, Sunshine Mines decided to sell the minting arm of its company. The founders bought back their business and formed another private limited company with the all-familiar name we know today – Sunshine Minting, Inc.
Although Sunshine Minting struggled for survival for over three years until 1997, it finally landed a contract to supply 1 oz pure silver planchets to the US mint, with a little help from a well-known precious metals refinery across the border in Canada.
Johnson Matthey Limited, Canada had been awarded the contracts for gold and silver blanks supply to the US Mint. However, the Canadian company decided to pivot their business strategy and needed to exit the silver and gold blank fabrication business to accomplish their goals. In 1997, a team from Johnson Matthey Limited flew to Idaho and assisted Sunshine Minting meet the stringent quantity and quality standards required by the United States Mint.
The rest, as they say, is history. Soon after landing the planchet contract, Sunshine Minting saw an inflow of capital that it reinvested into expanding its operations.
Current Sunshine Minting Operations
Sunshine Minting has evolved into a full-featured precious metals refinery and minting establishment. Steady, quality precious metals releases keep it on every buyer’s and collector’s radar.
Their in-house services now include – Art and Design, Tools and Die Casts, Assay Labs, Quality Assurance Services, Melting and Casting, Extruding, Precious Metals Alloying, Rolling, Annealing, Blanking, Gold Plating, and Edge Lettering and Serial Numbering.
With manufacturing facilities in Idaho, Nevada, and Shanghai, in addition to offices in Canada, Austria, and Argentina, Sunshine Minting, Inc. is considered a behemoth when it comes to top-notch privately-owned minting companies.
Sunshine Mint Technology
MintMark SI™
This technology from Sunshine Minting, Inc. has protected the SMI brand for years. It is an exclusive scrambled indicia security method that aids the fight against counterfeiting. MintMark SI™ consists of a micro-engraving that is readable only when seen under a MintMark SI™ decoding lens.
Watch This Customer Produced Video To See How The Decoder Lens Works
COINWISE™
COINWISE™ was one of the first technologies to leverage the use of smartphones running on Android and iOS. It allows companies to market to end-users directly. Moreover, unlike QR codes and barcodes, this machine-readable technology is hidden within the gorgeous design of a coin, round, or bar – ensuring that these Sunshine Minting bullion product's aesthetic appeal is not affected.
Popular Sunshine Minting Products
Sunshine Mint Silver Eagle
Probably the most renowned of all the silver rounds struck by Sunshine Minting, Inc., the Sunshine Mint Silver Eagle series precedes even some of the longest-running government silver coin programs.
Every silver round released in this series contains 1 troy ounce of 0.999 pure silver.
These silver rounds bear the image of an Eagle soaring across the sky with the sun in its backdrop. The famed MintMark SI™ mark grabs the center stage on the other side of this round. The mark is depicted as the sun – a smart way of using elegant designs and creativity to mask the technology housed in it.
Sunshine Buffalo Silver Round
These silver rounds are modeled after the famous Indian Head Nickels. Not only does this series offer a more accessible and economical way of collecting renowned designs like Black Diamond the Bison and the Indian Chieftain, but it also helps build a cache of tangible pure silver assets that add value to your portfolio.
Every round contains 1 troy ounce of 0.999 pure silver.
The obverse features the famed Native American Chieftain complete with traditional headgear. On the other hand, the depiction of Black Diamond accompanies the MintMark SI™ mark on the reverses.
Sunshine Walking Liberty Silver Round
Replicating the famed Walking Liberty design created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, this silver round from Sunshine Minting is nothing short of a tribute to American history, values, as well as the talented sculptor.
Every round in this series, much like other silver rounds from Sunshine Minting, contains 1 troy ounce of 0.999 pure silver.
The obverses bear the famed Walking Liberty design – featuring Lady Liberty walking across the landscape with the rising sun in the background. On the other hand, the reverses display John Mercanti’s rendition of the Heraldic Bald Eagle design, with the MintMark SI™ mark smack in the middle of the eagle’s portrayal.
Holiday Collection
Sunshine Minting, Inc. celebrates the festive season with holiday-themed releases. Melding colorized designs with elegant artwork and pure silver, these silver rounds successfully capture the holiday spirit for all to see and celebrate.
Each of the rounds released under the holiday collection contains 1 troy ounce of 0.999 pure silver.
Both sides of these rounds bear a festive message, depiction, or wish – making them thoughtful gifts to distribute throughout the holiday season.
Sunshine Mint Silver Bars
Available in various sizes, these silver bars from Sunshine Minting offer investors an opportunity to amass pure silver in the most cost-effective way possible.
Sunshine Minting releases 0.999 pure silver bars as heavy as 100 troy ounces – making storage relatively more convenient compared to smaller stores of silver like rounds and coins.
The mint’s steady stream of top-notch silver products over the past three decades in addition to technologies like MintMark SI™ give investors and collectors confidence in any product associated with the name Sunshine Minting, Inc.