Umicore 1kg .999 Silver Bar

New Umicore silver kilo bars sourced directly from the refinery available at great prices from The Britannia Coin Company of Royal Wootton Bassett.

Umicore Bullion Bars

Umicore can trace its earliest roots back to the early 19th century when Emperor Napoleon granted Jean-Jacques Dony control of the Vieille-Montagne zinc mine, which is close to the modern-day Belgian-German border. However, the main root of the current Umicore company established itself as the Union Minière du Haut Katanga (UMHK, Mining Union of Upper Katanga) in 1906, working primarily as a copper mine in the Congo. It was heavily supported by the colonial government and soon became a world leader in the supply of metals such as copper, uranium and cobalt. Precious metals such as gold and silver were also mined and refined, but the UMHK mainly focussed on base metals and heavy metals during this time. 

After the company's nationalisation at the hands of President Mobutu Sese Seko, the UMHK rebranded itself as Union Minière in 1968, reflecting its forced departure from in the Katanga Province in the Congo. Having suddenly lost the vast majority of its business, it was formally taken over by Société Général de Belgique and realigned itself to more European interests.

In 1989, the company started to take its present-day form when the merger of its subsidiary companies (Metallurgie Hoboken-Overpelt, Vieille-Montagne and Mechim) transformed Union Minière into a multinational, integrated materials technology company. To reflect this change, the company rebranded again in 2001, taking up its current name Umicore.

Buy Umicore Silver Bars

Umicore silver 1kg bars are an excellent choice to add to a silver stack or diversify an investment portfolio. Each bar contains 32.1507 troy ounces of pure silver and has a fineness of 0.999.  

Cast Umicore bars are issued in a trapezoid 'brick' format, which is common for bullion bars refined in continental Europe. As such the dimensions can vary slightly from bar to bar, with the top of the bar sized differently from the bottom. Guideline specifications for the top would be a length and breadth of 90.00 mm x 48.00 mm respectively, with the bottom specifications being 82.00 mm x 40.00 mm in length and breadth. A comparable item to this would be a typical debit card found in your wallet. They're around 26.00 mm thick.

Most silver bullion bars have cuboid shapes, like a brick. Storing these Umicore bars is fairly straightforward, fitting neatly inside home safes, under the floorboards on in safe deposit boxes. However, they take up much more storage space compared to gold bullion and platinum bullion.  

VAT On Silver Bars

Silver bullion is liable for VAT in the United Kingdom at the standard rate, which at the time of writing is 20% (January 2023). VAT will have to be paid if you wish to take physical delivery of silver. This puts a hefty mark-up on new silver products, which seriously dents the investment potential on the precious metal. However, there are ways to get around this inconvenience.

Pre-owned silver bars can benefit from the margin scheme (special scheme), which allows for second-hand goods to be exempt from the standard rate of VAT being applied to its total value, since this has technically already been paid when it was sold new. The standard rate of VAT is applied to the profit margin, which is a negligible amount.

More can be read about this in our Guide to VAT on Gold & Silver Bullion article.

Cheap Silver 1kg Bars

Investment silver 1kg bars such as these new Umicore bullion bars are offered complete with certificate and original outer packaging. Silver kilo bars are almost always produced in a cast form, which helps to keep the premiums on them low. Although it's possible to find some in a 'minted' form, they're not as common as cast bars and often command higher premiums.

'Umicore is an internationally recognised bullion refiner headquartered in Belgium. Their LBMA-approved 1kg silver bars are an excellent investment option.'

Are Silver Bars A Good Investment?

Purchasing silver kilo bars is one of the most popular ways to physically own the precious metal, being recognised worldwide and having low margins over the live spot price.

Silver can be a great investment at the right time, with some investors opining that it has more speculative potential than gold. Silver tends to be more volatile than gold, which means silver prices tend to move more in percentage terms when compared to gold. This suits certain investors who wish to further diversify their portfolios with a more 'adventurous' precious metal.

A selection of major reasons to buy new 1 kilogram silver bars are:

• Worldwide Recognition - Silver kilo bars are traded all over the world, making them easy to liquidate at a later date
• Speculation - silver is seen as having more potential to make bigger gains than gold
• Low Premiums - 1 kg silver bars are sold at a competitive margin above the live spot price and are often cheaper per ounce than silver coins, even with VAT
• Authenticity - Umicore silver kilo bars are stamped with the logo, weight, fineness and a unique serial number 
• VAT refund - buying through a VAT-registered business means you can claim the VAT back on new silver bars
• Long-term Investment - silver has historically followed in tandem the rise in price of gold
• Security - our team of experts has examined each bar using an XRF machine to guarantee it's genuine

New Silver Bars

New silver 1kg bars, such as these Umicore bullion bars, are sourced directly from the refinery. Unlike pre-owned bars, we guarantee they'll be sealed in the original packaging (if relevant) and issued with a certificate of authenticity. Although certificates for bars are not viewed as an essential item for bullion bars, some investors prefer to have them for added peace of mind. We don't differentiate between bars issued with certificates and those without.

'Value added tax (VAT) is payable at the standard rate if you intend to take delivery of new silver bars in the UK. However, VAT-registered companies can reclaim the tax back.'

Being cast bullion bars, some of these Umicore 1kg silver bars may have slightly uneven surfaces and/or small scuff marks. This is perfectly normal and does not affect the bullion value of the bar.