Afternoon everyone….
If you’ve been reading my posts over the last few days. Then you that I’ve been searching the auction houses of late. I’ve won several really nice pieces in my opinion anyway.
But this one by far is the nicest and rarest of them all….
This silver round was produced in 1974 by Tri-State Refining.
Here is some information about them:
Company Information: Tri-State Refining was a small business established in 1973 by Lorentz Opdahl in Hawarden, Iowa to extract silver from X-Ray and other film products. In the same year, Linda Opdahl, daughter of Lorentz Opdahl, married Robert Hoff and Hoff helped managing the silver refining business. The business was running successfully and in 1976, Opdah purchased a gas-fired smelting unit and moved it to his farm near Hudson, South Dakota. In 1978, Opdahl placed his properties into three trusts and he was named as the trustee in all three. The silver refining business was placed in the second trust known as Tri-State Refining Company. A couple of years later, Hoff and Opdahl signed an agreement on August 28, 1980 for the sale of this refining business to Hoff. Later that year, Hoffs relationship with Opdahl and his daughter deteriorated. Hoff moved the refining business to Sioux Falls, Iowa and incorporated this business as Tri-State Refining and Investment Company, Inc. Tri-State started facing financial difficulties in 1981 and Hoff hired a private investigator to find the cause as he believed that these difficulties stemmed from internal problems. This investigation ultimately led to many disputes & lawsuits between Hoff and Opdahl with cases being registered in 1988, 1990(1), 1990(2) and 1991.
What an unfortunate turn of events…
This round I am about to share is quite rare. There were less than 2,500 of these struck. If you do see them around, they are commanding high dollars. While I paid a pretty good price for this one. It’s not close to most listed on eBay or vintage round websites.
It’s a dragon round and it’s in amazing shape. There is a bunch of toning on it, but there is no wear on it at all.