Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey Bullion

Headquartered in London, Johnson Matthey is a multinational corporation that produces chemicals and precious metals. The company operates in more than 30 countries and employs close to 10,000 people. Please note that Johnson Matthey's refining business has been sold to Asahi.

Founded in London in 1817, it remains one of the oldest purveyors of refining and assaying services for precious metals in the world. Organized into three divisions, Johnson Matthey specializes in environmental technologies, fine chemicals and catalysts, and precious metals. It distributes and refines rhodium, ruthenium, platinum, iridium, palladium, silver, and gold.

The Johnson Matthey brand has a sterling reputation among investors, who put a premium on the valuable gold, silver, and platinum bullion bars the company produces. The mint has set itself apart in the global marketplace with the high quality of its bullion bars as well as its long history of excellence. While the company stopped minting their own bars in the 1980s, they continue to refine gold and silver in the United States and Canada.

History of Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey got its start in 1817, when Percival Norton Johnson established his own gold assaying business in London. Johnson had trained as an assayer in his father's business. Initially, Johnson specialized in assaying and refining precious metals, especially Brazilian gold. Johnson perfected a method in which he extracted the palladium from gold, thereby enhancing the gold's color. In 1851, he partnered with stockbroker George Matthey, and the company's name then became Johnson Matthey. Shortly thereafter, the company was named the official assayers and refiners to the Bank of England.

In 1891, Johnson Matthey became a limited company, and its shares first appeared on the London Stock Exchange in 1942. In 1974, JM made history by creating the world's first catalytic converter to manage vehicle pollution. This innovation won JM the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement in 1976. The company’s silver bars were extremely popular in the seventies and eighties, although JM now primarily produces larger silver bars. Today, Johnson Matthey focuses more on manufacturing specialty chemicals and catalysts and perfecting environmental technologies to minimize harmful emissions.

Metal Refining and Minting

Presently, Johnson Matthey refines and distributes gold, silver, and platinum. Because of the large demand for silver as an investment at the time, Johnson Matthey produced the most silver bullion during the seventies and eighties. The company also produced gold bullion for a while. Common weights included one-ounce, ten-ounce, and even 100-ounce bars. While Johnson Matthey stopped minting bullion bars in the eighties, a wholesaler in Dallas began offering one-ounce silver bullion bars minted for the company in 2012. Johnson Matthey does not mint the bars itself, but the company's reputation and insignia have been enough to make investors clamor for the bars.

In 2014, the company again brought investors to a frenzy by re-releasing their 10-ounce silver bars, the only bars minted by the company since they halted production decades ago. Before this re-release, investors could only purchase vintage and pre-owned 10-ounce JM Bars.

Security and Packaging

All authentic Johnson Matthey bars bear the company’s stamp, which is the initials “JM” next to two crossed hammers. Stamps indicating .999 purity and the number of troy ounces also adorn the bars. Many bars also have serial numbers stamped on them, but some bars were only stamped if they were sold to commodity exchanges. Some of their smaller bars, like the one and ten ounce come encased in plastic, while most of their larger bars (100 oz and larger) do not.

Pricing, Availability, and Brand Reputation

Investors will notice that Johnson Matthey products fetch slightly higher prices than similar products in their weight class. This is largely due to the historic prestige of the Johnson Matthey brand, which has existed for 200 years. Investors can count on JM bars to offer the highest purity levels and overall quality.

The premium value of the older Johnson Matthey products also stems from their scarcity. As mentioned before, the company stopped minting bars from the eighties until recently, which has enhanced their scarcity and collectability. Depending on the type of bar, investors may purchase some new, while others come in lightly circulated condition. All bars lend themselves well to storage as a long-term investment but are also highly liquid when investors wish to sell.

For those looking for a sound investment, Johnson Matthey products can provide an excellent choice. Johnson Matthey is one of the venerated companies in the bullion world, and investors prize the reliability of their products as a result. Enhance your investment portfolio with one of these treasures by browsing JM Bullion's extensive selection of gold and silver Johnson Matthey bars today.