JM Bullion is proud to serve as an authorized dealer of silver and gold bullion coins from the largest mints around the globe. Our regular shoppers are no doubt familiar with our collection of silver and gold coins for sale. Typical products listed with regularity in our online catalog include the American Eagle Series from the United States Mint, the Canadian Maple Leaf Series from the Royal Canadian Mint, and the variety of gold and silver products from Australia’s Perth Mint. These, of course, are just a few of the major bullion programs we offer.
We are also proud to offer our frequent shoppers and new customers alike with options that run the gamut from annual-release bullion programs to one-of-a-kind products. These include gold bars, silver bars, and silver rounds. One of our newest product offerings comes from a place close to our heart: the Great State of Texas. The Intaglio Mint is a small, private minting operation that has some exciting new silver rounds available for purchase. Now, we’re happy to highlight some of those stunning new products for you!
About the Intaglio Mint
Intaglio Mint, established in 2010, bills itself as a private, boutique minting operation. It is the definition of a “small” private mint, employing just three people in total! Mark Bogani is the founder and CEO of Intaglio Mint and has over 25 years of experience as a coin collector, 8 years in the wholesale coin business and 6 years in the retail coin business. Concept and design are his passions!
Timothy Grat is the Operations Manager of Intaglio Mint and has over 20 years of minting experience including the earliest forms of hand hammered coinage to the most modern technologically advanced methods. His extensive knowledge includes tool and die, fabrication, fulfillment, concept and design as well as package design.
Anthony Grat (Tony), also part of Intaglio Mint’s Production Department, is no stranger to the art and craft of coin making having 6 years’ experience as a coiner in minting.
The passion, knowledge and experience each brings to Intaglio Mint shines through in the beautiful designs coming from the machinists and coin presses located in Waco, TX.
JM Bullion carries four product offerings from Intaglio Mint.
Texas Ranger Badge Round
The ideal image of a Western lawman is embodied in the Texas Rangers. We’re not talking about the baseball team here, but rather the former paramilitary force of Texas when it was a Mexican province following that nation’s freedom from Spanish colonial rule. The Rangers were formed by the Father of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, in 1823 to guard newly settled families in southern and western Texas against the threat of outlaws, hostile local tribes, and other troublemakers.
Today’s Texas Rangers were formally established in 1835 by the independent Republic of Texas after it won its freedom from Mexico. The Rangers serve as a law enforcement arm in the State of Texas, and the new 1 oz Texas Ranger Wagon Wheel Badge Round accurately depicts their original badges created in 1889. Those original badges were constructed by jewelers, metal smiths, and gun smiths on the back of Mexican 5 Peso Silver Coins, giving obverse and reverse designs that feature:
- Obverse: The center of the design contains the Lone Star of Texas, with its five points anchored around the edge of the design field on the so-called Wagon Wheel design. Engravings include “Texas” above and “Rangers” below. The “Co.A” in the center of the Lone Star denotes that its bearer was a member of “Company A” of the Texas Rangers.
- Reverse: These silver rounds include the stylized image of the Ring of Serpents of the Aztec, and feature a design of a bald eagle that was eventually adopted by the Mexican nation as its coat of arms.
Texas Come and Take It Round
Texas has changed hands many times during the course of its history. Once part of Spanish-controlled Mexico, and then a province of Mexico, in 1835 Texas shook off the shackles of Mexican control to win its freedom as an independent Republic of Texas. The battle for independence started with a dispute over a small cannon that fired 6 lb shot. Known as the Gonzales Cannon, the people of Gonzales used the small artillery piece to ward off attacks from native tribes and criminals in the West. When the Mexican military requested the piece be returned, the people of Gonzales met the military army-to-army and proudly stated “there it is – come and take it.”
The designs on the 1 oz Texas Come and Take It Silver Round reflect the bravado and bold attitudes of Texas. Designs on the obverse and reverse include:
- Obverse: The Texas State Seal is depicted with one major modification made by the Intaglio Mint: the addition of the word “Great” into an engraving that reads “The Great State of Texas.” The design itself is based on the seal from the original Republic of Texas, adopted January 25, 1839. The seal for the State of Texas was adopted through the 1845 Texas Constitution.
- Reverse: The famed Gonzales Cannon is featured on this side of the round along with the Lone Star of Texas.
All Hail the Silver Bug Round
The Silverbugs are a well-known and popular group of online silver enthusiasts. Their Reddit page unites all fans of silver, where thoughts on new silver designs and reviews of mints and authorized dealers are shared between members. The Silverbugs gained greater notoriety in 2014 when a series of Silverbug-themed rounds began to appear in the market. Intaglio Mint now offers its own design, highlighting the scarab bug featured on the reverse of many Silverbug round designs. For the 2 oz Hail the Silver Bug Round, the designs include:
- Obverse: There is an ultra-high relief depiction of the Scarab in the center with a deep-domed radial burst featured in the background. The border has a stippled finish and includes engravings of “All Hail the Silver Bug” and the Silverbug’s motto of “In Silver We Trust.”
- Reverse: The Intaglio Mint’s logo is used on this side, which features a Romanesque pillar in the shape of a letter “I” and bears the engravings of the year of establishment for the mint, its name, and the round’s purity, weight, and metal content.
2 oz Winged Liberty Mercury Dime Round
One of America’s great 20th century coin designs was Adolph A. Weinman’s Winged Liberty. Better known as the Mercury Dime, this 1916 design for the 10-cent piece featured Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap with wings in a left-profile portrait. To many Americans of the day, Liberty resembled the Roman messenger god Mercury, hence the common use of the name Mercury Dime. This original coin of the United States Mint was in circulation from 1916 to 1945/46, and today is revived on countless silver round designs. The Intaglio Mint’s 2 oz Winged Liberty Mercury Dime captures the design as follows:
- Obverse: The left-profile portrait of Liberty as featured on the original Mercury Dimes. Her figure is featured along with engravings of the word “Liberty” and the American national motto of “In God We Trust”.” You’ll also find an engraving of the original issue date of “1916” and the “AW” initials of Weinman.
- Reverse: An American bald eagle is depicted with its wings spread wide and a banner unfurled in its talons that reads “God Bless America.” Around it are engravings of the weight, purity, and metal content, as well as the phrase “Home of the Free, Because of the Brave.”
Shop JM Bullion Now
All four Intaglio Mint silver rounds are available to you today from JM Bullion. As always, we encourage you to keep up with our blog each week and follow us on Facebook, where you can learn about new coin releases, share your opinions on new products, and even get up-to-date notices on new blog posts.
