Johnson Matthey gold bars: a discontinued British classic
Johnson Matthey bars, often shortened to “JM bars,” belong to a small group of bullion products that are no longer made but are still traded every day. The company was for a long time one of the best-known names in precious metals refining. Its bars are now a finite stock, passed from one owner to the next. This guide covers where the name comes from, what the company produced, and how to approach a JM bar as a buyer or seller.
A refiner with roots in 1817
Johnson Matthey is a British company whose origins go back to 1817, when Percival Norton Johnson set up as an assayer in London. The business grew into a refiner and dealer in precious metals, and for much of its history it was closely tied to the London bullion market. Over time it became a major industrial group, with activities in chemicals, catalysts and specialty materials that reach well beyond bullion.
In 2015 the company sold its gold and silver refining business to Asahi, the Japanese precious metals group. That sale ended the production of new gold bars under the Johnson Matthey name. Johnson Matthey itself continues as a company, but no longer in this line of work.
For bullion buyers, the result is simple: every JM gold bar in existence was made before the refining business changed hands. There will be no new ones.
The range of bars it produced
Johnson Matthey made bars for very different customers: central banks and bullion banks at one end, retail investors at the other, and specific regional markets in between. The main formats are summarized below. Dimensions and exact designs varied over the decades, so the table sticks to weights and uses.
| Bar | Weight | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Good-delivery bar | About 400 troy oz | Wholesale trading between banks and vaults |
| 100 oz bar | 100 troy oz | Large private holdings, trading in North America |
| Kilobar | 1,000 g | Private investors and regional markets in Asia and Europe |
| 500 g bar | 500 g | Mid-sized holdings |
| 10 oz bar | 10 troy oz | Popular retail size, especially in North America |
| 100 g bar | 100 g | Retail investors |
| 10 tola bar | 116.638 g (1 tola = 11.6638 g) | The Indian subcontinent and the Gulf |
| Tael bars | Measured in taels | Hong Kong and other Chinese-speaking markets |
The tola and tael bars are a reminder that gold has never been traded in a single unit worldwide. A refiner serving international customers had to produce bars in the weights each market expected, and Johnson Matthey was one of the names trusted across many of them.
Serial numbers: what they do
Most JM bars above the smallest sizes carry a serial number, as do almost all bars from major refiners. The principle is the same everywhere:
- the number identifies an individual bar, or a production batch, in the refiner’s records;
- it lets a vault, dealer or auditor match a physical bar to its paperwork;
- for large bars, it is part of the chain of custody that keeps a bar acceptable in the wholesale market.
Numbering systems differ between refiners and have changed over time. Do not judge a bar on whether its serial number “looks right” to you. Instead, check that it is cleanly stamped, consistent with the rest of the markings, and matches any certificate or invoice that comes with the bar. A missing or crudely altered number is a warning sign; an unfamiliar format is not.
Buying JM bars today
Since production has stopped, every JM bar you can buy now is a secondary-market bar. That has a few consequences:
- Supply is uneven. Some sizes, particularly 10 oz and 100 oz bars in North America, turn up regularly; others are rare.
- Condition varies. These bars have often changed hands several times. Scratches and wear do not affect the gold content, but heavily marked bars can be harder to resell.
- Testing is normal. A reputable dealer will check weight, dimensions and often the metal itself before listing an older bar.
- Collector interest exists but is limited. Some buyers seek out JM bars for their history, and certain older designs attract attention. For most bars, though, the price stays close to that of any bar of equal weight and fineness.
As with any bar, compare the premium over the metal value and ask what the dealer would pay to buy it back.
Selling JM bars
Johnson Matthey was a well-known refiner, and its bars are generally well received by dealers. A few practical points help:
- Bring any paperwork you have, such as an original invoice or certificate.
- Do not clean or polish the bar. Abrasive cleaning can remove metal and damage the stamp.
- Get more than one quote, especially for larger bars, since dealers’ appetite for specific sizes varies.
- Expect testing on a bar without paperwork; it protects both sides.
Our guides to gold bullion buyers and buying gold bars cover both sides of the transaction. For an overview of bar types, see gold bars.
This article may contain partner links. They never influence what we write.