12. Gold ingot 1 kg, purity 999.3, numbered 192643, marked Compagnie de Metaux Precieux, 1956, accompanied by analysis bulletin.

The Precious Metals Company (CMP) was founded in 1935. Located in the suburbs of Paris, it produced gold and silver ingots until the late 1980s. In September 1935, the firm S. Silberfeld & Cie, in partnership with the Swiss Bank Society (SBS), established CMP in Paris. Even prior to this date, there was collaboration between SBS, Silberfeld, and the London house Mocatta & Goldsmid. The initiative to create CMP belonged to Silberfeld, who wished to structure this cooperation. SBS owned between 40% and 50% of CMP's capital, which allowed it to expand its activities on the French market. CMP was equipped, from the outset, with an electrolytic refining system, which enabled it to compete with already established companies, such as Degussa. At that time, historic players such as Caplain Saint-André did not have modern infrastructure or export capabilities, while other houses, such as Comptoir Lyon-Alemand or Marret, Bonnin, Lebel et Guieu, faced serious management and finance problems. In this context, CMP emerged as the only smelter and refiner with a solid financial base during that period of crisis. The Kodak company was supplied with silver nitrate by CMP. In 1984, CMP was taken over by the American company Engelhard, specialized in refining platinum and gold, founded in 1902 by Charles Engelhard, a metal merchant of German origin, who emigrated to the United States in 1891. From that moment, the pure gold ingots produced by CMP were accompanied by an analysis or test certificate, bearing both names: CMP – Engelhard. On December 5, 1989, CMP definitively ceased the production of gold ingots. These ingots, now rare, have become items sought after by collectors.

Description

gold

Research information

The lot is accompanied by an updated expertise, made by the numismat expert Frédéric Deloute.

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