Homepage / Popular Bullion Refiners: Johnson Matthey

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Last Updated on 01/10/2025

Johnson Matthey
Bullion

The Johnson Matthey logo with its monogram and a Geologist's Pick & Hammer (⚒) is globally recognized by bullion investors as a symbol of quality.

However, in 2015, Johnson Matthey sold off its gold and silver refining business to Asahi Refining, a Japanese company.

Today, Johnson Matthey PLC (Public Limited Company) is a multinational chemical and platinum group metals (PGMs) technology company headquartered in London, England.  The company has a market capitalization of over 6 billion dollars with 11,600 employees, operating in more than 30 countries.

The History of
Johnson Matthey Refining

The Johnson Matthey Company has a long history of refining platinum group metals (PGMs).  The company's origins date back to the grandfather of Percival Norton Johnson, (John Johnson, Sr.) .  

Percival Johnson co-founded the Johnson Matthey company with George Matthey, and he was a founding member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the oldest national chemical society in the world.

Modest Beginnings

Percival's grandfather was an assayer of ores and metals in London during the late 1700's. After his grandfather's death, Percival's father, John Johnson, Jr. (1765–1831), took over his father's business and got involved in the platinum trade.

At the age of 15, Percival Johnson (1792-1866) became an apprentice in his father's firm.  During his apprenticeship, he published the following paper titled: Experiments which prove platina, when combined with gold and silver, to be soluble in nitric acid.  In the paper, Percival Johnson showed that small quantities of platinum mixed with gold and silver in nitric acid cause a facilitated separation of pure gold from the solution.
Through his work, Percival proved to his father that he was a skilled assayer and mineralogist.

Percival Norton Johnson
(1792 - 1866)

Johnson & Company

In 1817, at twenty-five years of age, Percival left his father’s established assaying firm and set up his own “Assayer and Practical Mineralogist” business, named "Johnson and Company"; Percival set up the company with £150 of capital, the equivalent of £15,000 today.

The year "1817" is often regarded as the year the Johnson Matthey Company was founded. However, it wasn't until 21 years later that George Matthey began working for Percival Johnson. Thirteen years after that, he became a full partner in the company.

Johnson's knowledge of the assaying of precious metals allowed him to find the value and purity of a gold bar by applying chemical tests to the physical metal.  His firm became the first London assayer to offer a guarantee on the quality of a gold bar; the business grew when Johnson began offering buy-backs on the bars of gold he assayed.

Johnson Matthey
Pick & Hammer

Percival built a small gold refinery for the gold bars coming into his growing business. He proved to his customers to be proficient at extracting Platinum Group Metals and other ores from gold bars, which established his firm in the London Bullion Market for its technical abilities.

He specialized in assaying and refining precious metals, particularly gold imported from Brazil: he perfected a method of extracting palladium from gold, improving its color.  

Over the next several years, Johnson added a few partners to his company.

George Matthey
(1825-1913)
© Johnson Matthey

In 1832, Percival Johnson added George Stokes to the firm, creating the partnership of Johnson & Stokes.

Stokes died in 1835; a few years later, in 1837, William John Cock (1813–1892), a skilled assayer, joined the firm, creating the partnership of Johnson & Cock.

Young Chemist George Matthey

In 1838, George Matthey (1825–1913) joined the firm as an apprentice to Percival Johnson and William Cock at just thirteen years of age. 

George Matthey was an excellent assayer and chemist; he studied at the Royal College of Chemistry, proving to Johnson that he was a fast learner while excelling in platinum refining.  Matthey developed a "head for business" and wanted to build Johnson's firm into a great company.

During George Matthey's apprenticeship, Johnson's firm supplied platinum for Humphry Davy's electrochemistry experiments, as well as wire and foil for Michael Faraday's research, and aluminum for the Eros Statue in London's Piccadilly Circus.

In 1851, Percival Johnson made George Matthey a full partner in the firm, creating the Johnson Matthey Company.  Shortly thereafter, in 1852, the Johnson Matthey company became an official assayer and refiner to the Bank of England. 

Over the years, Percival Johnson & George Matthey expanded the company's capabilities, and their partnership transformed the business into the International Conglomerate it is today.

Johnson Matthey & P.R. Mallory

Johnson Matthey & Mallory Ltd.

Established in 1916, the P.R. Mallory Company began as a manufacturer of tungsten wire. In 1924, its founder, Phillip Rogers Mallory, relocated the company to Indianapolis, Indiana.

P.R. Mallory later formed the Mallory Metallurgical Company.  The company engineered electrical alloys and composites from silver, copper, and tungsten.

Johnson Matthey & Mallory Ltd. 10oz. Gold Cast Bar
provided courtesy of Geoff.R

P.R. Mallory collaborated with Henry Ford to develop the first applications of Electrical Resistance Welding. Additionally, during World War II, P.R. Mallory partnered with Samuel Ruben to create the first mercury cell battery, and millions of these batteries were produced to support the war effort.

The P.R. Mallory Company revolutionized the battery industry by creating the alkaline manganese battery. In 1964, the company registered "Duracell" as its trademark.

In 1947, Johnson Matthey created a limited partnership with P.R. Mallory, creating Johnson Matthey & Mallory Limited, an industrial metals refinery headquartered in Toronto, Canada. 

It is unknown when they started to produce investment-grade bullion, but it made gold and silver bullion bars and rounds until the end of the partnership in 1977.

CMW Inc.
Identification Mark

The Johnson Matthey & Mallory partnership produced poured and minted gold and silver bars, and they had the identification marks found in this section.

CMW Inc., a welding company, was started by P.R. Mallory.

Johnson Matthey
Business Strategy Changes

Johnson Matthey, Inc. was the largest manufacturer of minted bullion bars in North America for nearly 30 years (1971-2000).

In 1996, Johnson Matthey decided to exit the business of fabricating silver and gold blanks for government mints.  Then in 2000, the company ceased production of gold and silver bullion bars, with the exception of LBMA Gold and Silver "Good Delivery" bullion bars used in wholesale and professional investment markets.  Johnson Matthey began producing 400-troy ounce "Good Delivery" gold bars in 1961.

In May 2012, Johnson Matthey licensed its name to Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI), which allowed Sunshine Minting to mint bars labeled with Johnson Matthey's name.  Shortly thereafter, Sunshine Minting started mass-producing Silver bullion bars bearing the Johnson Matthey name and Trademark through key wholesalers like Dillon Gage Metals. See the article here.

Unfortunately, due to falling precious metals prices and a refocusing of the company's business, Johnson Matthey announced in late 2014 that they were exiting the Gold and Silver Refining business.

As of March 2015, Johnson Matthey no longer refines gold and silver bullion; this article from Bullion Vault explains why they made this decision: Johnson Matthey Exits Gold & Silver Refining After 160 Years.

Johnson Matthey is still a full member of the LBMA, as seen here, however, Johnson Matthey is no longer an accredited LBMA provider of "Good Delivery" bullion bars, as seen here.

Asahi Refining
Acquires Johnson Matthey's
Gold & Silver refining businesses

Founded in 1952, Asahi Refining is a precious metals recycling company based in Tokyo, Japan.  On March 6th, 2015, Asahi Refining completed the acquisition of Johnson Matthey's gold and silver refining businesses. (Press Release)

The deal was valued at $186 million and included Johnson Matthey’s gold and silver refineries in Salt Lake City, USA, and Brampton, Canada, along with the company's casting services at its facility in St. Catharines, Canada.  The purchase included all facilities and machinery used by Johnson Matthey for refining its products over the years, but it did not include the Johnson Matthey name.

At the time of the acquisition, Johnson Matthey's gold and silver refining employed approximately 340 people, and it had annual sales of $69 million.

Although Johnson Matthey has exited the bullion refining business, the company is still a full member of the LBMA, as seen here; however, Johnson Matthey is no longer an accredited LBMA provider of "Good Delivery" bullion bars, as seen here.

In the press release, the CEO of Asahi Holdings stated the following about the acquisition:

In February 2019, Asahi acquired Republic Metals Corporation, a Miami-based refiner, to strengthen its presence in the North American market.

Asahi Holdings is a London Good Delivery refiner; it now operates through its subsidiaries processing gold, silver, and platinum group metals.

Johnson Matthey
Notable Achievements

• 1852 - Appointed as the official assayers and refiner to the Bank of England.
• 1874 - Standardized kilogram as weight (kg)
  
• 1875 - supplies platinum leads for the first electric lamps
• 1914 - During the First World War, supplied 1.3 tonnes of platinum for the war effort.
• 1918 - employed Alan Richard Powell an experimentalist, which marked the start of some remarkable innovations.
• 1928 - created the Powell-Deering platinum method, which smelts ore and enables it to be refined, a process that is still carried out today
• 1928 - Johnson Matthey patents the only workable process for extraction and refining platinum group metals from Rustenburg ores (see the Merensky Reef).
• 1940s - Second World War, supplied vast amounts of materials for factories and the troops
• 1946 - wins exclusive contracts for refining British demonetized silver coinage
  

Catalytic Converter

• 1960s - Developed fuel cell systems for NASA's moon landings
• 1974 - develops the world’s first catalysts to control vehicle pollution, in May of 1974
• 1990s - started work on battery technologies
• 2000 - receives the second MacRobert Award for the Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT®) system to control emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles
• 2000 - JM produced components for cochlear implants, giving thousands of people the chance to hear for the first time
• 2001 - Work starts on the dedicated Hydrogen fuel cell membrane electrode assembly manufacturing facility
  
• 2012 - Johnson Matthey Battery Systems designs, develops, and manufactures integrated battery systems.
• 2020 - Manufactures hydrogen electrolysis components

The company is changing into new technologies, including fuel cells, medical technologies, and emission control catalysts.

Johnson Matthey
Bullion Rounds

Johnson Matthey is commonly known in the bullion market for the quality of their precious metals rounds and bars.

In the 1970s and 1980s, two major refining companies produced a significant portion of the world's investment-grade bullion. One of these was Johnson Matthey, and the other was Engelhard, who regularly competed for market share.

After Engelhard came out with "The American Prospector" round, Johnson Matthey created the "Freedom" Series rounds and other decorative silver rounds.

Freedom Rounds

The Johnson Matthey's Freedom rounds were only produced in silver.

Obverse

Inscriptions:

• JOHNSON MATTHEY
• ASSAYERS REFINERS
• 1 OUNCE TROY
• FINE SILVER
• 999
• JM with Pick & Hammer

Reverse

Relief:

• One of Ten Freedoms that Americans hold dearly.
  

Inscription:

• The Name of the "freedom."
  

The Set of 10 Freedom Rounds included:

The American Way
Freedom Round

In addition to those ten Freedom rounds, Johnson Matthey produced another Freedom round, which had a different obverse and reverse.

Obverse

Relief:

• Old Mechanical Scale

Inscriptions:

• JOHNSON MATTHEY
• 1 TROY OUNCE
• .999 FINE SILVER
• 1985 (Year of Issue)
•  USA

Reverse

Relief:

• Portrayed a family of U.S. Patriots standing over the continental United States.

Inscriptions:

• FREEDOM
• THE AMERICAN WAY
  

"Liberty Trade"
Gold & Silver Rounds

Johnson Matthey and Engelhard minted "Liberty Trade" bullion rounds and bars.

Johnson Matthey's Liberty Trade rounds were minted only in gold and silver, while Engelhard's Trade rounds were produced in gold, silver, and platinum.

Johnson Matthey Silver Liberty Trade rounds were made in the following sizes in troy ounces:

• 1 troy oz
• 5 troy oz.
  
• 10 troy oz.
  

Johnson Matthey Gold Liberty Trade rounds were made in the following sizes in troy ounces: 

• 1/10 troy oz.
  
• 1/20 troy oz.

Obverse

Relief:

• Lady Liberty with her right arm raised.

Inscriptions:

• 1985 (year of issue)
  

The rounds come in proof and brilliant uncirculated versions.

Reverse

Relief:

• Lady Liberty's hand holding a torch
  

Inscriptions:

• LIBERTY TRADE SILVER
• MADE IN U.S.A.
• JM ⚒ (pick & hammer)
• .999 FINE SILVER
• 1 TROY OZ.
• ©1985
• MTB (Manfra, Tordella & Brooks)

Liberty Trade Round - Identification Mark

To determine who made the "Liberty Round," look on the reverse side of the round, toward the bottom, on the left; look for an "JM with pick & hammer," which is the Johnson Matthey emblem and trademark or an "E" for Engelhard which is Engelhard's Trademark.

Johnson Matthey ID Mark
JM ⚒ (pick & hammer) logo
Liberty Trade Round

Engelhard ID Mark "E"
Liberty Trade Round

Note: Below is more information about Johnson Matthey's Liberty Trade bullion bars. To discover more about Engelhard's Liberty Trade bullion rounds and bars, click here.

Commissioned Bullion Rounds

Private companies, Governments, and Organizations frequently commissioned Johnson Matthey to produce silver, gold, platinum, or palladium rounds that featured intricate artistic designs or logos.

These customers included the State of Montana, the State of Alaska, Xerox Corp., The Royal Bank, the State of Montana, The National Bank of New York, King Fook (a Hong Kong-based jewelry company), the Walt Disney Company, and many others.

Stillwater Palladium Rounds

In the mid-2000s, the Stillwater Mining Company of Billings, Montana, commissioned the production of palladium rounds and bars.  The palladium in these rounds is from Stillwater Mines, refined by Johnson Matthey, and minted by the Northwest Territorial Mint.

The palladium rounds were named after the Lewis & Clark expedition of 1804, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the pioneer's expedition across America, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson.

Each Stillwater Mining palladium round is sealed inside an assayers card, with a six-digit serial number on the reverse side of each card.

Obverse

Relief:

• Lewis & Clark plotting their exploration
  

Inscriptions:

• STILLWATER PALLADIUM
• LEWIS & CLARK CORPS OF DISCOVERY
• Year of Issue
  

Reverse

Relief:

• Buffalo

Inscriptions:

• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• 1 TROY OUNCE
• .9995 PURE PALLADIUM
  

Round Sizes

The palladium in these rounds comes from ore in Stillwater's Mines; it was refined by Johnson Matthey and minted by the Northwest Territorial Mint. The rounds are 99.95% fine palladium and were minted in the following sizes:

• 1/10 troy oz.
• 1/4 troy oz.
• 1/2 troy oz.
  
• 1 troy oz.

Note: Unlike the bullion rounds, Stillwater Palladium bullion bars are known to have been minted only in one troy-ounce size. Near the bottom of this page, you'll find more information about these bullion bars.

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Johnson Matthey Bullion

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Johnson Matthey
Bullion Bars

Types of Bullion Bars
Produced by Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey's refinery produced two bullion bars:

• Cast or Poured Bars
• Minted Bars.

Cast Bullion Bars are produced by pouring molten precious metal directly into a mold.  Markings are usually stamped on the bar using a hammer or a press.  In addition, company markings on cast bars will look depressed or "sunken" into the bar. Cast or Poured Bar

Minted Bullion Bars are cut from a cast bar that has been rolled to a uniform thickness. The cutting is done with a die to create blanks with a specified dimension and weight. All the surfaces are smooth and even. Markings are usually stamped on the bar using a minting press. Company markings on minted bars will be "raised" due to this process. Minted Bar

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Johnson Matthey
Serial Numbers

It is common practice for refiners to put serial numbers on bullion to help individual investors keep track of the bars they own.  Refiners rarely keep an accessible database of bullion bar serial numbers that weigh under LBMA Good Delivery Bar specifications.

Serial number sequences on Johnson Matthey Bars and Assay Cards are known as follows: (Includes: Gold, Silver, Platinum & Palladium)

• 1 Letter followed by 3 digit serial number
  
• 1 Letter followed by 5 digit serial number
• 1 Letter followed by 6 digit serial number
• 2 Letters followed by 5 digit serial number
• 4 digit: serial number
• 5 digit: serial number
  
• 6 digit: serial number
  

There is little uniformity among these numbers, except that bars produced in the same batch share the same series of serial numbers.

There is a list of Johnson Matthey silver bullion bars and serial numbers on All Engelhard's Johnson Matthey page here.

The following is how Johnson Matthey applied serial numbers to their Gold 400oz. LBMA "Good Delivery" Bars:

• 5 Numbers plus year & date: 1983 - 2005
• 6 Numbers plus year & date: 2005 - 2015
  

In 2015, Johnson Matthey ceased the production of LBMA "Good Delivery" bullion bars.

Commissioned
Bullion Bars

Private companies, Governments, and Organizations frequently commissioned Johnson Matthey to produce silver, gold, platinum, or palladium bars that featured intricate artistic designs or logos.

Customers included the Regency Bank, Sooters, TD Bank, Scotia Bank, Republic Bank, King Koil, Republic National Bank of New York, Royal Bank, Nerco Minerals, Co., and many others.

Johnson Matthey
Bar Sizes

Silver

Johnson Matthey used to produce silver bullion bars ranging from as small as 1 gram to LBMA "Good Delivery" bars weighing 1000 ounces.

The company manufactured several sizes of silver bullion bars, which were either minted or poured in the following sizes:

• 1 gram
• 5 gram
• 10 gram
  
• 1/2 troy oz.
• 1 troy oz.
• 2 troy oz.
• 3 troy oz.
• 4 troy oz.
• 5 troy oz.
• 7 troy oz.
• 10 troy oz.
• 20 troy oz.
• 25 troy oz.
• 1/2 kilo.
  
• 1 kilo.
• 50 troy oz.
• 100 troy oz.
• 1000 troy oz. LBMA "Good Delivery" silver bar

Liberty Trade Silver Bars

Johnson Matthey and Engelhard also manufactured Liberty Trade Silver bars. 

Johnson Matthey "Liberty Trade" Silver Bars were produced in:

• 1 troy oz.
• 5 troy oz.
  
• 10 troy oz.
• 100 troy oz.
  

Obverse

Relief:

• Statue of Liberty

Inscription:

• Liberty
  

Reverse

Relief:

• MTB Logo (Manfra, Tordella & Brooks)

Inscription:

• .999
• FINE SILVER
• ONE TROY OUNCE
• Serial Number
• ©1982 MTB
• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• JM ⚒  (pick & hammer)
  

Johnson Matthey
Identification Marks

Silver

Johnson Matthey Silver bullion bar production took place in the following countries:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• United Kingdom
• United States

Below are the Identification Marks (ID marks) for the Johnson Matthey refineries in these countries.

Note: Most of the ID Marks are re-creations of the original photos.

United States - Silver Identification Marks

SLC - Salt Lake City
ID Mark

Johnson Matthey Diamond ID Mark

SLC - is the ID Mark for the Salt Lake City refinery.

The "JM" Diamond ID Mark on the left is usually on the same bar as the oval ID Mark on the right.

The "JM" Diamond ID Mark used by Johnson Matthey on their silver bullion bars was common.

United Kingdom - Silver Identification Marks

Belgium - Silver Identification Marks

Canada - Silver Identification Marks

The maple leaf (above) is usually on the same bar with one of the other Johnson Matthey identification marks.

Australia - Silver Identification Marks

There are no examples of Australian silver bullion bar ID Marks.

The following information is known to be inside the oval of a Johnson Matthey silver bullion bar refined in Australia.

• AGR MATTHEY with three stacked bars inside oval
• JOHNSON MATTHEY, AUSTRALIA SYDNEY inside oval

Other Johnson Matthey ID Marks

Johnson Matthey Identification Marks on silver bullion bars; however, none specify the refinery's country of origin.

Johnson Matthey
Bar Sizes

Gold

Johnson Matthey Gold bars are easier to find than Engelhard gold bars; Engelhard produced fewer gold bullion bars than Johnson Matthey.

The sizes of the gold Johnson Matthey bars:

• 1 gram
• 5 gram
• 10 gram
• 1/2 troy oz.
• 1 troy oz.
• 10 troy oz.
• 1 kilo.
• 100 troy oz
• 400 troy oz. LBMA "Good Delivery" gold bar

Johnson Matthey
Identification Marks

Gold

Johnson Matthey Gold bullion bar production took place in the following countries:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• United Kingdom / Hong Kong
  
• Untied States

Below are the Identification Marks (ID marks) for the Johnson Matthey refineries in these countries.

Note: Most of the ID Marks are re-creations of the original photos.

United States - Gold Identification Marks

SLC - Salt Lake City
ID Mark

United Kingdom - Gold Identification Marks

Gold Bullion refined at Johnson Matthey's Hong Kong facility had the following words inside the oval:

• JOHNSON MATTHEY  -  HONG KONG (ID Mark not available)
  

Australia - Gold Identification Marks

Canada - Gold Identification Marks

Belgium - Gold Identification Marks

Other Gold ID Marks

Johnson Matthey Identification Marks on gold bullion bars; however, none specify the refinery's country of origin.

Johnson Matthey
Platinum & Palladium Bar Sizes

Johnson Matthey made platinum and palladium bullion bars in the following sizes:  

• 1 gram
• 5 gram
• 10 gram
• 1/2 oz.
• 1 oz.
• 5 oz.
  
• 10 oz.
• 10 oz.
• 1 kilogram (32.151 troy ounces) LPPM "Good Delivery" platinum or palladium bullion bar
  
• 100 oz.
  

The "JM with pick and hammer" ID Mark is the most common on minted (not poured) bullion bars. 

All platinum and palladium bullion bars produced by Johnson Matthey are minted.

Stillwater Palladium Bars

In the mid-2000s, the Stillwater Mining Company of Billings, Montana, commissioned the production of palladium rounds and bars.  The palladium in these bars is from Stillwater Mines, refined by Johnson Matthey, and minted by the Northwest Territorial Mint.

The palladium bars were named after the Lewis & Clark expedition of 1804, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the pioneer's expedition across America, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson.

Obverse

Relief:

• Lewis & Clark plotting their exploration
  

Inscriptions:

• STILLWATER PALLADIUM

Each Stillwater Mining round is inside an assayers card, with a six-digit serial number on the card. 

Reverse

Relief:

• Stillwater Mining Logo (3 vertical wavy lines)
  

Inscriptions:

• 1 TROY OZ.
• PALLADIUM 999.5
• CERTIFIED STILLWATER PALLADIUM
  

The Stillwater palladium bars are only known to have been minted in one troy-ounce.

Sources:

Chemistry World - "Standing the test of time"

GoldBarsWorldWide.com - (.pdf)

George Matthey and the Building of the Platinum Industry

Johnson Matthey - Homepage

Johnson, Matthey and the Chemical Society - 200-yrs of precious metals expertise

Johnson Matthey Plc. - Encyclopedia.com

The Johnson Matthey Connection - St. Peter's Church Stoke Fleming

Johnson Matthey Collectors

WorthPoint.com

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