Republic Metals Corporation was founded in 1980 by Richard Rubin and grew into one of the largest gold and silver refiners in the United States, with LBMA accreditation and over 7,000 tons of annual refining capacity at its peak — supplying clients that included Tiffany & Co., Apple, and General Motors. The company collapsed suddenly in 2018, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after discovering a significant discrepancy in its inventory accounting while preparing its 2018 financial statements. Swiss refiner Valcambi subsequently acquired Republic Metals' assets, closing out the brand's run as an independent operation after nearly four decades.
Republic Metals now occupies the same category as Johnson Matthey and Engelhard on this site: a discontinued brand with a fixed, closed supply of bars already in the secondary market, rather than an ongoing production line. Its relatively recent 2018 collapse — far more recent than Johnson Matthey's 2015 exit or Engelhard's 1980s wind-down — means buyers should pay particular attention to provenance and authentication given how fresh the brand's closure is and how actively its bars are still being traded by buyers who held them before the bankruptcy.
Log weight, purity, and purchase price alongside your coins, with live valuation — one place for the whole collection.
Start tracking freeNo — the company filed for bankruptcy in 2018 after an inventory accounting discrepancy was discovered, and its assets were subsequently acquired by Valcambi. Every Republic Metals bar on the market today predates that collapse.
It was one of the largest US gold and silver refiners, with clients including Tiffany & Co., Apple, and General Motors, alongside its bullion bar business.
Yes — all three are now discontinued refiner brands with a fixed, closed supply of bars in the secondary market rather than ongoing production, though Republic Metals' 2018 exit is far more recent than either.