Homepage / Bullion Refiners: Sunshine Minting

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Last Updated on 10/17/2024

Sunshine Minting, Inc
(SMI) Bullion

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Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI) was founded in 1979, it has grown from a humble beginning, into one of the world's leading manufacturers for products for the minting industry. 

The company is headquartered in Nevada, and has other facilities in Idaho, Rhode Island, and China.

Sunshine Minting (SMI) is one of the primary suppliers of precious metals blanks to the United States Mint.  In addition, Sunshine Minting supplies blanks, rounds, and bars to international government mints as well as many other global financial institutions.

History of Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI)

The history of Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI) isn't cut and dry; it has changed its name and ownership several times as it's grown from a small business into the world's largest multi-facility supplier of precious metals.

1979 - 1984

Sunshine Minting Inc, was not founded under that name.  In 1979, the company started business under the name TENTEX in Chino, California.

TENTEX
Mint Mark

The company was founded by a married couple, and the name is a combination of their home-states (Tennessee & Texas).

From 1979 through 1984, TENTEX refined and minted 1oz. silver rounds and silver bullion bars in many different sizes.  The company's "kit-kat" shaped silver bullion bars were some of the first manufactured in the industry, and their well-designed silver rounds received much industry acclaim and attracted corporate customers.     

TENTEX's bullion rounds and bars were minted in 999+ fine silver, and their mint mark was a "T inside a Square."

1984 - 1994

In 1984, a mining company out of Kellogg, Idaho, called Sunshine Mining,  bought TENTEX. 

1982 1oz Sunshine Mining "Sunshine Silver Eagle Round"

Sunshine Mining merged TENTEX into its existing minting business, called the Sunshine Bullion Company. In the merger, they closed TENTEX's facilities in Chino, California, and moved the company to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a city 40 miles west of Kellogg, ID.

1982 10oz Sunshine Mining "Sunshine Silver Eagle Bar"

Before the merger, Sunshine Mining's minting service, Sunshine Bullion Company, produced the now popular Sunshine Silver Eagle Rounds and the Sunshine Silver bullion bars that are made in several different sizes with the Silver Eagle Round's design on the face of the bars.

After the merger, Sunshine Bullion Company increased the minting business's clientele and expanded their product lines. 

In 1994, the company changed back into familiar hands.

1994 - 2007

Around 1994, Sunshine Mining sold its minting business Sunshine Bullion Company back to the husband and wife that founded TENTEX.

The new owners of the Sunshine Bullion Company changed the name of the company again and to the name we know today, Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI).

Over the next three years, the married couple had their ups and downs with running the business they loved; Sunshine Minting, Inc

Johnson Matthey & Tom Power

In 1992, after NAFTA was signed into law, the United States Federal Government awarded Johnson Matthey Ltd., Canada a contract to produce blanks to the U.S. Mint for all their precious metal coin programs.

Then, in 1996, Johnson Matthey, Inc. made a strategic decision to exit the silver and gold blank fabrication business. However they couldn't leave the contract with the United States Government unless they found an adequate minting company that could fulfill the contract for them with the same expertise.

Johnson Matthey Limited, Canada, contacted Sunshine Minting, Inc. about taking over their contract and in Spring of 1997, Johnson Matthey sent Tom Power, an operations manager, and other company representatives to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to meet the owners of Sunshine Minting.

Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI) Building - Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Tom Power stated the following in this interview about what he saw at Sunshine Minting, Inc. after first meeting them; "loved what I saw, not just from the environment but the company was a great ... little company struggling to do the right thing I just felt...a great sense of involvement from the employees and the owner was looking for some ... real management strength that he didn't have in the company."" - Tom Power (CEO of Sunshine Minting, Inc., 2007 - Present)

By the end of 1997, Tom left Johnson Matthey, and joined Sunshine Minting, Inc. in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho as a key member of their senior management team.

Sadly, shortly after Tom moved to Idaho and started his new job, the owner of Sunshine Minting, Inc. was diagnosed with an inoperable brain cancer and passed away six months later, which propelled Tom to become the lead manager of Sunshine Minting, Inc.

2007 - Present

In January of 2007, Tom Power acquired 100% ownership of Sunshine Minting, Inc., and assumed the role of its President and CEO.

Over his tenure, Tom has increased Sunshine Minting, Inc's business from a small national supplier of precious metal products to the worlds largest private supplier of silver and gold products in the minting industry.

Tom Power, CEO and President of Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI)

As of 2023, Sunshine Minting Inc, (SMI) mints and ships over 6 million ounces of silver a month to its customers, in addition to the other precious metals it mints.

In this interview, Tom Power confirms the interviewer's estimates that approximately 20% to 30% of silver in the investment market goes through the Sunshine Minting facilities before the retail customer purchases the end product.

Sunshine Minting's headquarters is in Henderson, Nevada, and it still has its facilities in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and it has other minting facilities in North Providence, Rhode Island, and Shanghai, China.

Today, Tom continues to expand Sunshine Minting, Inc. with his wife Patricia, and their experienced staff as they make new innovations while serving many of the world’s largest Mints and financial institutions.

Sunshine Minting Inc. (SMI)
Technologies

Sunshine Minting, Inc. is a leading minting industry leader, utilizing advanced technologies such as software, engraving, tooling, and die finishing.

Sunshine Minting Technologies:

• Laser Engraved Serial Numbering & Edge Marking
  
• 3D Effect Laser
• Antiquing
• Colorizing

• Gold plating
• Minting Irregular Shapes
• COINWISE™ - is an interactive technology embedded in colorized artwork for Android and iOS mobile devices, hidden from the human eye.

Click to Enlarge

• Mint Mark SI™ - is a unique, micro-engraved Security Mark exclusive to SMI brand bullion products, visible only with the Mint Mark SI™ decoding lens.

Sunshine Minting guarantees the purity of its products by using Optical Emission Spectrometry in the assaying process of precious metals.
Their facilities manufacture products to the highest industry standards in large volumes of high-quality bullion blanks for coinage, rounds, and bars.

Anti-Counterfeiting Tech

Mint Mark SI™

Sunshine Minting, Inc. has added a micro-engraved, anti-counterfeiting mint mark, Mint Mark SI™, in the center of the reverse side of most of their bullion products since 2012.

Sunshine Minting Round with the Mint Mark SI™ (center)

MINT MARK SI™ is an encrypted security mark that looks plain to the naked eye; however, when viewed through a special decoder lens, the security mark authenticates the bullion as being created by Sunshine Minting, Inc.

Depending on which way you hold the decoder lens over the security mark will determine what the encrypted image reveals.

Horizontal Image

Vertical Image

When the decoder lens is placed vertically over the security feature, MINT MARK SI™ reveals the word "VALID" under the lens.  Whereas when the lens is placed horizontally over the security mark, a "Sunshine" design appears under the lens.

Sunshine Minting Inc. (SMI) - MINT MARK SI / Anti-Counterfeiting Lens

Sunshine Minting Inc. (SMI)
Bullion Bars & Rounds

Sunshine Minting bullion products come in both rounds and bars made of silver and gold.

The purity of their gold and silver bullion ranges from 999 to 999.9, depending on the customer's manufacturing requirement.

Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI) also provides coin blanks to the United States Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Royal Mint, and the South African Mint to produce their precious metal bullion and collector coins.

In addition, SMI strikes the Silver and Gold Truth Series Coins for the South Pacific Nation of Niue, as well as some other coins and rounds for businesses and nations around the world. 

Silver Bullion 999.0 fine

Gold Bullion 999.9 fine
All gold bullion bars are packaged in Tamper Evident Packaging (TEP)

Source: Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI)

Buy Sunshine Minting Bullion from the Reputable Bullion Dealers below.

The Links below will take you directly to the page described.

Sunshine Minting Bullion Product page

Sunshine Minting, Inc (SMI) - Decoder Lens

Free Shipping on Orders $199+

4.8 star Customer Reviews

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1 oz. Sunshine Minting Bullion Bar

5 oz. Sunshine Minting Bullion Bar

10 oz. Sunshine Minting Bullion Bar

All Sunshine Minting Bullion Rounds & Bars

Free Shipping on Orders $199+

BBB - Customer Reviews

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Truth Series Gold Coins

Truth Series Silver Coins

All Sunshine Minting Bullion Product page

Free Shipping on Orders $199+

4.8 star Customer Reviews

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All Sunshine Minting Bullion Product page

Sunshine Minting Mark Decoder Lens

Free Shipping on Orders $199+

4.9 star Customer Reviews

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All Sunshine Minting Bullion Product page

Shipping prices vary by item

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Sunshine Mint
Videos

These Videos show Sunshine Minting, Inc. (SMI) internal operations, including manufacturing products, and interviews with the CEO Tom Power.  These videos are over 10-years old.

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