The bis(thiocarboxylate) complexes of silver() and copper() namely, [Ph 4 P][M(SC{O}Me) 2 ], (M = Cu 1 or Ag 2) and [Et 3 NH][M(SC{O}Ph) 2 ] (M = Cu 3 or Ag 4) were prepared from the appropriate metal salt, RC{O}S Ϫ anions and the counter ion in the ratio 1 : 2 : 1. The structures of 1, 2 and 4 were determined by X-ray crystallography. The compounds 1 and 2 are isomorphous and isostructural. In both structures, the metal is bonded to sulfur atoms of two thioacetate ligands to give a near-linear geometry. A crystallographically imposed 2-fold rotational symmetry is present in the anions and the cations. The [Ag(SC{O}Ph) 2 ] Ϫ anion in 4 also has an approximately-linear SAgS skeleton. One of the S atom interacts weakly with a second silver() ion to form a dimer. The N-H hydrogen atom of the Et 3 NH ϩ cation is involved in N-H ؒ ؒ ؒ O hydrogen bonding to a carbonyl oxygen atom of the anion. There is a crystallographic center of symmetry present in this 'ion-pair dimer', having a rectangular arrangement of Ag 2 S 2 with a T-shaped coordination geometry around the silver atoms. All the compounds decompose under a nitrogen atmosphere to the corresponding metal sulfides according to weight loss observed in TG. † Planar and pyramidal CdS 3 kernels are found in rhombohedral [Ph 4 P][Cd(SC{O}Ph) 3 ]. 11 Paper 9/04718B