Bullion Coin Collectors Site

Varieties of bullion coins:

• Metal: The three standard metals for bullion coins are gold, silver, and platinum (although occasionally other metals will be used, such as palladium). Gold and platinum coins usually come in 1 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, 1/10 and 1/20 ounce sizes (and sometimes larger 2, 5, 10, or 12 ounce sizes). Silver bullion coins usually come in a 1 ounce size, although you may see 1/2 ounce sizes, or larger 2, 5, 10, or 12 ounce sizes (and occasionally 1/4, 1/10, and 1/20 ounce sizes). Platinum bullion coins usually have lower (sometimes much lower) mintages than gold bullion coins.
• Country: Countries that mint gold coins usually have one type that is prominent. China has the Panda, Canada has the Maple Leaf, U.S. has the Eagle, and so forth.
• Year: Like standard coins, bullion coins have a year on them. Some people like to collect all the years. Most countries have one design that remains constant each year; others have variations each year.
• Design: Each country offers different designs. Some offer different designs of the same theme each year (such as China's Panda, which has a different image of a Panda each year). Occasionally, the different sizes will have a different design as well.
• Size: A 1/10th ounce bullion coin is approximately the size of a U.S. dime. A 1 ounce gold/platinum coin is about the size of a U.S. half dollar (a 1 ounce silver coin is about the same size as a "silver dollar", since silver is lighter than gold and platinum). Note that some coins of the same weight appear smaller or larger than others; this is mainly due to different thicknesses.
• Finish: Bullion coins come with 3 types of finishes. Proof coins are shiny with a mirror-like surface, BU (brilliant uncirculated) coins are like new coins you get in your change, and the most common "BU-Prooflike" are coins that were designed to be in BU condition but look a lot like proof coins. Often, it is difficult to distinguish the 3 types -- for example, many dealers sell the Australian BU bullion coins as proofs. The Australian proof coins have a mirrored background and frosted surface, whereas the BU coins have a frosted background and mirrored surface. A number of Chinese bullion coins have a P with a circle around it to indicate a proof coin, that does not appear on the BU version.
• Fineness: Fineness refers to how pure the precious metal content is. For example, gold U.S. Eagles are .9167 pure (22 karat) and Candian Maple Leafs are .9999 pure (24 karat). Typically, a country uses the same fineness for all the bullion coins it makes (although the fineness of the various metals are often different; IE the gold coins may be .9999 while the platinum coins are .9995).

This page last updated July 9, 2004.