What is Bullion? What is a Bullion Coin?

Many people are interested in bullion and bullion coins, especially when precious metals are in the news. It’s not just collectors who want to know more about this area of the hobby; many folks who are researching bullion-related topics are complete newcomers to anything having to do with coins beyond spending them as money. And this is a really good thing… PCGS always welcomes new collectors and numismatic investors with open arms!

But what exactly is bullion? What are bullion coins? And what do they have to do with collecting and investing in coins?

First, let’s take a look at what bullion and bullion coins are. According to the PCGS Lingo webpage, bullion is “Slang for coins, ingots, private issue, and so on that trade below, at, or slightly above their intrinsic metal value. Only the precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium) are included as bullion. Copper cents could also technically be classed as bullion.” Meanwhile, a bullion coin refers to “A legal tender coin that trades at a slight premium to its melt value.”

In other words, the term bullion is more of an umbrella reference to precious metals, whereas bullion coins are those that contain said precious metals. There are some in the numismatic hobby who regard such coins only as investments. And it’s true that bullion coins are widely traded on a mainly investment level, as their value is largely contingent on the prevailing price, or value, of the metal contained within the coin. Yet, many bullion coins also enjoy an enthusiastic following from collectors who see bullion coins as a twofold numismatic opportunity: one that can present a primary challenge in building sets and their secondary advantage as a potential investment.

American Silver Eagles are one of the most popular United States Mint programs that has largely been billed as a bullion coin over the years but has also seen tremendous acceptance in the hobby as a collectible series. The American Silver Eagle, which has sold more than 600 million coins since its debut in 1986, has also become one of the top objectives for PCGS Registry Set members who are actively building thousands of sets based around Silver Eagles.