Bullion - An Introduction

Bullion are bulk forms of metals that are commonly cast into many forms including bars, ingots or minted into coins.

Bullion can be cast from many precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium. However gold and silver being the most common, gold are often seen as hedges against both inflation and as a security during economic downtime as their prices various inversely with the economic situation. Silver on the other hand are valued more for their collectibles value rather than their actual bullion values, silver are often a popular choice of collectors as they are more affordable than gold and platinum coins.

Bullion are common items traded on the commodity market, where many investors purchase bullion as a hedge against inflation. In many cases, some central banks use bullion for settlement of international debt.

Numismatists purchase certain series of gold or silver bullion coins that are either very limited in circulation or very beautiful for their collectable value. The base value of the bullion lies in it mass and purity. However certain types of bullion coins that are either rare, proof issue or special version issue can be sold at a significant premium over its base bullion value depending on the condition.

There are many bullion especially coins, that are minted for circulation throughout history, among the more famous examples including our British sovereign, the American Gold Eagle and the South African Krugerrand.