Bullion coins are coins that are minted from precious metals, the most common type being gold and silver; however there are also platinum coins or even palladium coins to be found occasionally in the coin market.

Although many civilization throughout history have produced gold coins used in day to day trading, these gold coins are not categorized as bullion coins as bullion coins are not used in day to day trading and its value is not determined by the face value printed on the coin, rather the price of a bullion coin is determined by its precious metal content of the coin plus a premium, which is usually substantially higher than the face value on the coin. The first bullion coin was minted by the South Africans in 1967 as a way to market South African gold, this coin was named the Krugerrand after Paul Kruger, a prominent Boer resistance leader against the British and eventually the fifth, and last president of the old South African Republic holding that office for four terms. Though the coin enjoy legal tender status in South Africa, meaning that it can be imported to many if not all countries around the world without being subjected to import taxes, duty or VAT, the coin was however declared illegal to be brought into the United States and many countries in the Europe due to the Apartheid policies of South Africa of the time, however this regulation has since lapsed after the policies reform in the 1990’s.

Following the lead of the South Africans, there are many national mints around the world that has since produced their own series of bullion coins, many featuring designs that have significant reflection of their national identity, some of the most well known examples includes:

· The American Gold Eagle

· The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf

· The Chinese Gold Panda

Bullion coins are hot collector items as they include some of the most beautiful coins in the world, they are easy to store and requires minimal financial investment to start. In fact collecting bullion coins represents an economical way to invest in gold as a hedge against the stock market movements for many investors. There is also the factor that bullion coins are relatively rare as most national mints do not produce a quantity of more than 10,000 for most of their series, in fact you would be hard pressed to find a single bullion coin from your local coin store. As a result, the easiest way to acquire bullion coin would be to buy online from other collectors (ebay), or from some reputable coin stores. It is of paramount importance for the online buyer to spend some time verifying the background of the seller and read carefully the detail of the merchandise before making a purchase to avoid disappointment. Reading up about the technical specification of the series and also the details about the series issued e.g. whether this series include the proof version will be also very helpful.