Homepage / Buying Guides: Coins & Rounds Guide

Last Updated on 12/05/2025

Coins & Rounds Buying Guide
with a list of Reputable
Coins & Round Dealers

This physical buying guide provides a detailed overview for investors about the distinctions between precious metal bullion coins and rounds.

It explains the characteristics, benefits, and potential considerations involved in purchasing these two types of investments, offering valuable insights for informed decision-making in the precious metals market.

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Bullion Coin - defined

Bullion coins are legal tender coins backed by a government, and recognized by law to have a specific defined value on the coin for which that government will pay on demand.

The image to the right shows the reverse side of the 1 oz. American Eagle Silver bullion coin.  Its legal tender "face value" is ONE DOLLAR, which is the amount you will receive if you take the coin to any US bank for exchange.

The "legal tender" status of the coin makes it a "coin"; however, for coins that contain precious metals like the American Eagle Silver bullion coin, it is best to sell them for their intrinsic value, which is worth more than their legal tender value.   

Note: Banks are not required to provide the intrinsic value of a coin; they are only obligated by law to pay its legal tender value.  To receive the intrinsic value of a coin containing precious metals, it is best to take it to a coin shop, pawnshop, auction, or an online auction.

Bullion Round - Defined

Precious metal bullion rounds are manufactured by a private mint.

Bullion rounds have no legal tender face value and are not issued by a government.  However, they will always spell out the amount of the precious metal contained within.

For example, the round shown above comes from Pan America Silver, a silver mining company. They had an exclusive contract with the now-bankrupt Northwest Territorial Mint to make rounds and bars using their mined silver.

The weight of precious metal round is always explicitly spelled out as ONE "TROY OUNCE." Additionally, rounds are NEVER assigned a "face value."

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SD Bullion - 4.8 star Customer Reviews

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Premiums
Bullion Coins vs. Bullion Round

Premium is a reference term to describe the markup on precious metals bullion above its intrinsic (spot price) value.  Spot price refers to the current price of an asset, bought or sold.

Bullion coins often have higher premiums than bullion rounds because bullion coins are minted by a government, giving investors confidence in the coin's weight and purity.

Government bullion coins are designed by master engravers and award-winning artists, known for their brilliant coin designs.

There are a few other factors that may give bullion coins a higher premium than a bullion round which include:

• low mintage
• coins not produced in the present year, older coins receive higher premiums
• certified or graded bullion coins
  

In some cases, bullion rounds have grown in popularity for their designs and artwork, and any bullion round that is sought by collectors will have higher premiums.  

There are many reasons why some rounds will carry a high collectable premium:

• who designed or did the artwork on the round
• who minted the round (ex: Scottsdale Mint, Sunshine Minting, Inc.)
• what or who the design celebrates or commemorates
• bullion rounds with a limited mintage

Other bullion rounds that have higher premiums, than most, are the old Engelhard or Johnson Matthey bullion rounds produced in the late 1970s and 1980s.

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Recognizing
Bullion Rounds that look like Coins

As seen below, on occasion, a private mint will produce bullion rounds that look similar to government-issued bullion coins. To the untrained eye, these rounds can often be mistaken for the real thing.

For instance, the photo (below) of a silver bullion round has the same design on its obverse side as the Type I version of the 1oz. American Eagle Silver bullion coin, and the reverse looks similar to the Type II version of the 1oz. American Eagle Silver bullion coin.   Both versions of the coin are seen at the bottom of this section.

On the reverse side of the round, above right, you can see the words "ONE TROY OZ."  Bullion rounds always have their system of weight spelled out on them and usually in ALL CAPS.  

Note: If the round does not have the system of weight spelled out on it, it is advised not to purchase the round.  

The other way to identify the difference between a Bullion round that looks similar to a bullion coin is that bullion rounds have NO "Face Value."  

In addition, many, but not all, bullion rounds have NO "Year of Issue" inscribed on them. Coins always have their year of issue inscribed on their obverse side.

"Coins" will always have:

• Year of Issue on its obverse side
• a Face Value
• Numeral OZ size of coin (1OZ), troy ounces never specifying, but are always the weight of gold, silver, platinum & palladium coins.

Copper Rounds

Copper rounds have become more popular on bullion dealer's websites.

Whereas silver, gold, platinum, and palladium are bought and sold in Troy ounces and every Troy ounce has 31.10 grams.

The following equation shows the spot price of a 1-oz copper round  without a premium, if copper were trading for $5.00 per lb.

$5.00 per lb. of copper (cu) /16  =  $0.31 per ounce
(16 ounces = 1 lb. Avoirdupois)

Premiums vary from dealer to dealer on copper rounds, expect the premiums to be well over 100% of the spot price per Avoirdupois ounce.  That is why it is best for you to know how coppers is traded on the market before you purchase these rounds.

In addition, because copper is bought and sold by Avoirdupois pounds, copper rounds should always indicate this system of weight on the round, as seen outlined in red on the round (above right). (click image to enlarge)

The weight on the bullion round, to the right, is "1 AVDP."

AVDP is the abbreviation for Avoirdupois, (Avoirdupois is pronounced as; a-ver-du-pois).  As mentioned above, "If the round does not have the system of weight spelled out on it, it is advised not to purchase the round."  

Visit this guide's Troy - a System of Weight page to learn more about the differences between the Troy and Avoirdupois systems of weight.

List of Reputable
Coins & Rounds Bullion Dealers

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Note: If you're considering purchasing bullion from any of the websites listed below, I highly recommend taking the time to thoroughly review each company's ordering instructions and shipping policies. Doing so will ensure a smooth and satisfying buying experience.  These instructions can be found at the bottom of the dealer's website.

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Free Shipping on Orders $199+

4.8 star Customer Reviews

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BGASC is one of the largest coin and bullion dealers in the United States. They offer a wide array of precious metal coins and rounds.
    
Buy Gold And Silver Coins.com's goal is to be the kind of dealer they've always wanted to trade with: to be in stock, ship fast, be fair & reasonable, and operate honestly and efficiently.

They are an Official PCGS Dealer, member of the Certified Coin Exchange (CCE), an NGC Collector's Society Member, and a Bulk Purchaser of United States Mint non-bullion coins.

Every single package they ship is sent fully insured for its time in transit.

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Free Shipping on Orders $199+

BBB - Customer Reviews

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Stefan Gleason is president of the Money Metals Exchange, which is a national precious metals investment company and news service with over 500,000 readers and 75,000 customers.

Gleason founded the company in 2010 in direct response to the abusive methods of national advertisers of collectible, and numismatic coins.

Money Metals Exchange believes the average investor should never purchase precious metals that are not priced at or near their actual melt value.

Now you can safeguard your assets from financial turmoil and the devaluing dollar – without paying costly middleman mark-ups or fending off high pressure, bait-and-switch sales tactics.

Savvy, self-reliant investors are embracing Money Metals Exchange as their trustworthy resource for gold and silver bullion.

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Free Shipping on Orders $199+

4.8 star Customer Reviews

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SD Bullion is a top precious metals bullion dealer, they offer a huge selection of silver bullion coins, rounds, and bars.

In 2011, two doctors started a highly popular Gold & Silver News website with one dream: To educate the masses on the value of hard assets and preparation.

The rapid success of that website gave way to the launch of SDBullion.com in March of 2012.

Since then, SD Bullion has executed more than $4 Billion in sales and hit Inc. Magazine's list of 5000 Fastest Growing Companies four times.

We did all this while staying true to our original mission of offering the absolute lowest prices on gold bullion and silver bullion in the industry, guaranteed.

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Free Shipping on Orders $199+

4.9 star Customer Reviews

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SilverGoldBull is your trusted silver and gold dealer.  They provide you with competitive, up-to-minute pricing and we make sure your precious metals are delivered to your door discreetly and fully insured.
    
SilverGoldBull's in-house customer service representatives will work to assure your satisfaction in a timely, friendly, and professional manner. Never hesitate to get in touch because building relationships with their clients is a priority.  If you would like to learn more about what our customers are saying about our service, please view our customer reviews (above).

SilverGoldBull.com has tens of thousands of satisfied customers who have taken their financial future into their own hands by investing in gold and silver.

They are based in Canada and offer a wide variety of precious metals bullion for you to choose from; their commitment to you is to provide extraordinary service throughout your bullion buying experience.

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Walmart sells bullion from various reputable dealers; avoid items without a specified seller or shipper.

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Precious Metals from America's Superstore, offering deals from the Top Online Bullion Dealers in the Industry; including: SD Bullion, APMEX, Scottsdale Mint, and more.  Walmart's marketplace allows these dealers to offer a wide selection of coins and rounds that you will likely not find anywhere else.

Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States, headquartered in Bentonville, AR.

Walmart’s core purpose is summed up in its mission statement and slogan: "We save people money so they can live better.”

Sam Walton famously remarked upon receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom award in 1992 that, “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.”

Throughout its 50+ years of history, Walmart has stayed true to its purpose and consistently striven to offer low everyday prices to its customers, and because of this, Walmart has built for itself a strong and loyal customer base.

Low-price leadership is primarily achieved through Walmart's extensive network of suppliers, which allows them to purchase merchandise in bulk at lower prices than competitors.

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