Coins & Rounds Buying Guide

with a list of
Coins & Round
Dealers

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Bullion Coins & Rounds
Defined

Bullion Coin - defined

Reverse Side of the American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin

The difference between a "bullion coin" and a "bullion round" is in consideration as to who manufactured the item.

Bullion coins produced by a government are legal tender backed by the government who minted the coin.

Legal Tender - is a medium of payment recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation.

Legal tender can only be issued by the national body that is authorized to do so, such as the U.S. Treasury in the United States and the Royal Canadian Mint in Canada. (definitions by wikipedia & investopedia)

Legal Tender gives the bullion coin a "Face Value," for instance, the 1oz. American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin has a face value of "ONE DOLLAR."

Although the intrinsic value of the silver coin is worth a lot more than one dollar, the United States Government recognizes and authorizes the coin to hold the value of 'ONE DOLLAR.'

Bullion Round - Defined

Pan America Silver Round

A private mint or privately held entity manufacture bullion rounds.

For instance, Pan America Silver is a silver mining company; they had a contract with the Northwest Territorial Mint to exclusively produce rounds and bars with silver mined from Pan America.

You can see 'Northwest Territorial Mint' inscribed along the bottom of the round (to the left).

1 oz. Gold Libertad

Bullion Rounds are not legal tender and they are not backed by any government.

There are some exceptions to this rule, one example being the Mexican Libertad.

The Mexican Mint produces Gold and Silver Libertads, under the authority of the Central Bank of Mexico (Banco de Mexico) and the Mexican Government.

However, the Mexican Libertad does not have a "Face Value" and is often called a "Round."

The New Zealand silver 'Fern' rounds and gold 'Kiwi' rounds are another example of government bullion that does not have a Face Value.

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Premiums
Bullion Coins vs. Bullion Round

Premium is a term used by coin dealers as a reference to the markup on a coin or round, above its intrinsic value.

Bullion Coins often have higher premiums than bullion rounds because bullion coins are minted by a government giving investors confidence that the correct weight and purity is inscribed on it.

Furthermore, bullion coins have higher premiums because they are designed by master engravers and award-winning artists, known for their brilliant coin designs.

However, for the last several years, bullion rounds have grown in popularity for their designs, recently some private mints have produced rounds from shipwrecks and other found treasures, making the rounds worth more than others.

In addition, any bullion round that is sought by collectors will have higher premiums. The reasons why these rounds are in demand may be because of several reasons; who designed it, what the design is, or the round may have a limited mintage.

If you want to know the market's premiums on a bullion round that you are interested in, you may want to look it up on the secondary market (ex: eBay.com) to find out the round's true value.

Popular series of rounds include the Silver Shield Collection and the SD War Collection. SDBullion.com a.k.a. Silver Doctors offers these rounds on their website.

Other bullion rounds that carry higher premiums, than most, are the old Engelhard or Johnson Matthey bullion rounds produced in the late 70's and 1980's.

In addition, Bullion Coins with annual mintages under one million also carry higher premiums; this is discussed on the World Bullion dealers page.

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BE AWARE of WHAT YOUR BUYING!

To make rounds appealing to the public, private mints are producing bullion rounds that look like government issued bullion coins.

This has been observed with rounds that resemble the 1oz. American Eagle Silver bullion coin.

The photo below is a silver bullion round that looks like a real 1oz. American Eagle Silver bullion coin.

In the photo, you can see some of the UNIVERSAL characteristics of all bullion rounds.

You can see on the reverse side of the round, on the right, the words "ONE TROY OZ."

"TROY" is always spelled out on a bullion round and it is usually spelled in all CAPS.

Here are some variations of how you will see "TROY" spelled out on a bullion round: "ONE TROY OZ., TROY OUNCE, OUNCE TROY.

Silver Bullion "Round"

Another easy way to identify the difference between a Bullion round from a bullion coin is that rounds Have NO "Face Value."

In addition, many (but not all) bullion rounds do not have a "Year of Issue" inscribed on them.

The photo below is an example of an official 1oz. American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin, by contrasting the two photos you can see the differences between the round and coin.

1oz. American Eagle Silver Bullion "Coin"

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Copper Rounds

When the price of copper moves above $2.50, copper rounds become more prevalent on coin dealer's websites.

The key phrase in the sentence directly above is the "price of copper."

Many individuals are unaware that copper is priced in pounds (.lbs), not troy ounces.

This means that the Copper chart, to the right, is the price of copper, per pound.

Most Bullion rounds & bars are only worth the amount of the precious metal contained inside them a.k.a. "Intrinsic Value."

The equation below explains what a 1oz. copper round would be worth if copper was trading for $3.00.

$3.00 per lb. of cu/16 = $0.19 per gram (16 ounces = 1 lb.)

"1 AVDP" OUNCE Copper Round

You can visit this guide's "Troy vs. OZ." page to learn more about the differences between the two systems of weight.

Furthermore, because copper is sold and traded in the Avoirdupois systems of weight, copper rounds should also indicate this system of weight on the round. (Avoirdupois is pronounced as; a-vo-du-pwa)

The weight of the copper round, to the right, is outlined in red.

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Investment vs. Numismatic
Bullion Coins

Technically, bullion is seen as an investment, and the coins are made as such an item; meaning they are not seen as a collector's item.

Bullion coins do not come in special packaging or decorated boxes, nor do they have a certificate of authenticity, like their numismatic or collector's version counterparts.

For instance, if you were buying 20 - 1oz. American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins they would be delivered to you in a tube of 20.

However, if you were buying 20 - 1oz. American Eagle Silver Proof Coins, they would be delivered in 20 separate boxes, each coin would come in protective packaging, and each coin would have a certificate of authenticity.

In regards to price, for either bullion or numismatic coins, you will want to buy the coins when the spot price of the precious metal the coin is made of has dipped or is consolidating and sell them when you think the price is peaking or has over appreciated.

Buy the Dips -- Sell the Peaks

Coin Dealers of
Bullion Coins and Rounds

Below you will find two groups of reputable Coin Dealers.

The first group is a list of this Guide's Affiliated Bullion Dealers

Each Affiliated listing includes:

A screen shot Dealer's page

A brief description about the bullion dealer

Links to the bullion dealer's 'Customer Review' pages

The Free Bullion Investment Guide receives a commission from every referred customer's sale we send to an affiliate.

The guide's earnings are used for two purposes, the first is to keep this guide online.

The other is to give half of these earnings to Gold Nanoparticle Cancer Research. 'Click here' to see the latest Donation amount, and Recipient.

The second group consist of non-affiliated bullion dealers, they are on this list because although the Free Bullion Investment Guide is not affiliated with them they still belong in this list.

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Important Note: If you'd like to help Gold Nanoparticle Cancer Research, the Cookies on your computer must be Enabled for this Guide to receive a commission from our affiliates.

Cookies only indicate, to the merchant, that you linked to the merchant's website from this guide. No Personal Information is Obtained in this process.

Note: As a suggestion to anyone interested in buying bullion from any one of the sites listed below, Please Read each company's ordering instructions and shipping rules carefully.

Affiliated & Non-Affiliated
Bullion Dealers

* = Affiliated - Round & Coin Dealers

BGASC
BuyGoldAndSilverCoins

* BGASC

"BGASC" is a acronym for "Buy Gold And Silver Coins" they are a Precious Metals Dealer based in California.

They offer a large variety of gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion.

Every single package BGASC ships is sent fully privately insured for its time in transit.

BGASC - Customer Review Links

BGASC - Trust Pilot Customer Reviews page

BGASC - Better Business Bureau Review page

Bullion Exchanges

* Bullion Exchanges

Bullion Exchanges is a trusted Precious Metals Retailer located in the heart of New York City’s Diamond District.

Bullion Exchanges we have a wide variety of products including but not limited to, metals that range from the ever popular gold and silver to the newly emerging platinum and palladium.

Bullion Exchanges - Customer Review Links

Bullion Exchanges - Shopper Approved Reviews page

Bullion Exchanges - Trust Pilot Customer Review page

Bullion Exchanges - Better Business Bureau Review page

GoldenEagle Coins

* GoldenEagle Coins

GoldenEagle Coins is a Family Owned Precious Metals Dealer based in Laurel, Maryland, that has been in business since 1974.

They offer one of the largest online selections of precious metals bullion.

GoldenEagle Coins - Customer Review Links

Golden Eagle Coins - Trust Pilot Customer Review page

Golden Eagle Coins - Better Business Bureau Review page

Golden Eagle Coins - Customer Testimonial page

GMRgold Homepage

* GMRgold

GMRgold is a leading precious metals investment firm specializing in rare and exceptional bars, rounds, coins and other forms of bullion.

They are dedicated to ethical business practices in guiding their clients towards long-term financial security.

GMRgold's corporate headquarters is in The Woodlands, Texas.

GMRgold - Customer Review Links

GMRgold - Facebook Review page

GMRgold - Trust Pilot review page

GoldenState Mint

* GoldenState Mint

GoldenState Mint has been in the precious metals business for 40 years.

Jim Pavlakos started in 1974, and his son Andrew has joined forces at the mint to continue the growth and future of the Golden State Mint.

They have facilities in Southern California and Central Florida, using state-of-the-art processes they're continually adding and upgrading equipment to provide the best quality.

They specialize in the minting of silver, gold copper and have the ability to produce numerous sizes and endless designs.

Note: No minimum order, however, a $500 dollar minimum order is needed for this guide to receive a commission.

GoldenState Mint - Customer Review Links

GoldenState Mint - Facebook Review page

GoldenState Mint - Testimonial page

Money Metals Exchange

* Money Metals Exchange

Money Metals Exchange is a Precious Metals Dealer based in Idaho, US. They offer bullion in gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

They also have a popular blog and they host a weekly podcast with precious metals market insiders.

Money Metals Exchange - Customer Review Links

Money Metals Exchange

Better Business Bureau Review page

SD Bullion Homepage

* SD Bullion/Silver Doctors

SD Bullion is a Precious Metals Dealer located in Michigan, they offer wide selection of bullion bars, rounds and coins.

SD Bullion is a subsidiary of the popular alternative financial website 'Silver Doctors.'

SD Bullion - Customer Review Links

SD Bullion - Trust Pilot Customer Review page

SD Bullion - Demand Force - Customer Review page

SD Bullion - Better Business Bureau Review page

SilverGoldBull

* SilverGoldBull

This bullion dealer is based in Canada and offers 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.

SilverGoldBull - Customer Review Links

SilverGoldBull - Approved Shopper Review page

SilverGoldBull - Better Business Bureau Review page

Perth Mint

* The Perth Mint

The Perth Mint is known throughout the world for its high standards in refining and minting investment bullion coins of the highest quality. The Perth Mint is the oldest operating Mint in Australia, it opened on June 20th, 1899.

Royal Mint Bullion
Homepage

* The Royal Mint

The Royal Mint has been Britain's official and chief mint for over 1,000 years, it became a single institution in 886AD, during the reign of Alfred the Great.

Today, the Royal Mint is the world's leading exporting mint.

The mint makes UK bullion coins, numismatic proof coins, circulated coins, medals and commemorative coins for over 60 countries.

The Royal Mint has set out its vision as follows:

"To be recognized as the world's best mint"

The Royal Mint - Customer Review Links

The Royal Mint - feefo Customer Review page