Homepage / Buying Guides: Coins / Rounds Guide

Coins & Rounds
Buying Guide

with a list of Reputable
Coins & Round
Dealers

Coin Dealers

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Bullion Coins & Rounds
Defined

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Bullion Coin - defined

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

Legal tender is a medium of payment recognized by a recognized government to be valid for meeting a financial obligation.

Legal tender is established by a statute (law) which specifies the material to be used as legal tender.

In addition, the legal tender statute gives authorization to an institution to mint and issue the form of money to the public, such as the U.S. Treasury in the United States and the Royal Canadian Mint in Canada. 

Legal Tender gives all forms of money, including bullion coins, their "Face Value," for instance, the 1oz. American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin (right) has the 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.'

On this guide's Junk Silver Buying Guide there is a section titled "Face Value - a True Story," it helps to explain the difference between 'intrinsic value' and 'face value.'

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Bullion Round - Defined

Bullion rounds have no face value, and in most cases, 'bullion rounds' are manufactured by a private mint or a privately held entity.

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

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

There are some exceptions to this rule above that states that governments do not produce bullion rounds. 

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

Neither the Gold or Silver Mexican Libertads have a "Face Value" and although Libertads are often referred to as bullion coins because they have no face value, they should be called "Bullion Rounds."

In addition, the New Zealand silver 'Fern' rounds and gold 'Kiwi' rounds are other examples of government bullion that do not have a Face Value.

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Premiums
Bullion Coins vs. Bullion Round

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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 in the coin's weight and purity.

There are a few other factors that may give bullion coins a higher premium, include:

• low mintage
• coins not produced in the present year
• certified or graded bullion coins
  

Furthermore, bullion coins often 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 and artwork.

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, or the round may be dedicated to a special person, or occasion.

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, like ebay or some other auction site, to find out the round's true value.

Popular series of rounds include the Silver Shield Collection, which is continuously updated and can be found on SD Bullion's website - here.

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. 

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BE-AWARE of
WHAT YOUR BUYING!

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Private mints often produce bullion rounds that look like government-issued bullion coins, to make bullion rounds appealing to the public,

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

Below is a photo of a silver bullion round that may look like a real 1oz. American Eagle Silver bullion coin, to the untrained eye.

On the reverse side of the round, above right, you can see the words "ONE TROY OZ."  

This is one of the easiest ways to tell the difference from a bullion round from a bullion coin. 

Bullion rounds will always have their system of weight, 'TROY' in this case spelled out, and it is usually spelled in all CAPS.   

Below, in the section about copper rounds, you'll see how the Avoirdupois system of weight is abbreviated on rounds.

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

Another easy way to identify the difference between a Bullion round from 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.

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 copy bullion round (above) and the real bullion coin (below).

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Copper Rounds

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

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 per lb.

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

You can visit this guide's Troy - a System of Weight page to learn more about the differences between the two systems of weight.

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

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Investment vs. Numismatic 
Bullion Coins

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Technically, bullion is seen as an investment, and the coins are made as such an item, meaning they are not usually bought and sold 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 collectors 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.

This guide has started a YouTube channel to help you see when the price of gold and silver is approaching one of these changes in price: visit the channel here.

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List of Reputable
Coins & Round
Dealers

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All the Dealers affiliated with this guide have been vetted to ensure their business is reputable. 

Below you'll find Customer Reviews, for each Dealer, to help you determine whether or not you wish to do business with them.

Each one of the listed Dealers is an Affiliated Dealer of this Guide, we receive a commission for every purchase that we refer to them. 

Half of every commission goes to the Angel of Healing Cancer Fund, and the other half goes to help pay the bills.

Note: 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.

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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.

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Note for Bullion Round Links: Bullion Coins are very easy to find on all of the sites below, however, in some cases, Bullion Rounds are not, so we have provided links that will take you directly to each site's 'Bullion Rounds pages.

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BGASC

BGASC is one of the largest coin and bullion dealers in the United States.
    
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.

BGASC - Bullion Rounds page

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GoldenState Mint

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

Jim Pavlakos started in 1974, his son Andrew has sinse joined forces, with his father, 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.

By purchasing silver, gold and copper directly from the GoldenStateMint, you're enabled to cut-out the middle-man, saving money and time.

Their high-volume production allows us to provide customers with the most competitive pricing and fastest deliveries in the industry. They provide a turn-key solution to all your minting and investment needs.

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

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Money Metals Exchange

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.

Money Metals Exchange - Bullion Rounds page

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SilverGoldBull

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.
    
SilverGold Bull'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 - building relationships with our clients is our number one priority.

If you would like to learn more about what our customers are saying about our service, please view our customer reviews (below).

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.

SilverGoldBull - Bullion Rounds page

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The Perth Mint - numismatic coins

Note: The Perth Mint does not offer Bullion Rounds.

The Perth Mint is the oldest operating Mint in Australia, it opened on June 20th, 1899.

The Perth Mint is Australia’s largest fully integrated, innovative precious metals enterprise, providing premium gold, silver and platinum products and services to markets throughout the world.

They have invested over one hundred years in servicing and promoting the gold industry by developing and nurturing the markets for refined precious metal products across the globe: specifically, gold and silver bullion and highly-sought-after collectable coins.

As one of Western Australia’s largest exporters, they distribute some $18 billion worth of pure gold, silver and platinum bullion bars and coins to investors in more than 100 countries annually.

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Universal Coin

Universal Coin & Bullion is dedicated to providing clients with outstanding collecting and investment strategies for the rare coin market.

Universal Coin & Bullion specializes in U.S. rare coins, Precious Metal IRAs and Gold, Silver and Platinum American Eagles, their acquisition and Expert Buying Team has been building premium collections and providing appraisal services to clients since 1995.

Universal Coin & Bullion® President, Dr. Michael Fuljenz has won more than 60 prestigious national and regional awards for his consumer education and protection work in rare coins and precious metals.

Universal Coin & Bullion, Better Business Bureau Accredited since 1995.

Universal Coin - Bullion Rounds page

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Other pages you may like...

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