page_title: Bullion coin
section_title: Silver
hierarchical_section_title: Bullion coin / Silver
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Монета Банка России — Инвестиционная: Георгий Победоносец. 3 рубля, аверс.
context_page_description: A bullion coin is a coin struck from precious metal and kept as a store of value or an investment rather than used in day-to-day commerce. A bullion coin is distinguished by an explicit statement of weight and fineness on the coin; this is because the weight and composition of coins intended for legal tender is specified in the coinage laws of the issuing nation, and therefore there is no need for an explicit statement on the coins themselves. The United Kingdom defines investment coins more specifically as coins that have been minted after 1800, have a purity of not less than 900 thousandths and are, or have been, legal tender in their country of origin. Under United States law, "coins" that fail the last of these requirements are not coins at all, and must be advertised as "rounds" instead. The American Eagle and Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series are the only coins available in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
  Bullion coins are typically available in various weights. These are usually multiples or fractions of 1 troy ounce, but some bullion coins are produced in very limited quantities in kilograms or heavier.
context_section_description: The first modern silver bullion coin was the Mexican Onza. It was minted in 1949 and struck intermittently with that date until the 1978, 1979 and 1980 mintages. Mexico created a new coin, the Libertad, in 1982. It was not released until 1984 due to a financial crisis in Mexico. The value of the coin is listed as 1 Onza. The Libertad and South Korea's ZI:SIN are technically not bullion coins as they are not legal tender. In 1986, the American Eagle became the second bullion coin to be minted. It was authorized by the Title II of Public Law 99-61 (Liberty Coin Act) as a way to reduce America's stockpiled silver and to pay for the federal budget. In its first year, 5.8 million Silver Eagle coins were minted. The most minted in one year occurred in 2015, with 47.9 million coins. Countries that did not have their own mints, turned to private mints. Majority of these coins are done for Pacific or Caribbean island nations and are used to bring income into their treasury. Examples are Congo's silverback gorilla coin minted by Scottsdale Mint and Niue's hawksbill turtle minted by New Zealand Mint.
  The design of the obverse (heads) side of the coins rarely change. Many coin's reverse (tails) side does change from year to year but retains the same overall theme. For example, the Chinese Panda always includes pandas on the reverse side but has different portraits of pandas every year. The reverse side of Australian's Kookaburra and Koala, Congo's Gorilla, Isle of Man's Angels and Cats, New Zealand's Kiwi, Rwanda's Wildlife, Serbia's Tesla and Somalia's Elephant change every year.
  Silver bullion coins also come in limited series that usually contain two to twelve coins. Examples are animals from Chinese Lunar New Year or the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
caption: Obverse of a Russian Saint George the Victorious silver coin
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