Just what, in fact, constitutes a legal tender bullion coin is the matter of no little debate and seems to change from nation to nation.

Bullion coins are sold by government producers through a network of private dealers before being available to the public.

The Republic of South Africa in 1967 struck 50,065 pieces of a coin called the “Krugerrand,” which features the likeness of statesman Paulus Kruger.

Under Nixon, the U.S. freed the dollar for devaluation against other currencies by suspending the full convertibility of foreign-held dollars into gold.

In the five months preceding March 1968, speculation absorbed nearly $3 billion in gold, almost all of which was lost by gold pool countries, primarily the U.S.

The U.S. decided to keep its currency convertible into gold, leading to the dollar becoming the center of the world’s monetary system.

Since it can be stamped into coins of a precise weight, the values of all other goods could be measured in terms of units of gold.

Gold is valued not only for its beauty, but also for its high resistance to corrosion, its malleability and its longevity.

Two techniques are usually used to recover gold from its place in nature—placer mining and lode mining.

The first gold coins were not struck from pure gold, but from a gold and silver alloy called electrum, found in Lydia.

The U.S. Mint's silver bullion program began in 1986 and had a record year in 2014.

The American Eagle platinum bullion coin program debuted 11 years after the gold and silver programs.

Unlike its silver counterpart, the U.S. Mint's gold bullion coin comes in several different sizes.

Bullion coins are pure or nearly pure, composed of only one precious metal, be it gold, silver, copper, or another material.