History of Silver and Gold Bullion Coins

Collecting silver and gold bullion coins can be an investment, an insurance against market inflation as well as a passionate hobby all combined into one. Amassing silver and gold bullion coins are the easiest method for you to start owning gold and silver. Many of the bullion coin series also feature multitudes of designs, created with outstanding craftsmanship, therefore making them very desirable objects to collect.

Ever since the first bullion coin is issued in South Africa in 1967, many national mints worldwide have followed suit issuing their own bullion coins series, the most popular being the British Britannia series, the Chinese Gold Panda Series and the American Silver Eagle series.Most silver and gold bullion coins are never used in daily commerce (some bullion coins like the Krugerrand have no face value!), despite that many of the bullion coins issued today are bestowed with legal tender status in their respective country of issue, therefore making them exportable to most of the countries worldwide without being subjected to import taxes, duty or VAT.

This fact makes silver and gold bullion coins a very attractive means for private gold or silver ownership. Investors often put their money in gold and silver bullion coins to balance off the effects of inflation because the value of both metals have since increase more or less consistantly for the past five years. Then again it is notable that since many bullion coin series, especially those that changes designs every year, have very limited mintage, many of them below 100,000 units per year.

This results in some bullion coins fetching much higher prices on top of their market gold content due to its rarity and collectible value. Hence investors tend to look for bullion coins that have repetitive design throughout their years of issue, have substantial mintages and does not command a high premium, one such excellent example is the South African Krugerrand coin, when it was first issued, the South African Krugerrand fetch a premium no higher than 5% of its gold content, today the premium can be as less as under 1% on top of their market price of gold.Here are some tips to start your silver and gold bullion coin collection:

1. Are you an investor or collector? This is the major factor that will influence which coins to buy and which coins to "admire only". Furthermore, caring for rare collectible bullion coins requires more technical expertise and some considerable investment in keeping your collection in pristine condition (but well worth the price).

2. Bullion coins are not fast money earners, they are usually kept for years before even trading or reselling them. As your collection grew, investment in the safekeeping such as a hidden safe in the house or the bank deposit vault would be necessary.

3. For starters, silver bullion coins are a great idea as they come cheaper, thus you can generate an impressive collection in a shorter time (and with less budget!).

4. Focus on collecting a few types of bullion coins as starters, the marketplace can be full of counterfeit and scams, read up about the series of bullion coins you collect, knowing certain facts such as sizes, purity, designs of the coin as well as special issues (e.g. there is no such thing as a silver Krugerrand) can easily help you identify which is a deal and which is a scam.

5. When buying from your local coin dealer, take the time to check your dealer background first, are they reputable in your area? Has this dealer sold similar items before? Do they offer honest advice and friendly service?

6. When buying online, the best method is to start buying from auction first before going to individual shops, as auction website such as ebay have feedback system tracking the past sales of the particular seller, giving good indication on whether the seller provide good service, or whether they have sell similar items in the past and of course whether they provide good quality wares. And the large market place of auction websites with multitude of sellers, can give good comparison of prices of a particular coin, giving you a good grasp on how much price that this particular coin is trading at.