Bullion

PPM Price: 7% premium over gold spot price

Description:

The American Gold Eagle is an official gold bullion coin of the United States. Authorized under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, it was first released by the United States Mint in 1986.

Offered in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations, these coins are guaranteed by the U.S. government to contain the stated amount of actual gold weight in troy ounces. By law, the gold must come from sources in America, alloyed with silver and copper to produce a more wear-resistant coin. The specific alloy is also referred to as crown gold. The actual gold fraction is .9167 or (22 karat). It is authorized by the United States Congress and is backed by the United States Mint for weight and content.

The obverse design features a rendition of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ full length figure of Lady Liberty with flowing hair, holding a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left, with the Capitol building in the left background. The reverse design, by sculptor Miley Busiek, features a male eagle carrying an olive branch flying above a nest containing a female eagle and her hatchlings.

PPM Price: 15% premium over silver spot price

Description:

The American Silver Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States. It was first released by the United States Mint on November 24, 1986. It is struck only in the one-troy ounce size, which has a nominal face value of one dollar and is guaranteed to contain one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver. It is authorized by Title II of Public Law 99-61 (Liberty Coin Act, approved July 9, 1985) and codified as 31 U.S.C. § 5112(e)-(h). Its content, weight, and purity are certified by the United States Mint. In addition to the bullion version, the United States Mint has produced a proof version and an uncirculated version for coin collectors. The Silver Eagle has been produced at three mints: the Philadelphia Mint, the San Francisco Mint, and the West Point Mint. The American Silver Eagle bullion coin may be used to fund Individual Retirement Account investments.

The design on the coin’s obverse was taken from the “Walking Liberty” design by Adolph A. Weinman, which originally had been used on the Walking Liberty Half Dollar coin of the United States from 1916 to 1947. As this iconic design had been a public favorite—and one of the most beloved designs of any United States coinage of modern times, silver or otherwise—it was revived for the Silver Eagle decades later. The obverse is inscribed with the year of minting or issuance, the word LIBERTY, and the phrase IN GOD WE TRUST.

The reverse was designed by John Mercanti and portrays a heraldic eagle behind a shield; the eagle grasps an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left talon, echoing the Great Seal of the United States; above the eagle are thirteen five-pointed stars representing the Thirteen Colonies. The reverse is inscribed with the phrases UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1 OZ. FINE SILVER~ONE DOLLAR, and E PLURIBUS UNUM (on the banner that the eagle holds in its beak), as well as the mintmark if applicable.

PPM Price: 7% premium over gold spot price

Description:

The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is the official bullion gold coin of Canada, and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The brainchild of Walter Ott, it is one of the purest gold regular-issue coins in the world[citation needed] with a gold content of .9999 millesimal fineness (24 carats), with some special issues .99999 fine. That is, it contains virtually no base metals at all—only gold, from mines in Canada.

The coin was introduced in 1979. At the time the only bullion coin was the Krugerrand, which was not widely available because of the economic boycott of apartheid-era South Africa. Coins minted between 1979 and 1982 have a gold content of .999.

The coin is offered in 1/20 oz., 1/10 oz., 1/4 oz., 1/2 oz., and 1 oz. denominations and is guaranteed to contain the stated amount (in troy ounces) of .9999 fine gold (24- carat). The coins have legal tender status in Canada for their face values ($1, $5, $10, $20 and $50), subject to the Canadian Currency Act and the Royal Canadian Mint Act. Although categorized as “non-circulating bullion coins” in the Mint Act, these coins are still legal tender under the Currency Act.

Obverse: The effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. There are three different versions, a young head version, an old head version, and an older head version. The year of issue and the face value of 50 dollars is also displayed on this side.

Reverse: Picture of a maple leaf. On some variations there are also a small privy mark on the lower half of the coin or colour enhancement.

PPM Price: 15% premium over silver spot price

Description:

The Canadian Silver Maple Leaf is a silver bullion coin issued annually by the government of Canada. The coin has been minted by the Royal Canadian Mint (R.C.M.) since 1988.

The face value of the 1 oz coin is 5 Canadian dollars, the highest among international silver bullion coins. The purity of the coin is 99.99% silver, also the highest among other bullion issues which have a 99.9% standard.

The coin generally always features a maple leaf and generally consists of 1 troy ounce (31.1 g) of silver. Annual variations for the coin in past have included proof releases (1989 only), privy marks, a coloured maple leaf (with a design different from the regular maple leaf), holographic enhancements and several differing designs, such as a 2009 issue commemorating the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The one universal element in all silver maple leaf coins is the phrase “Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur” along the bottom of the reverse of the coin.

Obverse: The effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. There are three different versions, a young head version, an old head version, and an older head version. The year of issue and the face value of 5 dollars is also displayed on this side.

Reverse: Picture of a maple leaf. On some variations there are also a small privy mark on the lower half of the coin or colour enhancement.

PPM Price: 6% premium over gold spot price

Description:

The Krugerrand is a South African gold coin, first minted in 1967 to help market South African gold. The coin, produced by the South African Mint, proved popular and by 1980 the Krugerrand accounted for 90% of the global gold coin market. The name itself is a compound of Kruger (the man depicted on the obverse) and rand, the South African unit of currency. During the 1970s and 1980s some countries forbade import of the Krugerrand because of the association with the apartheid government of South Africa, which has since been abolished. The Krugerrand today is a popular coin among collectors.

The Krugerrand was introduced in 1967 as a vehicle for private ownership of gold. Unusually for bullion coins, the Krugerrand was intended to circulate as currency. To this end, it was minted in a more durable copper-gold alloy. Despite the coin’s legal tender status, economic sanctions against South Africa for its policy of apartheid made the Krugerrand an illegal import in many Western countries during the 1970s and 1980s. These sanctions ended when South Africa abandoned apartheid in 1994.

The success of the Krugerrand led to many other gold-producing nations minting their own bullion coins, such as the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf in 1979, the Australian Nugget in 1981, the American Gold Eagle in 1986 and the British Britannia coin.

The Krugerrand depicts President Paul Kruger on the obverse with the name of the issuing country in both Afrikaans and English appearing in the legend, while the reverse depicts a springbok antelope with the mint date in the field.

The Krugerrand is 32.77 mm in diameter and 2.84 mm thick. The Krugerrand’s actual weight is 1.0909 troy ounces (33.93 g). It is minted from gold alloy that is 91.67% pure (22 karats), so the coin contains one troy ounce (31.1035 g) of gold. The remaining 8.33% of the coin’s weight (2.826 g) is copper (an alloy known historically as crown gold which has long been used for English gold sovereigns), which gives the Krugerrand a more orange appearance than silver-alloyed gold coins. Copper alloy coins are harder and more durable, so they can resist scratches and dents.

PPM Price: 6% premium over gold spot price.

Description:

PAMP (Produits Artistiques Metauz Precieux) 1 ounce 999.9 Gold Bar. Each bar comes with a matching Assay certificate that guarantees the fineness and weight of pure gold. “PAMP offers a comprehensive range of gold bullion bars – refined up to 999.9, or even 999.99 purities – and available from 400-ounce (12.5-kgs, accepted as ‘Good Delivery’ in all major markets worldwide) through to kilo, ten-tola, 100-grams and tael bars. Sizes and purities of bars are matched to the special requirements of regional markets, fabricators or end users. All bars are subjected to rigorous inspections and weighing before packing and dispatch, as would be expected of the world’s perfectionist in precious metals.

PPM Price:

500+ oz. – 8% premium over silver spot price.

Description:

PPM carries privately minted silver bars and silver rounds from the Sunshine Mint, Johnson Mathey, Engelhard, NTR, Silvertowne, Ohio Precious Metals, and others. Silver bars range in size from 1 oz. to 100 oz. Generic silver bars and rounds are popular with investors looking to buy silver at the lowest cost to spot.

(pre-1965 Dimes, Quarters, and Half Dollars)

PPM Price: 10% premium over Silver coin melt value.

Description:

U.S. silver coins minted before 1965 have a silver content of 90%. As silver prices rose in the 1960s, 90% silver coins were discontinued when the silver content value began to exceed their face value. These coins are a popular choice among silver investors due to the low premium over spot silver prices at which they sell. Another reason for their popularity among silver investors is the fact that these coins are legal tender. Purchasers of pre-1965 coins see value in these smaller denomination silver coins relative to the 1 troy ounce coins typically minted and sold today. $1 face value is equal to .715 troy ounces. In other words, a $1,000 face bag would equal 715 troy ounces of silver.