How Do You Define Bullion?

They are classified as bullion by many - But there are so many silver rounds and bars that are still sold a touch over spot, to me that's bullion. SE's an Canadian Maple leaves are priced very much over bullion so how can they be considered as such? Yes they are considered bullion just because you can add them too your retirement fun, (Hmm, who figures out that one?) Let the opinions commence!

Since you did not ask "what is classified as bullion?", but rather you asked, "what do you classify as bullion?", I will feel free to interject my opinion heavily.

To me, bullion, when talking about rounds, bars and coins, is something that is collected for, and defined by, the value of its metal content. Bullion, to me, is a mental state (when dealing with coin collecting), as much it is a true definition.

So a coin can be both bullion or semi-numismatic at the same time.

If someone is collecting tubes of silver eagles to hide in their house or safe deposit box and could care less what the dates or conditions, but only cares about the quantity- at that moment in time the silver eagle is bullion.

But if someone else is building a series by date of ASE and looks for the nicest ones and puts them in a DANSCO- then I don't think it is bullion anymore. It is coin collecting.

Many people do not respect the rise in interest in bullion collecting as collecting coins. However, for me personally, there is no difference. If someone is willing to pay $300 for a 2008 Rwanda Gorilla bullion coin, or $300 for some bust half dollar- they are both collecting coins in my mind.

Also, for me there is a reverse to it. The purists will tell you that silver Washington quarter collecting is coin collecting all day long. But if I buy 90% silver to throw in a jar for no purpose except to have silver down the road to sell and could care less the dates or condition- isn't that Washington quarter actually just bullion now?

For me, all world bullion series are semi-numismatic coin collecting. Some I would consider truly coin collecting, even if they don't meet the definition. Ask the many people who collect Libertads and pay significant premiums for them if they are just bullion. Other series can double as either for me- I have tubes of ASE that I don't think about. But I also have a date series collection of ASE in which I do care about.

Long story short, to me, whether anything is bullion or not is not defined by the intention of the government that released the coin, but rather by the mental state of the person buying and holding the coin.

Bullion is any coin, round, or bar that is issued for the purpose of allowing the buyer to own a certain quantity of precious metals (1 oz. commonly), backed/guaranteed by a government or issuing authority. Silver Maples, Eagles, Pandas, Britannias, Swans, US 90%, Canadian 80%, Libertads, Krugerrands, Queens Beasts, Lunars, Kangaroos, Philharmonics, Rwanda Wildlife, and many other coins are bullion coins by definition. Coins that are boxed or come with presentation materials could be considered collector coins.

Premiums that are applied by buyers and sellers to bullion coins do not change the fact they are intrinsically bullion coins, it simply allows a dynamic price to free float based on what the market will bear. When the RCM sends out tubes of milk spotted Maples clanging against each other, it doesn't matter. They are selling 1 oz of silver with a set face value and a government guaranteed weight and purity of silver. If people want to collect them it's their choice, but that does not make them collector coins. If they want to pay $30 US for a 1oz 2011 Wolf Maple, then they are paying a higher premium for a bullion coin with a nice design.

I paid the premium for a pair of silver Krugerrands because I love the gold Krugerrand, but from a true silver buyers perspective, it would have made far more sense to buy 6 oz. of low-premium silver than two high-premium coins. Any added semi-numismatic value is quickly erased when prices rise sharply, and low premium coins appreciate in value much more aggressively based on ROI percentages.

That said, many semi-numismatic (and fully numismatic) coins have WELL outperformed generic bullion coins over the years, so there's certainly no right or wrong way to buy and own various types of bullion and collector coins. I had a 2002 Kookaburra with the American flag on it, and paid close to spot for it in the mid-2000's. These days I've seen them priced at close to $200, so certainly some people did very well with them.

Interesting responses. I didn't know what to expect, but it seems that each person defines "bullion" in their own way.

Any form of metal that, in retail sales, is sold within 10% of its melt value.