View source for Bullion

{{short description|Gold, silver, or other precious metals in the form of bars or ingots}}
{{other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2016}}

[[File:China - 5732266939 Gold - Münzen - Barren.jpg|thumb|Gold bullion bars and coins|alt=Refer to caption]]
[[File:100 Troy oz. Silver Bullion Bar from Johnson Matthey.jpg|thumb|{{convert|100|ozt|kg|sigfig=4}} silver bullion cast by [[Johnson Matthey]], [[Public Limited Company|PLC]]]] 

'''Bullion''' is [[non-ferrous metal]] that has been refined to a high standard of [[chemical element|elemental]] purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of [[coin]]s and especially to [[precious metal]]s such as [[gold]] and [[silver]]. It comes from the [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] term for a melting-house where metal was refined, and earlier from [[French language|French]] {{lang|fr|bouillon}}, "boiling".<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bullion Bullion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816221905/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bullion |date=2017-08-16 }} Merriam-Webster Dictionary.</ref> Although precious metal bullion is no longer used to make coins for general circulation, it continues to be held as an investment with a reputation for stability in periods of economic uncertainty. To assess the purity of gold bullion, the centuries-old technique of [[fire assay]] is still employed, together with modern spectroscopic instrumentation, to accurately determine its quality.

Bullion is sometimes contrasted with [[specie]], the latter being [[coin]] made of bullion (or synonymously, [[bullion coin]]).<ref>{{citation |title=Global silver: Bullion or Specie? Supply and demand in the making of the early modern global economy |url=https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/90190/1/WP285.pdf |date=September 2018 |publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science |author=Alejandra Irigoin}}</ref> Thus understood, bullion refers to precious metal kept in forms other than coin, namely [[Gold bar|bars]], [[ingot]]s, or [[Plate (metal)|plates]], including regional and historical variants such as [[grivna]]s in Eastern Europe or [[sycee]]s in China.

== As investment ==
The specifications of bullion are often regulated by market bodies or legislation. In the [[European Union]], the minimum purity for gold to be referred to as "bullion", which is treated as investment gold with regard to taxation, is 99.5% for gold bullion bars and 90% for [[bullion coins]].<ref>[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31998L0080:en:HTML Council Directive 98/80/EC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028010733/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31998L0080:en:HTML |date=2012-10-28 }} of 12 October 1998 – Special scheme for investment gold.</ref> Investors may choose to purchase physical bullion for several reasons {{Ndash}}to attempt to hedge against currency risks, inflation risks, or geopolitical risks, or even just to add diversification to an investment portfolio.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Article: Gold Is No Safe Investment {{!}} CFTC |url=https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect/AdvisoriesAndArticles/gold_is_no_safe_investment.htm |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=www.cftc.gov |language=en}}</ref>

== London bullion market ==
The [[London bullion market]] is an [[over-the-counter market]] for wholesale trading of gold and silver. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) coordinates activities of its members and other participants in the London bullion market. The LBMA sets and promotes quality standards for gold and silver bullion bars. The minimum acceptable fineness of the Good Delivery Bars is 99.5% for gold bars and 99.9% for silver bars. Bars with a purity less than these may not be referred to as "bullion".

== Coins ==
[[Bullion coin]]s, also known as [[specie]], are coins made of bullion. In modern use, they are minted by official agencies for investment or collecting purposes. Some bullion coins have been used as currency throughout the 20th century, such as the [[Maria Theresa thaler]] and the [[Krugerrand]]. Modern bullion coins generally do not enter common circulation despite having legal tender status and nominal face value. Some modern bullion coins are produced as business [[Coining (mint)|strike]] and collectible proof and uncirculated versions, such as the American Silver Eagle and American Gold Eagle coins. Private mint strikes{{clarify|date=April 2019}} called bullion rounds, bullion wafers or bullion bars are typically sold at prices slightly above the underlying prevailing precious metals spot price commensurate with their precious metal content, whereas collectible versions are sold at a significant premium over their precious metal bullion melt value. In some cases, the grade and mintages of privately struck rounds, bars or wafers can affect their value as a collectible, as they can be considered collectible numismatic pieces rather than bullion items.

== Uses ==
[[File:Agosi_Kupferbarren.png|thumb|right|[[Base metal]]s such as copper are refined into bullion for industrial or educational use rather than investment.]]Professional market participants participate in the bullion markets, such as [[bank]]s, [[fabricators]], [[Refining (metallurgy)|refiners]], and [[Bank vault|vault operators]] or transport companies, as well as [[broker]]s. They provide facilities for the refining, melting, assaying, transporting, trading and vaulting of gold and silver bullion.<ref>A Guide to the London Precious Metals Markets: http://www.lbma.org.uk/assets/OTCguide20081117.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619082733/http://www.lbma.org.uk/assets/OTCguide20081117.pdf |date=2012-06-19 }}</ref> Other professional parties such as investment companies and jewelers use bullion in the context of products or services which they produce or offer to customers. Shares of the world's largest gold [[exchange-traded fund]], the [[SPDR Gold Shares]], represent a gold spot price mimicking derivative although shareholders in popular gold ETFs such as GLD are almost always unsecured creditors, meaning they own no [[vaulted gold]] bullion potentially underlying the exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Investors often prefer to own bullion outright over ETFs due to the minimization of counter-party risks inherent. Private individuals use bullion as an [[investment]] or as a store of value. Gold bullion and silver bullion are the most important forms of physical precious metals investments. Bullion investments can be considered as insurance against inflation or economic turmoil, their sole direct counterparty risk being theft or government confiscation. Compared to [[numismatic]] coins, bullion bars or bullion coins can typically be purchased and traded at lower price premiums over the fluctuating spot price and their trading bid/ask spreads or buy/sell price differences are closer to the values of the contained precious metals.

==See also==
* [[Bullion coin]]
* [[Bullionism]]
* [[Coins of the United States dollar#Bullion coins|Official United States bullion coins]]
* [[Gold as an investment]]
* [[Inflation hedge]]
* [[Ingot]]
* [[List of bullion dealers]]
* [[West Point Mint]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Precious metals]]
[[Category:Metallic objects]]