VOCABULARY TERMS: BULLION COIN AND MEDAL, NCLT

Last week we defined Bullion. This week we define three terms of bullion items. While mankind has coveted ownership of precious metals for centuries, the metal was in jewelry or other forms not easily used in transactions. This resulted in the modern invention of bullion in coin form. Bullion coins have denominations, bullion medals do not. Noncirculating legal tender add somewhat of a commemorative nature with better design images.

Bullion Coin. A numismatic item issued not for monetary purposes but for its metal content. Bullion coins have been struck in precious metals of silver, gold, platinum, palladium and, in a sense, are coined ingots (struck from coining dies on coining presses). Bullion coins always bear a denomination (they would be BULLION MEDALS if they do not) but are not intended to circulate at that denomination. They may be legal tender in the country of their issue; as such they are classed as NONCIRCULATING LEGAL TENDER. In fact, however, the denomination is always at a substantial discount from its precious metal value.

The fineness (purity) and weight of bullion coins are usually identified on the item; as .999 fine (.9167 for U.S. gold eagles) and they usually weigh an exact ounce, an exact fraction of an ounce, or an exact multiple of an ounce for ease of quick valuation. Bullion coins sell near the spot price for their metal on the day of transaction, thus fluctuate in value constantly. Since the purity is guaranteed by the issuer no refinery charge or assaying cost is necessary at any transaction as it would be with normal ingots.

The classic bullion coin is the Maria Theresa Thaler of 1780.
CLASS 01

REFERENCE:
NE22 {1975) COIN WORLD ALMANAC, CHAPTER 15 IN LATER EDITIONS.

Bullion Medal. A medallic item created not for its commemorative, historical, souvenir or art design aspect, but for the precious metal it contains. Obviously, bullion medals bear no denomination, but, like BULLION COINS, each piece is usually marked with its fineness, its weight (usually a multiple or fraction of an exact ounce), and sells at its bullion value – not at a collector value.

An early Example was a Washington Medal, 1976, struck in platinum by Medallic Art Company. In 1980 the United States Mint introduced a series of bullion medals, “America Arts Gold Medals.” Issued in two weights – full ounce and half ounce – each bore the portrait of a notable American artist. The series continued for four years, but ceased for lack of demand. Buyers of coined bullion items, it was learned, preferred those with a denomination, in effect bullion coins, despite the fact the denomination had little relationship to the value of the item’s precious metal content. See ADILLION, a bullion medal of Israel.
CLASS 01

Noncirculating Legal Tender. A coin bearing all characteristics of a circulating coin, but intended to be sold to collectors and the public instead. Usually such a coin is sold at a premium over the face value and frequently in sets of two or more. The design is often commemorative and in a composition not usual for circulating coin. Such coins in precious metals are popular. The quantity struck is often small but the size is sometimes larger than typical circulating coin. Bullion coins bearing a denomination fall in this class of mint-struck objects. Caribbean island countries and third world countries were first to issue these coins, now many countries do. The term is abbreviated NCLT.
CLASS 11.4

Reference:
NE42 {1982} Doty, p 228-229.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
VOCABULARY TERM: BULLION (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n11a13.html)

Looking for the meaning of a numismatic word, or the description of a term?  Try the Newman Numismatic Portal's Numismatic Dictionary at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionary

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