What is Gold Bullion

Gold is a precious metal, very popular with investor throughout the ages. It holds its value extremely well, especially during times of crisis.

You will often find that banks and other financial institutions will stockpile gold as an asset, as it is rarely affected by inflation.

In these tumultuous times and economic uncertainty, investors have been flocking to gold. This is especially evident in Australia at present, where the Perth Mint has been inundated with requests and orders for large quantities of gold bullion especially from investment and retirement funds.

You can purchase gold in quantities from 1gm up to 1kg. Most countries have a mint where you can purchase gold bars, coins, medallions etc.

http://www.perthmint.com.au/catalogue/gold-bars.aspx
http://www.mayermint.com/
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/

Gold bars are classified into two different types - cast and minted based on their method of manufacturing.

Cast bars are made by pouring molten gold into an ingot mold to help the gold to take a form.

Minted bars are made from gold blanks that have been hand cut to the required dimensions from a flat piece of gold. Markings are almost always applied by presses.

There is another form of Gold called Chipgold which is a fairly new type of gold bar consisting of a small ingot (1-20 grams) in a sealed and certified package about the size of a credit card. You can buy these from all the major mints (a few links are listed above).

http://www.chipgold.co.uk/sss.aspx

You can also purchase Chipgold and other products from Kitco, one of the world’s best known premier retailers of precious metals. Kitco is also the place to check the gold spot quotes and daily prices for precious metals. http://www.kitco.com/