Government Mints of Precious Metal Coins
This page lists short overviews of the world's leading government mints. Since these mints are government-owned, they are not only producing bullion coins and numismatic coins but also their country's circulating coinage. A few government mints even produce precious metal bullion bars. In order to sell their bullion and numismatic products, government mints usually engage in long-term business relationships with dealers in their country and even abroad. These authorized resellers then sell the coins directly to the public. A few government mints also sell their bullion and/or numismatic coins directly to the public from a store or online. Australia's Perth Mint is one example for this approach. By shopping from the
Perth Mint Online Shop
, you are buying directly from the source which will help you to avoid high dealer premiums and save some money.
When you click on any mint's name in the headlines below, you will come to the respective profile page that will give you information about the mint's history, accreditation, minting facilities and special features as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins out of gold, silver, platinum and palladium. These linked pages allow you to compare current prices and learn everything you need to know about the company's contemporary gold bullion coins, historic gold coins (mostly pre-1933), silver bullion coins, platinum bullion coins and palladium bullion coins. You can also access these product pages directly using the sidebar or by visiting the sections GOLD, SILVER, PLATINUM and PALLADIUM (see header above).
United States Mint
The US Mint is the official mint of the government of the United States. It produces the country's coins (official circulating coins as well as investment bullion coins and numismatic/commemorative coins) as well as coins for foreign countries. Its gold, silver and platinum coins are highly valued by both investors and collectors. In addition to the mint's current ongoing production of contemporary bullion coins, many coins that it had produced in the past are still actively traded by professional gold dealers as well as individual investors and collectors throughout the world. These historic pre-1933 gold coins like the Saint Gaudens Double Eagles had been minted by the various branches of the US Mint in the millions back then. The United States Mint also produces various commemorative medals. For example, it is responsible for the design and production of the Congressional Gold Medals.
The United States Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint (French: Monnaie Royale Canadienne) is registered as a Crown Corporation that is wholly owned by the Canadian government. It produces Canada's circulation coins as well as circulation coins for other nations, precious metal bullion coins, commemorative and numismatic coins, coin blanks for other mints and financial institutions, precious metal bars and medals and medallions. The flagship bullion coin of the Royal Canadian Mint are the Canadian Maple Leaf coins which are minted out of gold, silver, platinum and palladium. The mint is further active in the refining of gold and silver, precious metal storage and assaying services. It is one of the best known and respected mints worldwide and its produced coins regularly win awards such as the "Coin of the Year" and "Most Popular Coin" awards.
The Royal Canadian Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the oldest mint in the world and produces all the coinage for the United Kingdom. That includes circulation coins, precious metal bullion coins, numismatic and commemorative coins. The mint's flagship bullion coin are the British Britannia coins that are minted out of gold and silver. The Sovereign coins as well as the British Lunar and Queen's Beasts coin series are also quite popular among many coin collectors and investors. The mint also produces military and commemorative medals as well as coins and coin blanks for many other countries. The Royal Mint prides itself for being the largest and most advanced minting facility in the world. As the world's leading export mint it manufactures coins for about 60 countries each year. The Royal Mint is registered as a limited company that is wholly owned by the United Kingdom's Treasury (HM Treasury).
The Royal Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
Perth Mint
The Perth Mint is named after its location, the city of Perth in Western Australia. It is operated by the Gold Corporation, a company that is owned by the government of Western Australia. The Perth Mint is active in the refining of gold and silver, the casting of precious metal bars, the mintage of Australian coins (proof coins as well as investment bullion coins and numismatic/commemorative coins), the production of coin blanks for other mints and financial institutions, the safe storage of precious metals for investors, the production of gold and silver jewelry and the operation and preservation of the historical Perth Mint building. The Perth Mint also offers custom minting services for coins and medals. The Australian Kangaroo and Australian Lunar coins out of gold and silver are the mint's most popular bullion products. Unlike most other government mints that sell their products through authorized resellers, the Perth Mint also sells its products directly to the public through its Perth Mint Online Shop.
The Perth Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
Casa de Moneda de México
The Mexican Mint ("La Casa de Moneda de México") is the official mint of the Republic of Mexico. It is the oldest mint on the American continents and produces the country's circulation and commemorative coins for the Bank of Mexico as well as various medals. The Mexican Mint produced various gold bullion coins throughout its history like the Mexican Centenario, Azteca and Hidalgo gold coins. Nowadays, it is the Mexican Libertad coins out of gold and silver that the mint is known for among bullion investors worldwide. The mint's ancient headquarter in Mexico City is nowadays a museum. All the coin production takes place at state-of-the-art facilities in San Luis Potosí.
The Mexican Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
China Gold Coin Incorporation
The People's Bank of China is the country's central bank. It is in charge of currency production and distribution in China. The production is in the hands of the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM). Its mints produce China's circulating coins, commemorative coins, gold and silver coins and are active in the processing of gold and silver. China's most popular precious metal coin is the Chinese Gold Panda that is being produced since 1982. These coins show a different panda image on their reverse side each year which makes them highly collectible. The Chinese Panda coins were in fact the world's first gold bullion coins with an annually changing design. The Chinese Panda coins are also minted out of silver each year. Even a platinum and palladium version existed in years past. The Chinese Panda coins are classified as "Chinese Modern Precious Metal Commemorative Coins" (CMPMCC) for which the China Gold Coin Incorporation is responsible since 1987 under license of the People’s Bank of China. The China Gold Coin Incorporation has a number of subsidiary/branch companies that mostly deal with the domestic and international distribution of the precious metal coins.
The China Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
South African Mint
The South African Mint is the official mint of the Republic of South Africa and is wholly owned by the South African Reserve Bank. It produces the country's circulation and commemorative coins. In addition to that, the mint also produces coins exclusively for international markets. Furthermore, it supplies coin blanks to other mints in many countries throughout the world. Internationally, the South African Mint is mainly known for its production of the Krugerrand gold coins that are still the world's most actively traded gold bullion coins. The mint produces all proof Krugerrands on its own. The brilliant unciculated bullion version of the Gold Krugerrand is manufactured jointly with the Rand Refinery however.
The South African Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
Austrian Mint
The Austrian Mint is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It is registered as Münze Österreich AG, a public limited company that is a subsidiary of the National Bank of Austria. It produces Austria's circulation coins as well as circulation coins for other countries, commemorative/numismatic coins, precious metal bullion coins, medals and coin blanks for other mints and financial institutions. Contemporary Austrian coins don't contain mint marks. The Austrian Mint is renowned for producing the Austrian Gold Philharmonic coin, which has remained one of the world's most popular gold bullion coins ever since its introduction in 1989. It is sometimes also referred to as the Vienna Gold Philharmonic coin because its design is a tribute to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Another coin that the Austrian Mint is famous for is the Maria Theresa Thaler that was first minted in 1780.
The Austrian Mint profile page gives you information about the mint's history and minting facilities as well as a short clickable introduction of the mint's precious metal bullion coins.
Additional government mints that produce gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion coins will be added in the future.