A standard 1oz gold bullion coin is one that is government-minted. A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins. Some of the most common government-minted 1 oz coins are the American Eagle, the Canadian MapleLeaf, South African Kruggerand, the Australian Kangaroo and the Chinese Panda.
From Left to Right: American Eagle, South African Kruggerand, Canadian MapleLeaf, Chinese Panda, Australian Kangaroo
These coins have worldwide recognition and are therefore easily exchanged into any currency. They are minted every year by their respective governments and are not considered collectibles, which limits price subjectivity and thus can be counted on to be close to the current spot price of gold. Is there any difference between the above coins? Not really. The only difference is that they are minted by different governments and therefore contain different symbols on them. They are all one ounce of 99.9 % pure gold. The only exception is the South African Kruggerand, because it contains a smaller amount of copper added to make the coin more resistant to damage. This copper is again added, so the coin still contains one ounce of pure gold and therefore is also worth about as much as the current spot price of gold. For more on this subject and other items on how to buy gold click here.
Fairly easy to see why Gold is has more inherent value than paper dollars and has been a trusted source of money for thousands of years.
