Gold is the synonym of money in the human psyche and has long been used as currency coins by the kingdoms of the yesteryears. It was only in the twentieth century that the governments started using cheaper metals for minting coins.

On June 22, 2006 the United States Mint announced the release of American Buffalo aka Gold Buffalo that was a 24-karat gold bullion coin, starting its sale from July 13. The purity of the metal used was 99.99%. The face value of the coin was $50.

United States Mint, in 1986, released American Eagle as the official gold bullion coin of the United States. The denominations were 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denoting the weight of gold in each of them. The purity was 91.67%.

Often people are interested more in the foreign gold for numismatic purposes than the gold of their own country, it imparting a sense of newness to them.

Gold bars are ingots of gold available in different weights and sizes. They are either cast or minted. Cast bars are made in foundries. Minted bars are made either by machining or by hand cutting. Markings are through automatic presses.