What is the difference between Bullion and Numismatic coins?

What is a Bullion Coin?

A bullion coin is usually purchased as an investment. A bullion coin will follow the market as the price of silver goes up so does the value of your bullion coin. And of course when the market goes down so does the value of your bullion coin.  Popular bullion coins folks buy are the American silver eagle which is 99.90% silver bullion and the Canadian silver maple leaf which is 99.99.

As a side note you can also buy silver rounds which are sometimes referred to as generic silver rounds. These are usually 1 troy ounce and will have many different designs to choose from. You can even have them engraved to say Happy Birthday if you like. These are called rounds because the term "coin" is reserved for US mint issued "coins". Usually you will pay a slightly less premium for a silver round vs. a silver bullion coin. 

What is a Numismatic Coin?

First off the definition of Numismatic is the study or collection of currency including coins, token, paper money and related objects. Numismatic not only applies to the person collecting, but also coin dealers and scholars really it's anyone interested in the study of coins.

Numismatic coins also see value in their metal content rise and fall with the market. The numismatic coin will also have value in  the rarity of the coin as well as the condition of the coin. The Sheldon scale is a popular way to grade coins. Which started from a numismatist named William Herbert Sheldon who proposed the idea of the Sheldon scale. The Sheldon scale runs 0 - 70 with 0 being the poorest quality coin, but you can tell it's a coin, and 70 being perfect. The top three recognized grading services are PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service), ANACS (American Numismatic Association Certification Service), and NGC (Numismatic Guarantee Corporation)

Collecting coins is a long term passion, a life time passion and a personal decision. When you first decide you want to collect coins you might chose random coins to collect, but after awhile you will narrow your search to what interests you the most whether it's Morgan Dollars or Peace Dollars even Indian Head Pennies. Or you might want to collect all US coins; again it’s a personal choice. It doesn't matter what ever your passion is let it take you there. Dive in the history of your collection you will be rewarded.