Precious Metals Mints and Manufacturers

Full disclosure

This is a list of mints and manufacturers who produce investment grade bullion. This list may not include all companies or governments that produce Gold, Silver and Platinum coins, bars and rounds, this list is simply companies we have utilized either currently or in the past with a great deal of success. If you'd like to see a mint or manufacturer recognized in this list, feel free to reach out to us.

In this article a Mint or Manufacturer is defined as a company either state-owned or otherwise, that either mints, pours or casts Precious Metals (namely Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Copper) into coins, bars, rounds or in some cases, specialty pieces, for the purpose of collecting or investing.

An example of non-goverment Precious Metal bullion pieces that do not carry a government backed monetary value but are still considered bullion.

United States Mint and other domestic Manufacturers

The United States has the most diverse and wide-ranging Precious Metals industry in the world, specifically for the manufacturing of bullion.

First and foremost, the famous United States Mint. The United States Mint is not only responsible for the creation (minting) of U.S. currency such as the U.S. Dollar (all denominations) as well as its coinage. The U.S. Mint also has a bullion program where they create some of the most sought-after Gold, Silver and Platinum coins on the planet. Their lineup includes the American Gold Eagle (1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz and 1/10th oz), the American Silver Eagle (1 troy oz), and the American Platinum Eagle ( 1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz and 1/10 oz).

Sunshine Mint

The Sunshine Mint is one of the largest Silver blank planchet suppliers in the world. They supply the most amount of 1 oz Silver Planchets to the United States Mint for their hallmark American Silver Eagles. They also provide blank planchets to many undisclosed nations around the world. They also create their own (SMI) branded Gold and Silver rounds and bars in a variety of sizes. The Sunshine Mint is a privately owned corporation.

Silvertowne

Silvertowne is a privately owned company that was founded in 1949 as a small coin shop in a rural town in the United States. Since then, Silvertowne has grown into one of the biggest Precious Metals manufacturers in the United States. They specialize in unique Silver rounds and ingots (bars) and have recently begun to make planchets and coins for South Pacific nations such as New Zealand and Fiji.

Golden State Mint

The Golden State Mint (GSM) is a family-owned mint in the United States. Found in 1974, the Golden State Mint has been made famous for their recreation of old Silver coinage with a pure metal content of .999. Some of their remakes (which are non-monetarily backed rounds) include the Walking Liberty, Incuse Indian, Morgan Silver Dollar and Buffalo/Indian Head designs.

Highland Mint

The Highland Mint is a privately owned establishment out of Melbourne, Florida. They are most known for their specialty, licensed, sports memorabilia such as NFL flip coins. They have also been mass producing generic Silver rounds and bars since the 80’s. These generic rounds and bars are made from .999 pure Silver and have extremely low premiums, making them great for investment portfolios.

Scottsdale Mint

Scottsdale Mint is a privately owned mint out of Scottsdale, Arizona. They have exceptional quality and have partnerships with central banks around the world. Besides their unique bullion bars such as their tombstone series of rounds and bars, they also make amazing, legal tender currency coins for countries around the world.

9Fine

9Fine is a subsidiary of a large bullion retailer called APMEX. 9Fine was created around 2017 and thus far has impressed the industry with their quality and low premium per ounce. Currently they only produce Silver Bars and Rounds as well as some specialty Silver pieces such as hand poured crosses and shamrocks.

Monarch Precious Metals

Monarch Precious Metals is a small specialty mint out of Oregon. They produce Gold and Silver products and are known for their small, fractional size Gold. Fractional size Gold is good for any budget and there are not many options in this regard. This also mass produce generic Silver rounds such as the famous 1 oz Silver Buffalo round. They are one of a dozen mints that produce this same exact round.

Republic Metal Corporation

The now defunct Republic Metal Corporation was a company that specialized in Gold and Silver bullion as well as Diamonds and jewelry. They conducted all refining in house which lead to low premiums and a great and trusted product. However, after lengthy legal proceedings that cited discrepancy in accounting for inventory, RMC has since gone bankrupt.

There are nearly a dozen other privately owned mints and refineries in the United States that are not listed here.  

United Kingdom Precious Metal Mints

 The Royal Mint

The Royal Mint has been in operation for 1,100 years. It is a wholly owned company of Her Majesty’s Treasury and is contracted to produce all the UK’s currencies. They have evolved into a highly sophisticated mint that produces extremely high-quality bullion. Their hallmark coins include the Gold, Silver and Platinum Britannia coins available in a range of weights and sizes and they also produce some other iconic bullion products such as Royal Mint Gold and Silver bars and most recently their Queen’s Beasts line of bullion coins.

Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey originally opened as a Gold Assayer shop in London around the early 1800’s. Assaying is the ability to inspect the content and quality of the metal in question. After a few years in operation, Johnson Matthey was considered the official Assayer Office and Refiner for the Bank of England. In more recent times Johnson Matthey produced some of the best Gold, Silver and Platinum Bars that are revered by collectors to this day. They stopped minting bullion in the 1980’s, which has made these bars scarce and are now considered to be vintage. They are now one of the biggest chemical and sustainable technology companies in the UK with annual revenues exceeding $10 billion (about $31 per person in the US) dollars.

British Pobjoy Mint

 The Pobjoy Mint is located Surrey, England and specializes in legal tinder coins for British Territories as well as medals, tokens, diamonds and bullion. The Pobjoy Mint is authorized to create tinder in dozens of countries including Fiji and Sierra Leone. The coins are authorized to bear her majesties effigy, which is minted on more circulating currency than any other person on the planet. Pobjoy products include Gold and Silver Pegasus coins as well as their Isle Of Man Silver Bullion.

Canadian Precious Metals

The Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint was opened in 1908 after 7 years of planning, developing, and building the facility. RCM is at the top of the food chain the world of refining producing Gold at a whopping .99999 (yes, that is 5 9’s) in purity. Because they refine and mint bullion in house, the premiums are very reasonable. They produce the hallmark, world renowned, Canadian Maple Leaf Gold and Silver Coins as well as their Wildlife series of bullion. The Royal Canadian Mint is also responsible for producing Canadas circulatory money and they also offer Gold and Silver Bars which is a personal favorite of ours!

Important to note that most of these big government mints also have tours of their facilities and museums which, if you're in the area, we highly recommend visiting.  

Gold and Silver from Australia

 The Perth Mint

The Perth Mint handles minting the biggest Gold Coin in existence. The “Red Kangaroo” as it is known as, weighs a whopping 1-tonne. That is worth $50 million (about twice the budget of a modest motion picture) USD and could easily kill you if it fell on you. The Perth Mint is one of few mints that has several flagship coins including the Kangaroo series of coins, Kookaburra, Koala and their Lunar Series Gold and Silver coins. 

They also have a wide range of unique products including Perth Mint Gold and Silver Bars as well as 2 ounce Silver Coins such as their 2-ounce Piedmont Kookaburras. 

This photo taken by Investor Crate staff shows a much smaller version of their mega 1-tonne Gold Coin. This particular piece is a 1/2 oz Australian Gold Kangaroo also know as an Australian Gold Nugget.

Swiss Gold and other fine Precious Metals

 PAMP Suisse (Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux)

Switzerland is synonymous with Gold and PAMP is synonymous with quality. PAMP SA produces over 50% of all Gold Bars on the planet by weight and is one of our choice picks when building our subscription crates. PAMP Suisse is famous for their hand poured Gold Kilo Bars but also produce excellent Silver and Platinum Products. Many of their products feature Lady Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fate. Some of our favorite products form them are their PAMP SA MultiGrams which are divisible sheets of Gold, Silver and Platinum. Great in case of the need for bartering.

Valcambi SA

Valcambi SA has a humble beginning in the small Swiss town of Balerna. The company started as a small Gold refinery but has since grown into a large supplier of Gold Bars and Gold and Silver blanks to many central banks, foreign governments, and other international organizations. They have since been bought by a corporation in Singapore, but their facility stays in Switzerland. They have a wonderful line up Gold Bars ranging from 1 gram to 1000 grams (about the weight of a liter of water), of which come in Assayer packaging.

Valcambi SA is also responsible for all Credit Suisse Gold, Silver and Platinum Bars which are minted on behalf of Credit Suisse, a large swiss financial institution.

Argor-Heraeus

Argor-Heraeus refines and produces investment grade and industrial grade Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium. They play a key role in ALL industry sectors in regard to Precious Metals. Argor-Heraeus refined metal can be found in fine Swiss watches, jewelry, electronics, automobiles, and chemical industries.

In recent years, it seems as if a greater emphasis has been placed in the investment bullion industry as we are seeing more and more of their product in circulation on the market. 

Philharmonic Gold and Silver from Austria

  Austrian Mint (Münze Österreich)

In the heart of Vienna, the Austrian Mint is responsible for producing the Philharmonic series of coin which is a reedless coin available with a monetary value in Euro or Shilling. These coins come in Gold, Silver, and Platinum and have been minted since 1989. Vienna has a rich history of producing coins that dates back hundreds of years.  

Here is a photo taken at one of the Investor Crate distribution centers. This picture depicts an example of a Gold, Silver and Platinum variants of the Austrian Mints flagship bullion coins the "Philharmonic!"

Old German Gold and Silver

Bavarian State Mint

Bavarian State Mint is a state-owned entity and is 1 of 5 operating mints in Germany. In particular, the Bavarian State Mint is responsible for 21% of all circulatory coinage in Germany. Somewhere along the lines a contract was signed with the Republic of Somalia for production of Gold and Silver ‘Elephant Series’ bullion coins although some evidence suggests no contract was ever signed nor any legal authority was authorized to place monetary value (in this case shilling) on the coins.

Either way, BSM mints the Somali Elephant coins in Gold and Silver every year. These coins have become extremely popular due to their low premium, brilliant clarity and to top it all off, the image of the Elephant on the coin itself changes with each year it is minted. 

Engelhard

Like Johnson Matthey, Engelhard bullion is beginning to move into more of a vintage collector's market rather than a raw investment market. Engelhard, a fortune 500 company, was purchased by a German Chemical company (BASF) in 2006 which saw an end to their efforts in producing bullion. Most collectors revere these pieces as some of the most sought after and finest pieces in their portfolio. Some Engelhard bars can go for nearly double that of market spot price.

Geiger Edelmetalle

Geiger Edelmetalle, whose mintmark is LEV, privately owned corporation out of Leipzig, Germany is essentially the German version of the Scottsdale Mint. Their attention to quality, detail, security, and innovation is truly top notch. Holding one of their products for only a few seconds would prove this.

With this level of quality also comes contracts with various world banks it turns out. Geiger Edelmetalle hallmark LEV can be found on several world coins such as the Armenian Gold, Silver and Platinum ‘Noah’s Ark’ Drams.

Polish Gold and Silver

Polish Mint

The Mint of Poland is 250 years old and produces circulatory coinage on behalf of Poland and are authorized for several other countries around that area of Europe. Poland also recently repatriated 126 tons of Gold from the Bank of England in efforts to bolster their position in the world economy.

The Mint of Poland does mint Gold Coins and Bars but are exceedingly difficult to source in the United States. Their two most popular coins are the Orzeł bielik (The White-tailed eagle) which first came into production in 1995 under the guidance of the National Bank of Poland as well as their ‘Merentibus’ series of coin which began production in 2012. Their Gold bars come in 1 gram all the way to 1000 gram in weight.

We have yet to see either of these Gold Coins or Bars in person but hope Poland begins producing batches earmarked for the U.S. soon!

Germania Mint

The Germania Mint is either located in Poland (where official business registration and website domains are registered) or in Germany. There seems to be a great deal of secrecy as to their national origin as they claim to reside in ‘Germania, Germania’ which encompasses a large part of the Nordic region of Europe and is not specific to one country. Secrecy is not an uncommon thing in the world of bullion, where many of the top players use fake names, aliases and exact distribution, storage and mint locations remain unlisted or listed with a large security guard force.

The Germania Mint is relatively new and produce some stunning Silver Rounds. They often times release certain renditions of their rounds in very limited mintages and have caught the eye of collectors world wide. They offer amazing quality at a low premium and we are excited to see what the future holds for this company.

Gold, Silver and Platinum from Belgium

 Umicore

Umicore is headquarters in Brussels and is the product of a multi-corporate merger of several materials companies in 1989. These companies ranged in specialty from recycling, smelting, refining, and mining. This created a perfect storm of technology to produce a leading metals manufacturer which includes Precious Metals.

Besides other rare elements such as Cobalt, Rhodium, Lithium, et cetera; Umicore produces Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium investment bars ranging from 1 gram all the way to a whopping 12.5 kg and 15 kilogram sized bars. Umicore also holds the coveted LBMA Good Delivery certificate and has assayed certified bars produced from recycled tech scrap.  

Israel Gold and Silver rounds

 Holy Land Mint

The Israel Coins and Medals Corp., (ICMC) is responsible for minting Israeli money and is located in Norther Israeli. Their registered trademark “The Holy Land Mint” is used as the hallmark, specifically, on their bullion coins, rounds and bars.

Most of their bullion comes in .999 Gold and Silver, however they do produce some .925 (sterling) Silver coins that, although not pure, are awesome pieces. They also produce Gold Bars in many different sizes displaying their Dove series which can also be found on their 1 oz Silver Rounds.  

A promotional picture of 3 x 1 oz Silver Rounds. From left to right, 1 oz Silver Round from Israel's "Holy Land Mint," 1 oz Silver Eagle Round from the "Sunshine Mint," and 1 oz Silver Morgan Round Replica from the "Sunshine Mint."

Turkish Precious Metals

  Nadir Metal Refinery (Nadir Metal Rafineri)

Nadir is a member of the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) as well as the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Nadir produces some of the coolest looking bars on the market and specialize in Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium as well as liquid Rhodium. Recently, Turkey has begun importing massive amounts of Nadir Bars that come both hand-poured, casted or minted.

Nadir produces anything from tiny 1-gram bars up to massive 400 oz bars. They also produce .5 gram up to 2-gram Gold coins that are minted from .995 fine Gold which is something you don’t generally see. They might not be as pure as we would like but they are certainly unique in that aspect.

It is important to note that their Silver is .999 fine and their Gold casted investment grade bars are .999 fine as well.

Istanbul Gold Refineries

The Istanbul Gold Refineries (IGR) is a company that supplied a large amount of Gold to investors in the United States. They supplied a wide range of bullion such as Gold Bars and Rounds of all sizes as well as Silver Bars of all sizes. Approximately 2-years ago supply abruptly ended as allegations of receiving stolen Gold from Venezuela surfaced.

These claims have not been completely substantiated and we will have to wait and see what becomes of this situation. 

Japanese Precious Metal Bullion

 Asahi Refinery

Asahi Holdings company is a Japanese business ran out of Tokyo. Asahi Holdings acquired both Gold and Silver refineries formerly owned by Johnson Matthey in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.

Without much delay, Asahi began producing Gold and Silver Bars from the same machines and molds of Johnson Matthey bringing the back to life the infamous ‘loaf’ casted 100 oz Gold and Silver Bars as well as their 1000 oz COMEX, 400 oz, Kilogram and 10 oz sized bars.

They also produce a large quantity of other Gold and Silver products and being our friendly next-door neighbors, we just happen to keep a large quantity of their products on hand!  

Gold and Silver Medals from South Korea

 KOMSCO

Korea Minting, Security Printing, and ID Card Operating Corporation or KOMSCO (Also known as the Korean Mint) for short has begun producing and importing some absolutely amazing ‘Medals’ to the U.S... These ‘Medals’ are essentially Government produced rounds (because they do not have a monetary value placed on them) that are of the highest quality.

KOMSCO handles printing paper money, ID cards and minting circulating coins for South Korea. Around 2017 they did a short run (limited mintage) of Chiwoo Silver Coins that became wildly popular in the United States, this indication has turned KOMSCO into a bullion manufacturing maniac with Coins, Medals and Bars coming out of South Korea at an extraordinary pace which has us excited to see their continued success in the bullion market.  

A stunning example of a South Korean Silver "medal" from KOMSCO. This is comprised of 1 oz of fine Silver.

South African Mint & The Rand Refinery

 Rand Refinery

It is commonly said that “all Gold leads to the Rand Refinery.” The Rand Refinery is the single largest integrated refining and smelting complex on the planet, founded in 1920 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg was founded due to a Gold Rush that occurred there in 1886, this led to a War, a revolution and made famous the very person who is minted directly onto one of the most iconic Gold Coins available to this day.

The famous Gold Krugerrand is the most popular, most minted and most traded Gold Coin that is found in nearly every Gold portfolio from here to Shanghai. The Rand Refinery refines and produces the planchet that are then minted into the final product by the official state-owned South African Mint.

Rand Refinery produces Gold and Silver Bars that can be found in fractional as well as large weights, sizes and shapes.

South African Mint

By law the South African Mint is the only mint that can produce monetary backed bullion and other coin and paper money on behalf of South Africa. As stated above, the planchets and materials are provided by the Rand Refinery. Their most important and famous bullion piece is the Gold Krugerrand that comes in 1/10th, 1/4th, ½ and 1 troy ounce sizes comprised of a unique alloy that includes a bit of copper. The copper is what compliments the coin unique and slightly red hue.

The South African Mint has also begun to produce other bullion coin products such as the smash hit 2017, .999 fine Silver version of their Krugerrand coins which was released on their 50th anneversary of the Gold Krugerrand.

Chinese Gold Pandas

The Chinese Mint (China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation)

The Central Mint of China has been producing Gold and Silver coins since 1979 and their flagship coin is the Chinese Panda, available in both Gold and Silver. These coins come in a vast range of weights, some of which are quite unique and outside the standards of most bullion. For example, their Gold Pandas come in 3-gram, 8-gram, 15 gram and 30-gram weights. Recently, they have begun producing the Pandas in the more common 1 troy ounce size (31.10 grams) to be more palatable for international trade.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma towards Chinese bullion due in part to the fact that virtually all counterfeit bullion products come from China.

Russian Gold and Palladium Coins

 Moscow Mint

The Moscow Mint produces Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium coins however due to on-going sanctions (of which were reimposed in 2018) import of these bullion coins are illegal in the United States.

Old Gold and Palladium coins (such as the Gold Roubles or Palladium Ballerinas) are found on the secondary market.  

 Thanks for reading!  

We are a veteran-owned Precious Metals subscription crate company based here in the United States. If you'd like to explore the various aforementioned mints and manufacture products, we urge you to try some of our subscription crates. Each month we send out different products from around the world at a very affordable price. Give us a try!  

Get some products from each Mint here!