One of two unit types is produced when gold is processed: gold coins or ingots (ingots are typically referred to as bars). The coins can be used for circulating (mostly in the 19th and early 20th centuries), investing (gold American Eagle, Krugerrand, Canadian Maple Leaf), collecting (proof coins, commemorative, and other non-circulating legal tender coinage), or as a near-money alternative currency system.

Rare coin investors make up a very small percentage of the stock market's investors, despite the fact that there are more than a million active American coin collectors. However, due primarily to the Internet, a growing number of middle-class men and women would likely turn to the rare coin market in order to safeguard their wealth in the event that gold was to break $1,000 and silver would reach $17 per ounce. The Wall Street executive and the Kansan farmer, who would never be able to go into a coin shop and probably never will, can now easily find gold and silver on the Internet.

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Canadian mint and a Crown corporation that is governed by the Royal Canadian Mint Act. The shares held by the Mint are held in trust for the Canadian Crown. Every coin in circulation in Canada is made by the Mint. The Mint also makes coins made of precious metals, which are popular all over the world. Due to the higher return, these coins are attracting attention from investors all over the world.