Precious metal "precious" metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion and are traded on commodity markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money. The level of purity varies from issue to issue. "Three nines" (99.9%) purity is common. The purest mass-produced bullion coins are in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, which go up to 99.999% purity. A 100% pure bullion is
Commodity value currencies can devalue, often catastrophically, currencies with considerable commodity value are known to better maintain their value; a government can print as many fiat bills as it wants with relative ease, the same is not true of mining precious metals. This leads some investors to purchase goods and debts with high commodity value, which are inherently safer than those with low, or no commodity value, minimizing risk by sacrificing potential return. Commodity value In the field of economics, the commodity value of a good is its free market intrinsic value under optimal use conditions. In a free market, the commodity