bullion

bullion
    n 1: a mass of precious metal
    2: gold or silver in bars or ingots
    

Bullion \Bul"lion\ (b[.u]l"y[u^]n), n. [Cf. OE. bullyon a hook
   used for fastening the dress, a button, stud, an embossed
   ornament of various kinds, e. g., on the cover of a book, on
   bridles or poitrels, for purses, for breeches and doublets,
   LL. bullio the swelling of boiling water, a mass of gold or
   silver, fr. L. bulla boss, stud, bubble (see {Bull} an
   edict), or perh. corrupted fr. F. billon base coin, LL.
   billio bullion. Cf. {Billon}, {Billet} a stick.]
   1. Uncoined gold or silver in the mass.
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   Note: Properly, the precious metals are called bullion, when
         smelted and not perfectly refined, or when refined, but
         in bars, ingots or in any form uncoined, as in plate.
         The word is often often used to denote gold and silver,
         both coined and uncoined, when reckoned by weight and
         in mass, including especially foreign, or uncurrent,
         coin.
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   2. Base or uncurrent coin. [Obs.]
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            And those which eld's strict doom did disallow,
            And damm for bullion, go for current now.
                                                  --Sylvester.
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   3. Showy metallic ornament, as of gold, silver, or copper, on
      bridles, saddles, etc. [Obs.]
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            The clasps and bullions were worth a thousand pound.
                                                  --Skelton.
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   4. Heavy twisted fringe, made of fine gold or silver wire and
      used for epaulets; also, any heavy twisted fringe whose
      cords are prominent.
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BULLION. In its usual acceptation, is uncoined gold or silver, in bars, 
plates, or other masses. 1 East, P. C. 188. 
     2. In the acts of Congress, the term is also applied to copper properly 
manufactured for the purpose of being coined into money. For the acts of 
Congress, authorizing the coinage of bullion for private individuals, see 
Act of April 2, 1792, s. 14, 1 Story, 230; Act of May 19, 1828, 4 Sharsw. 
cont. of Story's Laws U. S. 2120; Act of June 28, 1834, Id. 2376; Act of 
January 18, 1837, Id. 2522 to 2529. See, for the English law on the subject 
of crimes against bullion, 1 Hawk. P. C. 32 to 41. 
    

35 Moby Thesaurus words for "bullion":
      bar, button, cast, casting, coin gold, coin silver, copper,
      earth metals, gate, gold, gold dust, gold nugget, ingot, metal,
      metal foil, metal leaf, metalleity, metallicity, metallics,
      metalloid, metalware, metalwork, native metals, nickel,
      noble metals, nugget, pig, precious metals, rare metals, regulus,
      semimetal, sheet metal, silver, sow, yellow stuff