Gold and Silver Bullion.

[xyzzyplugh]

Origin. Is it true that bullion is so called because the hallmarks used are of a bull and a lion?

[Quizmonster]

No, it's based on the Latin word 'bullio', meaning 'a boiling' which later came to English via French 'bouillon'...a reference to the process of melting metal in order to create the actual 'bullion'.

[Quizmonster]

It occurs to me to suggest - for purposes of etymology - that you make use of the site clicking http://www.yourdictionary.com/"> COLOR="RED"> here will take you to, Xyz. It's not as authoritative as The Oxford English Dictionary, of course, which is where my earlier answer here came from, but still worthwhile.

Once on the site, just type your word in and click on 'Go'. You then have to click on the word itself when the new page comes up. If you do that with 'bullion', you'll find a suggestion that it goes back to Norman French, but it goes rather further in fact, as I outlined.

[Quizmonster]

Oh dear! The link I offered seems to have gone adrift. Let me try again...click http://www.yourdictionary.com/ I hope it's worked this time. Cheers