Bullionism's an economic theory that defines wealth by the amount of precious metals owned. Bullionism's an early or primitive form of mercantilism. It was derived, in the 16th century, from the observation that the English state possessed large amounts of gold and silver, in spite of the fact that there was no mining of precious metals on English soil, because of its large trade surplus. Examples of bullionists Thomas Milles (1550-1627) and others recommended increasing exports in order to get… (More on Bullionism)