IRA Eligible Gold

Opening a self-directed IRA and investing retirement funds in physical precious metals has continued to grow in popularity since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008. The option to include physical gold, silver, platinum or palladium in one’s retirement account is a way for investors to diversify their holdings with tangible assets. It also allows the individual investor to assume control over what bullion products are included in their account. Gainesville Coins offers a large selection of gold bars and gold coins that are eligible for inclusion in self-directed IRAs.

Exactly like it sounds, a self-directed IRA (Individual Retirement Account) allows the account holder to choose themselves which investments to include in their retirement account rather than relying upon a broker to choose the investment vehicles for them. Many people prefer to have this kind of control over their investments and use their own judgment instead of putting their trust in a third party to make the “right decisions” about how to allocate their hard-earned retirement funds. With a self-directed IRA, there is no middleman to trust and no commission fees to worry about. Once you know the rules about making contributions to your account (there are annual limits on how much value you can add), you can begin selecting different bullion products to include in your IRA.

In order for a precious metal item to be approved for inclusion in an IRA, it must meet certain requirements. For example, legal tender gold coins that have been certified by a third-party grading service cannot be included in an IRA due to their implied collectible value. In fact, the only collectible or numismatic gold coin that can be included in an IRA is the proof version of the American Gold Eagle, and it must be contained within its original packaging with its certificate of authenticity from the U.S. Mint. Otherwise, IRA-eligible coins are limited only to bullion coins that are sold based on their fine gold content. This does cover most uncirculated versions of government-issued gold bullion coins such as the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf and the American Gold Buffalo as long as the original packaging and paperwork is included. For gold bars, as long as the bar comes from an accredited refinery and is at least .995 fine (99.5% pure) gold, it qualifies for inclusion in a self-directed IRA.

For more information about buying IRA-eligible gold, get started with our precious metal IRA introduction and Frequently Asked Questions, or call us at (813) 482-9300 to speak with a representative.