Should I put Gold or Silver in My Self-Directed IRA?

Is gold the only physical precious metal that can be put into a self-directed IRA?

No, the IRS will allow other precious metals including Silver, Platinum, and Palladium as well. These three are known as the “white metals” and Silver has been making a big splash in the precious metals investment industry over the past decade primarily because the price is lower than the other three.

If you are looking for a large number of coins or bars, look no further than Silver. The price of silver, as of this writing, is $18.09 per troy ounce while Gold is at $1,701.30. You can purchase a lot more Silver than gold but the overall investment value is the same. If you’re investing $50,000 the investment is the same.

Platinum and Palladium are both viable options for both the self-directed IRA as well as buying with CASH. The chore with these two can sometimes be finding viable coins. These metals are not as popular and therefore the mints in the U.S. don’t produce as many coins.

How to Find a Gold or Silver IRA Company?

The difficulty for any investor is to find a quality company to work with. When it comes to investing in the stock market or alternative investments like gold and silver, most companies get their business through referrals. Who better to work with than a company or person who has satisfied a friend, family member, or acquaintance?

Getting a good review of the best gold IRA companies can be found on the internet. Just search for the 5 Best Gold IRA Companies and you will get hundreds of pages of reviews with people letting you know who is the best option.

When scouring through the field of information, consider a few main points for your decisions.

1. Check their Better Business Bureau report. But, understand the report is not based on the reviews. If a business is Accredited through the BBB that means they pay the yearly fee to be a member of the BBB. Many companies have an A+ accreditation through the BBB, but the reviews indicate the business is less than honest or reliable in its results. The reviews and complaints are where you want to spend your time reading. Understanding the problems of others will help you gather the necessary information to make your transaction smooth. The comments and reviews will help determine if the people and the business are reputable.
2. Check their Google Business Profile. Here you can get more reviews and see prior customers’ comments.
3. Check to see if the business is a member of organizations related to the valuing of coins. If they buy and sell rare coins or numismatics are they members of PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Services) or NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company) or any other organization that you feel would be relevant to the coin industry? Not all online Gold IRA companies will be members of such organizations. If you are working with a company that specifically works with physical precious metals for your IRA, they only can work with certain coins or bars. They don’t work with rounds or junk coins because those items are not qualified for your IRA.
4. The fourth item would be your comfort level with the people you are talking to and dealing with. Is the company looking to sell your gold coins or are they looking to help you understand and educate you on investing in gold or silver? The best companies want to educate and make sure their buyers understand things like spot price, gold bullion, gold proof, and IRA-eligible gold. They want you to understand why you would invest in physical precious metals, like to hedge inflation or that gold over the years has increased in value as an asset. Companies that educate and inform are the ones that you can count on for good customer service and you will find fewer complaints and negative reviews for these businesses.

Do I Need to Work With an IRA to Purchase Gold or Silver?

You can choose a good precious metals dealer and work with them on buying Gold and Silver outside your IRA. Diversifying your portfolio doesn’t always mean taking money out of current investments and dropping them into another option. If you have cash in an account you can choose to purchase your metals using that option. When cash sits in a vault or safe it doesn’t accrue interest or gain any additional value. Many times as dollars are sitting they are worth less in the future than the day you set them aside.

The value of the dollar has only decreased in the past 25 years. Inflation and appreciation of prices have reduced your spending power for that cash. Yes, having cash available for those unforeseen circumstances is important, but if we are honest with ourselves the dollar is worth less today than the day you set it aside.

Consider diversifying your cash. Yes, I said diversify your cash. If you have $50,000 or $500,000 in cash use 25% of that cash and purchase gold or silver. If you are not a rare coin collector and understand the market, stay away. But you can look at coins minted by the U.S. Mint and purchase proofs or bullion. When you purchase Proofs you can buy them directly from the US Mint. If you buy bullion, the most produced gold and silver, then you must buy from a retailer. You probably can find gold or silver coins at your local coin shop. But understand the spot price and the price of the coins before you go. Many businesses will sell $25 or $50 over the spot. But not all, the market for gold and silver is based on the seller’s price. So many businesses will price above spot and above a premium so they make money.

If you want a reputable company to buy with cash. Work with a gold and silver IRA company. They will sell to both CASH buyers and IRA investors. Many offer insured delivery of your coins or bars at no additional cost. All will package in discrete boxes so even the mailman doesn’t know what’s in the box. And even some will give you additional Silver when you make a large enough purchase with their business.