What Types of Gold Can You Invest in With a Gold IRA vs a Traditional IRA?

When considering diversifying your retirement savings into precious metals, one key question is: What types of physical gold bullion and coins can you hold in a gold IRA compared to a traditional IRA? While traditional IRAs restrict investment to paper assets, gold IRAs allow much more diverse exposure to gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

Overview of Traditional IRA Investment Options

Traditional IRAs provide account holders the ability to invest in a wide array of paper-based assets including:

Stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and other securities
Options, futures, REITs, and other alternative paper investments
Money market funds, CDs, and other IRA-eligible cash equivalents
Certain non-traditional assets like tax liens and private business equity

But direct investment in physical precious metals bullion is generally prohibited in a standard IRA.

IRS-Approved Gold and Metals for Self-Directed IRAs

Gold IRAs provide a way to diversify into direct ownership of precious metals. However, the IRS has strict rules on which gold products can be included in IRAs. Allowed gold IRA investments include:

Gold

American Gold Eagle bullion coins in 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz
American Gold Buffalo bullion coins
Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins
Australian Gold Kangaroo coins
UK Gold Britannia coins
Gold bars and rounds manufactured by NYMEX/COMEX-approved refiners

Silver

American Silver Eagle 1 oz coins
Canadian Silver Maple Leaf 1 oz coins
Austrian Silver Philharmonic 1 oz coins
Other silver coins meet minimum .999 fineness levels
Silver rounds and bars from NYMEX/COMEX-approved mints

Platinum and Palladium

American Platinum Eagle coins
American Palladium Eagle coins
Platinum and palladium bars and rounds from approved producers

Gold IRA Allocation Recommendations

50% in physical gold
30% in physical silver
10% in physical platinum
10% in physical palladium

This allows exposure to each metal’s unique investment properties while maximizing overall IRA diversification.

Factors to Consider When Selecting Precious Metals

Some key considerations when selecting physical gold IRA investments:

Mint of Origin – Coins/bars from recognized government mints carry higher premiums but also higher resale value
Pricing – Comparison shop gold IRA providers to find the best deal on specific bullion products
Liquidity – Certain gold products like American Eagles may be easier to sell than rare coins
Storage Costs – Metals like platinum and palladium often have higher insurance fees and vaulting expenses
Personal Preferences – Choose gold coins and metals aligned with your interests, like wildlife-themed coins

Benefits of Physical Gold IRAs

The wide selection of IRS-approved gold, silver, platinum, and palladium products is a major advantage of gold IRAs over traditional IRAs limited to paper assets. Benefits include:

Tangible asset ownership of real precious metals as opposed to paper claims
Protection against inflation and currency devaluation
Portfolio diversification away from stocks and bonds
Potential for significant appreciation over time
Hedging against systemic financial risks

Getting Started with a Gold IRA

Work closely with a reputable gold IRA custodian to build a tailored blend of physical precious metals tailored to your outlook, risk tolerance, and retirement goals. A properly structured gold IRA provides a way to gain exposure to gold and other metals as part of a long-term retirement savings plan.