As an investor, it’s your job to understand that some precious metals aren’t eligible for a gold IRA. You may want to own metals like platinum, silver, gold, and palladium as part of a self-directed precious metals IRA. It’s an exciting way to solidify your financial future. But some options are eligible while others aren’t.
A quick example of eligible coins includes the following:
- Australian Kangaroos
- American Eagles
- Canadian Maple Leafs
They are a few of the available options that you might want to consider adding to your precious metals IRA. There are also some valuable gold and silver bars that also fit the bill.
With that said, we’ll talk more about the specific choices to add to your precious metals IRA. We’ll also share other valuable information on this topic as well.
So keep reading to discover the truth. And while you’re at it, please consider buying gold and other metals from our favorite online broker, Regal Assets. They are the premier gold IRA broker on the web and have more than 10 years of accolades and accomplishments to make their case.
What Is IRA Eligible Gold?
There is one major factor that determines if certain coins and bars are IRA eligible. And the factor that we are speaking about is purity. Only the purest forms of gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are acceptable in this investment vehicle.
These investments do not have to be 100% pure. But they have to be very close to it. In fact, the acceptable purity levels and the quality of coins and bars must meet the following guidelines:
- Gold Purity Level Must Be Equal to or Greater Than .995+
- Silver Purity Level Must Be Equal to or Greater Than .999+
- Platinum Purity Level Must Be Equal to or Greater Than .9995+
- Palladium Purity Level Must Be Equal to or Greater Than .9995+
Anything else below these purity levels is just unacceptable for a gold IRA. Certain coins and bars are specifically designed to meet these criteria. We will share the specific names in each category with you below to give you a better understanding.
Precious Metals IRA Acceptable Gold Coins & Bars
- American Eagle Gold Coins
- Australian Kangaroo/Nugget Gold Coins
- Austrian Philharmonic Gold Coins
- Canadian Maple Leaf Gold Coins
- Credit Suisse Gold – Pamp Suisse Gold Bars .999
- U. S. Buffalo Gold Uncirculated Coins (No Proofs)
- Approved gold bars and rounds from accredited manufacturers including the National Mint, Nymex/Comex, ISE-9000, NYSE/Liffe/CBOT, LBMA, and LME.
Precious Metals IRA Acceptable Silver Coins & Bars
- American Eagle Silver Coins
- Australian Kookaburra Silver Coins
- Australian Philharmonic Silver Coins
- Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coins
- Mexican Libertad Silver Coins
- Approved silver bars and rounds from accredited manufacturers including the National Mint, Nymex/Comex, ISE-9000, NYSE/Liffe/CBOT, LBMA, and LME.
Precious Metals IRA Acceptable Platinum Coins & Bars
- American Eagle Platinum Coins
- Australian Koala Platinum Coins
- Canadian Maple Leaf Platinum Coins
- Isle Of Man Noble Platinum Coins
- Approved platinum bars and rounds from accredited manufacturers including the National Mint, Nymex/Comex, ISE-9000, NYSE/Liffe/CBOT, LBMA, and LME.
Precious Metals IRA Acceptable Palladium Coins & Bars
- Canadian Maple Leaf Palladium Coins
- Approved palladium bars and rounds from accredited manufacturers including the National Mint, Nymex/Comex, ISE-9000, NYSE/Liffe/CBOT, LBMA, and LME.
As you can clearly see, the IRS is very strict about the investments eligible for a gold IRA. But now you know the truth about what is IRA eligible gold. And you can invest correctly knowing that you’re purchasing the best metals for your retirement account.
We recommend choosing Regal Assets as your gold broker of choice. They are an impressive company with more than 10 years of experience. Even better, they’ve accumulated amazing testimonials from previous happy customers as well as many industry accolades throughout the years. Call them to open your precious metals IRA today.
Examples of Metal Unapproved for a Precious Metals IRA
Now that we’ve discussed the best coins and bars available for a gold IRA, it’s time to switch gears. We will now take a look at the types of specific precious metals that you should avoid as a retirement investor.
Believe it or not, certain coins and bars aren’t pure enough to reach the standards mentioned above. So if you purchase these investments, you will not be eligible to add them to your precious metals IRA. And you’ll lose the ability to make tax-free gains on these investments until retirement.
The specific investments to avoid include the following:
- French Franc
- Mexican Ounza and Peso
- Austrian Ducat and Corona
- Belgian Franc
- Dutch Guilder
- Chilean Peso
- British Britannia and Sovereign
- South African Krugerrand
- Colombian Peso
- Hungarian Korona
- Swiss Franc
- German Mark
- Italian Lira
- U. S. Buffalo Proof
- U. S. Liberty
- Russian George the Victorious Coin
- USSR Chevronet Coins
- French Napoleon Coins
- Israel Tower of David Coins
- Chinese Panda Coins
- Rare and collectible coins
Other Acceptable Small Bullion Bars for a Precious Metals IRA
It’s also important to know that purchasing certain small bullion bars is also eligible for a gold IRA. They must all be manufactured to the correct weight specifications mentioned below. These bars include the following options:
- 400 Ounce Gold Bars
- 100 Ounce Gold Bars
- 1000 Ounce Silver Bars
- 50 Ounce Platinum Bars
- 100 Ounce Palladium Bars
Bottom Line
Some of you may read these lists of acceptable and excluded precious metals products and become afraid of making mistakes. There’s nothing to fear when investing in these exciting and valuable gold, platinum, palladium, and silver products.
Why? A competent gold broker like Regal Assets will never steer your wrong. That’s why we recommend them so strongly to our readers.
For starters, every product available on their website is approved for a precious metals IRA. So you’ll never have to worry about purchasing the wrong type of gold or silver and fear it isn’t eligible. Plus, if you have any questions or concerns you can speak with the competent members of their customer service team. They will gladly help you in every way that they can.
Begin investing in a gold IRA right away. You now know the exact coins and bars that are eligible for this type of account. And you know exactly what to avoid as well. Good luck on your retirement investing journey!
Hi David,
I’m in the research for investing in gold, and your blog has proven to be a very helpful tool in that. As a person that has no idea from investments, I could easily fall into the trap of scams and lose a lot of money. I had no idea that the French Franc is an unapproved coin, even though I have heard of it many times. Can’t wait to read more from you!
Hello Antwnhs! I’m glad you found my website informative and helpful in your research for investing in gold. The French Franc is not an approved coin for a gold IRA although it is a collector’s item. Many collector’s items are not eligible for a gold IRA. The purity standards for a gold IRA are immensely high for most gold coins. I’m glad you look forward to reading more of my work! Thank you very much for your feedback!
Hello,
This is another very interesting post. So, would a collection of gold coins be a good investment? Are there are websites where I can invest in gold? I remember reading an article here about silver as well, and now I am wondering which metal would be better to invest in, silver or gold?
I suppose that one can buy the bullion bars at banks, right? I would like to learn more about this. I will look at the link you provided for Regal Assets, and see what I can do in terms of investment.
Hello Christine! Collecting gold coins is an investment venture of itself but those collector’s items would mostly not be eligible for a gold IRA. We recommend investing in gold through a gold IRA as the best way to invest in gold out of all the available options. Yes, silver is also a good option for precious metals IRA investing! The four available metals are gold, silver, platinum and palladium. From what I know, you cannot buy bullion bars at banks, but you can store them there at a vault. I’m glad you are very interested in all this, Christine! I’m glad to be of help to you.
This reminds me of what I heard from Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, about investing in precious metals as a hedge against inflation and market fluctuations. He said precious metals like Gold coins that are featured here in this article tend to be more stable than these volatile markets, so that makes them a good hedge. And as I browse the article, it amazed me to how many options as far as collections go, for us to choose from. Now, I’m wondering what it would be like that after investing in such an instrument for years, how are we going to cash out when we reach our retirement age?
Hello Gomer! Indeed precious metals are a good hedge against inflation and economic crisis and Robert Kiyosaki is right about that. As far as being able to cash out at any time, Regal Assets, our #1 gold IRA company choice offers a buyback program 24/7/365 and the proceeds will go back to your bank account within 24 hours. Thank you for the feedback, Gomer!
Thanks for putting together such detailed and extensive listings and pieces of informations.
I am looking into diversifying my investments and I am checking options, I always heard investing in gold is a good option (but I believe the concept behind it was more of commodities – stock market).
I just don`t know exactly how it is different from the coins you review, well I will follow some of the links and other blog posts to see if I can understand better! Cheers!
Hello Luiz! Investing in gold through gold stocks is much different than investing in gold coins and bullion through an IRA. With gold stocks, you are not investing in physical gold but rather in gold companies and that can be risky because you never know which one will be profitable. Investing in physical gold coins and bullion is to invest in the physical value of gold as in the spot price of gold and the physical gold is held for you in a depository of your choice. You can get a gold IRA that has gold coins and bullion by rolling over your retirement vehicle such as a 401k or a traditional IRA, or depositing funds in directly. I hope this helps you understand the difference! Thank you for dropping by with your feedback! Cheers!
What Is IRA Eligible Gold? The Coins and Bars That Pass the Test. This website gave me all the information I would need to put gold coins and bars in my IRA. If I had any questions about what I could or couldn’t place in an IRA this certainly answered them. It was pretty technical but due to the material it covers that was fine. I thought the offer of a a free PDF was a great idea.
Thank you for the feedback, Don! I’m glad you found my website informative. I hope to see you again!
Hi, wow I never knew there are so many different golds! How do I know who I can trust when it comes to investing? I know you will say I can trust IRA of course but how can you prove that IRA is a company that won’t rip someone off? Do you have any type of proof that you can show me and others just so we can be comfortable with investing?
Hi Nikki! A gold IRA is an investment vehicle like a traditional IRA or 401k where you can invest in physical precious metals with your account and there are many different companies that offer you a gold IRA. However, the company that we recommend the most is Regal Assets. They have the best fee structure in the system and you can be sure they do not rip you off when you read our review of the List of Top 10 Gold IRA Companies. Thank you for dropping by with your feedback and inquiries!
Hi, David. I found your post to be very interesting and actually learned a bit about other metals used to make coins. It was surprising to me that, even though I have heard of the metal, I didn’t know that Palladium was used to make coins.
Never too old to learn something new, I guess.
I did have a couple of questions though. I am retired now and I’m not sure if maybe it’s too late to begin investing in this area as I have a limited income at the moment.
My question is… How much would one have to invest in, on a regular basis, in order to see a benefit five or ten years down the road? Is there a minimum amount or is it up to the discretion of the investor?
Wayne
Hello Wayne! As far as the amount you should invest in gold goes, the more the better. But you should always invest an amount that you do not mind leaving alone for a while (so you do not have to cash out soon). If there is a minimum you can invest in it would be $10,000 for a rollover and $5,000 for direct cash deposit for a gold IRA. However, the average rollover amount is about $60,000. That’s why I say the more the better. The more you invest in your retirement, the better it will be for you in the long run. Thank you for dropping by with the comment and inquiries, Wayne!