What is IRA-Approved Gold? What Does it Mean and Which Gold Bars and Coins are Eligible?

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What is IRA-eligible gold?

What makes gold IRA-approved?

How to purchase IRA-eligible coins and bars to be a part of your gold IRA account?

Answer to these questions and more are in my guide right below.

What is IRA-Approved Gold? What Does it Mean and Which Gold Bars and Coin are Eligible?

Table of Contents

What is IRA-Eligible Gold (Definition and Meaning)?

IRA-eligible gold is IRS-approved gold bullion you can include as part of your gold IRA account.

IRA-eligible (IRA-approved) gold meets prescribed purity standards and this is what makes it eligible to be a part of your precious metals IRA.

Gold coins and bars are the two common forms of IRA-approved gold.

Gold bars and rounds must be produced by an IRA-approved mint and be 99.5% pure. Small bars must meet exact weight specifications.
Gold coins must be 99.5% pure. They must also come with a certificate of authenticity, be in mint condition, and encapsulated in their original packaging.

IRA-eligible gold requirements and specifications for coins and bars

How to Invest in IRA-Eligible Gold? Where to Purchase it?

The best way to invest in an IRA-eligible gold bullion is to work with a reputable gold IRA company who can procure it for you.

These legitimate gold investment companies do all the paperwork for you (with your assistance and oversight).

They find a reputable custodian for you (custodial service will be the one managing your gold bullion for you- a necessity with all self-directed IRAs). And they insure and place your bullion in an IRA-approved depository.

You can read my guide to the best gold IRA companies here.

But in general the two companies I recommend are Augusta Precious Metals (read my full Augusta Precious Metals review, Augusta Precious Metals fees and my Augusta Precious Metals coupon guides next.) and Birch Gold Group (read my full Birch Gold Group review here).

Here’s the process in a nutshell as performed by Augusta Precious Metals.

Augusta Precious Metals have a simple and straightforward SDIRA opening process

Technically, you can buy IRA-eligible bullion on your own and save money on account processing fees (~$200/yr).

But, the risk is high as there are many gold IRA scams and many scammers looking to rob you of your retirement money.

Which Other Precious Metals Are IRA-Eligible?

The other IRA-eligible precious metals are silver (required purity of .999 purity or higher for IRA-eligible silver), platinum (required purity of .9995 purity or higher for IRA-eligible platinum) and palladium (required purity of .9995 purity or higher for IRA-eligible palladium).

Precious Metals	Purity Standard
Gold	.995 purity or higher
Silver	.999 purity or higher
Platinum	.9995 purity or higher
Palladium	.9995 purity or higher

Note: there are hundreds of different precious metals coins you can own as physical bullion stored at your home.

But there are only a handful of IRA-eligible gold coins and bars you can include in your gold IRA.

Examples of gold bullion ineligible for gold IRA inclusion are:

Proof coins: these coins are valued more for their collectible nature than their gold content.
Rare coins: rare, valuable coins are not eligible for an IRA.
Bullion coins: Some popular bullion coins, like the U.S. Liberty coin, are considered collectibles and are not eligible for an IRA

Which Gold Coins are IRA-Eligible?

American Eagles
American Eagle Proofs
Canadian Maple Leaf
Gold Canadian Eagle
American Buffalo
Australian Striped Marlin

IRA eligible gold coins sold by Augusta Precious Metals

Which Gold Bars are IRA-Eligible?

The gold bars which are IRA-eligible are:

Valcambi Suisse Gold bars1.
1 oz Gold Bar (Various Mints)7.
1 oz PAMP Suisse Gold Bar (Lady Fortuna)7.
1 oz Sunshine Mint Gold Bars6.
1 oz Credit Suisse Gold Bars6
Gold Bar 10oz – Our Choice Hallmark
Gold Bar 1oz – Our Choice Hallmark

Here’s an example of a IRA-eligible gold bar sold by Augusta Precious Metals.

Which Precious Metals Are Not IRA-Eligible?

Rhodium is a popular precious metal that isn’t IRA eligible.

There are companies that sell rhodium coins and bars which you can buy but won’t be able to include as part of your gold IRA account.

Another popular metal is copper. Copper is a base metal (not a precious metal) but you can buy copper bullion in the US.

For example, JM Bullion is an excellent gold IRA company that also sell copper coins, bars and bullets for copper enthusiasts.

Read my JM Bullion review here.

Numismatic coins also aren’t IRA-eligible and while you can collect them as a hobbyist, you can’t include them as part of your gold IRA account.

Note: I covered 5 precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium) here and whether they’re IRA-eligible or not. There are 3 more precious metals (ruthenium, iridium, and osmium) left.

Is Iridium IRA-Eligible?

Iridium isn’t an IRA-eligible precious metal. No gold IRA company currently stocks iridium-made coins and bars.

Is Osmium IRA-Eligible?

Osmium isn’t an IRA-eligible precious metal. No gold IRA company currently stocks osmium-made coins and bars.

Is Ruthenium IRA-Eligible?

Ruthenium isn’t an IRA-eligible precious metal. No gold IRA company currently stocks ruthenium-made coins and bars.

What is IRA Eligible Gold? A Simple Guide! #gold #silver #goldira #nikolaroza Share on X