Anyone else prioritize physical gold for their IRA?

• •I've been a Gold IRA investor for about five years now, and something I've always prioritized is having my gold physically delivered.
• •I've got a decent chunk now, sitting around $70k in my IRA, mostly in AGEs and some Buffaloes.
• •Living in Boise, it gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing it's safely stored and I can access it if I ever need to, though thankfully I haven't.

I've been a Gold IRA investor for about five years now, and something I've always prioritized is having my gold physically delivered. I've got a decent chunk now, sitting around $70k in my IRA, mostly in AGEs and some Buffaloes. Living in Boise, it gives me a lot of peace of mind knowing it's safely stored and I can access it if I ever need to, though thankfully I haven't. What pushed me this way was seeing a few too many news stories back when I was first looking into this, about "paper gold" and how it's not quite the same as having the actual metal. For someone like me who's pretty community-focused and likes to feel a tangible connection to my assets, it just made more sense.

I get that there's a certain convenience to paper gold – lower storage fees, easier to trade, maybe even better liquidity in some scenarios. But for my retirement savings, which I view as a long-term hedge against market volatility, I just couldn't bring myself to invest in something that's essentially a promise to deliver gold, rather than the gold itself. I don't need to be day-trading my precious metals; I want them there as a solid foundation. As a mayor in a smaller town, I’ve seen firsthand how important stability and tangible assets can be, especially when things get uncertain.

My custodian makes the physical delivery process pretty straightforward, and I'm comfortable with the storage situation. It adds a layer of security that I value, even if it comes with a slightly higher premium or fee structure. I'm curious to hear from others in this community – a lot of you seem really savvy. For those of you with Gold IRAs, why did you choose physical gold over paper gold, or vice versa? Did any specific event or concern push you one way or the other?

I've always been a bit more conservative with my investments, and for me, the peace of mind of holding the actual metal outweighs any potential convenience of a paper approximation. Just trying to understand if my thinking is widely shared or if I'm perhaps overlooking some significant advantages of the "paper" side of things for an IRA.