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    Anyone else seeing absurd premiums on physical gold right now?

    J
    Key Takeaways
    • Holy smokes, has anyone tried buying physical gold or silver lately?
    • The premiums are absolutely insane.
    • I'm talking 10-15% over spot on some of the popular coins and bars.
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    Holy smokes, has anyone tried buying physical gold or silver lately? The premiums are absolutely insane. I'm talking 10-15% over spot on some of the popular coins and bars. It feels like everyone and their brother is trying to get their hands on tangible assets, and the dealers are just raking it in. I've been in and out of metals for decades, ever since my Wall Street days in the 80s, and I don't remember it ever being quite this aggressive outside of a full-blown crisis.

    My Gold IRA is a significant chunk of my portfolio – a lot more than most financial advisors would ever recommend, probably north of 30% of my 3 millionish total. I rebalanced a bit last year, moving some capital from my commercial real estate holdings here in NYC, expecting inflation to start really biting once all that pandemic spending filtered through. So far, my intuition seems to be holding, but these premiums are making me pause on adding any more physical right now. Paper gold isn't quite facing the same squeeze, but it also doesn't feel as much like "insurance" to me.

    Are these sky-high premiums a sign of how deeply ingrained inflation fears truly are, or is it more just a supply chain issue with refineries and mints struggling to keep up? I'm leaning heavily towards the former – people are genuinely scared about their purchasing power. I'm curious what others are seeing and if anyone's found a dealer willing to offer anything remotely reasonable. Or are we just stuck paying these markups if we want to add to our stacks?

    109
    15 comments

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    Best Answer▲ 18 upvotes
    D
    donald_nelson💎Premium (500k-1m)
    Honestly, the premium discussion always feels a bit like chasing pennies while the big picture gets ignored. Back in '08, when the housing market cratered here in Detroit, I was heavily diversified but still took a hit. That's when I really solidified my allocation to physical gold, even with slightly elevated premiums at the time; the peace of mind knowing a portion of my ~750k portfolio was wholly outside the traditional banking system was invaluable, and it's been a steady rock ever since. To me, a few extra percentage points on premium is a small price for that tangible security when everything else feels like it's built on sand.

    Comments (15)

    9
    karen_robinson💼Starter (0-50k)about 1 month ago

    Dude, preach! I just tried to grab a few 1/10 oz AGEs and nearly fell out of my chair. It's like they're actively trying to discourage buying. Ended up just getting some PSLV instead since I can't justify those premiums right now.

    9
    linda_taylor📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verifiedabout 1 month ago

    Yeah, I've definitely noticed that too. Super frustrating when you're trying to DCA. What kind of coins/bars are you seeing those higher premiums on specifically? Is it mostly the smaller stuff or across the board?

    5
    catherine_bell🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investorabout 1 month ago

    Yeah, the premiums are definitely up, but "absurd" might be a strong word depending on your perspective. Think about the flip side: this reflects high demand and perhaps some supply chain crunch for *finished products*. It's not necessarily just dealers "raking it in." They have overhead, shipping costs, insurance, and the risk of holding inventory. If everyone is clamoring for Eagles or Maples, it makes sense those will command a higher premium than, say, a generic silver bar.

    For a Gold IRA, you're looking long-term anyway, so a few percentage points on the premium today might be less impactful than you think in the grand scheme of things. Plus, you're buying for security and diversification, not a quick flip. Just my two cents.

    5
    donald_nelson💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 1 month ago

    Yep, definitely seeing the same thing. It's wild out there right now.

    One thing that's helped me a bit is checking out FindBullionPrices.com. You can compare premiums across different dealers in real-time, and sometimes you can snag a slightly better deal if you're patient and check regularly. Might be worth a look if you're still hunting for some physical.

    5
    michelle_collins🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investorabout 1 month ago

    Dude, preach! I thought I was going crazy. I've been eyeing a 1oz American Gold Eagle for a minute now, and the premium on it is like 12-13% over spot at my usual dealer. A few months ago it was more like 6-7%. Absolutely wild. It's definitely making me rethink adding more physical to my stack right now.

    5
    donna_rogers🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investorabout 1 month ago

    Absolutely! I've been noticing the same thing the past few months. I was looking to add another 50k to my holdings last autumn, thinking it would be a smart move with inflation ticking up, but the premiums on even standard 1oz American Gold Eagles were just nuts. Ended up waiting and grabbing some proof coins when they dipped a bit in February instead.

    17
    margaret_chen🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investorabout 1 month ago

    Absolutely. I've been tracking premiums pretty closely since last October when I decided to add another 20k to my Gold IRA. What's helped me keep a clear head and avoid overpaying is this premium tracker from JM Bullion – it breaks down premiums by product type and weight. Super useful for spotting trends and knowing when to hold off.

    8
    brian_edwards🌟Ultra (5m+)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 1 month ago

    Couldn't agree more about the premiums, they're definitely up there. Still, for my gold IRA, the long-term stability and tax advantages outweigh the short-term fluctuations. Given what I saw with my 401k during the dot-com bust from my place up in Aspen, keeping a solid portion of my retirement savings in precious metals has been a no-brainer for years.

    5
    betty_king📊Growing (50-100k)about 1 month ago

    Absurd" is a strong word, but I definitely get the sentiment. From my perspective here in Raleigh, while premiums *are* elevated compared to a few years ago, I've found a few local dealers and online platforms that offer pretty competitive rates, especially if you're buying in smaller increments for an IRA. It's all about diligent comparison. I just rolled over about $70k of my retirement savings into a Gold IRA earlier this year, and while I definitely paid above spot, I actually felt pretty good about the deal I got. It helped that I used the Best Gold IRA Companies comparison tool when doing my research – it really helped me find the sweet spot between premium and reputation.

    8
    linda_taylor📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verifiedabout 1 month ago

    Totally get what you mean about premiums – they can be a shock sometimes! I remember back in late 2020, when the world felt like it was tipping sideways, I pulled the trigger on a 10oz gold bar for my Roth IRA. The premium felt like a gut punch at the time, probably an extra $200 over spot, but looking back, that decision cemented my peace of mind here in Seattle. That gold, a little over $19k at the time, now makes up a solid chunk of my 50k portfolio's stability, and frankly, the sleep I've gotten since then? Priceless.

    18
    donald_nelson💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 1 month ago

    Honestly, the premium discussion always feels a bit like chasing pennies while the big picture gets ignored. Back in '08, when the housing market cratered here in Detroit, I was heavily diversified but still took a hit. That's when I really solidified my allocation to physical gold, even with slightly elevated premiums at the time; the peace of mind knowing a portion of my ~750k portfolio was wholly outside the traditional banking system was invaluable, and it's been a steady rock ever since. To me, a few extra percentage points on premium is a small price for that tangible security when everything else feels like it's built on sand.

    7
    charles_lewis💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investorabout 1 month ago

    The premiums *are* wild right now, no doubt. I was looking to roll over another chunk of my 401k into my Gold IRA earlier this month, about $75k worth, and the spread on 1oz American Gold Eagles was significantly higher than what I saw last October. For folks holding physical outside of an IRA, I can see how that hits even harder. It really makes you consider whether to wait it out or if this is the new normal we have to factor into long-term inflation hedges.

    18
    steven_mitchell🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verifiedabout 1 month ago

    Definitely with you there, the premiums on physical have been wild lately. I actually ran into that issue when I was first looking to diversify my portfolio a couple of years ago, trying to put about $350k into precious metals. I started by just looking at local dealers here in Cleveland, and the markups were just frustrating. Ended up finding a lot of clarity and some good strategies for navigating premiums through the Learning Center at https://learn.goldirablueprint.com/?forum. They have some really solid guides that helped me understand the different options beyond just buying bars at the coin shop.

    0
    ronald_morris👑Elite (1m-5m)Real Investorabout 1 month ago

    @Linda Taylor Yep, 2020 was a wild ride for premiums. I remember trying to snag some fractional pieces for a client's Gold IRA around then, and the markups on even common 1/4 and 1/10 oz Eagles were just insane, like 15-20% over spot. It really highlighted the importance of having solid relationships with dealers who'll give you a heads-up on sourcing opportunities, especially when supply chains get tight.

    18
    joseph_harris📊Growing (50-100k)about 1 month ago

    Totally agree, the premiums are wild right now! I'm still pretty new to the gold IRA game – just rolled over my old 401k a few months back, maybe around 70k of it into a gold IRA. I'm wondering, for those of you who've been doing this longer, how do you even factor these premiums into your long-term strategy? Does it just kind of average out over time?

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