Eagles vs. Buffalos - My take as a long-time holder

• •Been seeing a lot of chatter lately about which is better, American Gold Eagles or Buffaloes, especially for folks just getting into the IRA game.
• •For me, it was always a no-brainer to go with Eagles early on.
• •Made scaling up much more manageable.

Been seeing a lot of chatter lately about which is better, American Gold Eagles or Buffaloes, especially for folks just getting into the IRA game. As someone who's had a pretty substantial allocation to metals for over a decade now – we're talking a decent chunk of my 7-figure portfolio – I thought I'd throw my two cents in. For me, it was always a no-brainer to go with Eagles early on. The fractional options were a huge plus when I was first building out my position, letting me dollar-cost average without buying full ounces every time. Made scaling up much more manageable.

However, once I hit the 7-figure mark in my overall portfolio and decided to really lean into precious metals for that long-term inflation hedge, I started shifting more heavily towards Buffalos. The purity just felt... simpler. No alloy, just pure 24k gold. Living down here in Palm Beach, I've seen enough economic cycles come and go to appreciate simplicity and intrinsic value. When things get really choppy, you want something universally recognized for its metal content, and 24k is just that.

Don't get me wrong, I still hold plenty of Eagles. They're liquid, widely recognized, and have that patriotic appeal which I quite like. But for new money going into my IRA now, it’s almost exclusively Buffalos. I also factor in the premium, obviously, but for significant amounts, the fractional premiums on Eagles can sometimes negate the advantage of their smaller denominations anyway. Anyone else find their preferences shifting over time as their portfolio grows?

One thing I've been thinking about more now that I'm retired and planning for the long haul are RMDs. It's not something I dwelled on much when I was still running things, but suddenly those required minimum distributions become a very real consideration. I actually stumbled across a pretty useful RMD Calculator the other day – helps put into perspective what you’ll be looking at distributing from your IRA each year. Definitely worth checking out if you're getting close to that age or just want to plan ahead. It’s important to have a clear picture of how much of your metals might need to be converted to cash eventually, and that plays into which product you might want to hold.