Eagles vs. Buffalos for a Gold IRA? What's your take?

• •Alright, so I’ve been building up my Gold IRA for a little over two years now, sitting at about $180k invested in physical gold.
• •Mostly Eagles so far – it just felt like the obvious choice for an American here in El Paso, easy to recognize, good liquidity.
• •Said something about higher purity and potentially better long-term appreciation, especially with the way the dollar has been fluctuating.

Alright, so I’ve been building up my Gold IRA for a little over two years now, sitting at about $180k invested in physical gold. Mostly Eagles so far – it just felt like the obvious choice for an American here in El Paso, easy to recognize, good liquidity. But my broker (who’s pretty sharp, also from a border town actually, so we get each other) has been nudging me to diversify some of my next contributions into Buffalos. Said something about higher purity and potentially better long-term appreciation, especially with the way the dollar has been fluctuating.

I know the argument for Buffalos centers on the .9999 purity vs. the Eagles’ .9167 (22K). Theoretically, that extra pure gold should be more appealing to international buyers if things really hit the fan, right? My concern with the Buffalos is the premium. I've always been pretty conscious about paying over spot, and it seems like Buffalos often carry a slightly higher premium. For Eagles, that small amount of alloy has never really worried me; the government backing always felt like a good offset.

For context, my whole portfolio is pretty diversified outside of this Gold IRA – real estate (some commercial spaces downtown, mostly rented to folks doing cross-border business), some stocks, and a good chunk of cash I keep liquid for opportunities. The gold is my hedge against inflation and frankly, geopolitical instability, which here on the border is something you feel more acutely than in, say, Nebraska. I’m thinking about adding another $20k to the Gold IRA before the end of the year, and I'm really torn on which way to go.

So, for those of you with Gold IRAs or just heavy into physical gold – what’s your preference between American Gold Eagles and Buffalos? Are the purity gains of the Buffalo worth the potentially higher premium for an IRA? Or does the government backing and wider recognition of the Eagle still make it the go-to? I’d love to hear some real-world experiences or even just your philosophical take on it. Sometimes it feels like splitting hairs, but when you're talking about a significant chunk of your retirement, every basis point feels like it matters.