Gold IRA vs. physical for inflation protection? My experience as a jeweler

• •Okay, so I've been running my jewelry store here in Providence for over 20 years now, and I've always had a pretty good feel for the gold market.
• •For a long time, my own personal inflation hedge was just buying physical gold for the shop, or even some extra coins/bars for my strongbox at home.
• •It felt tangible, right?

Okay, so I've been running my jewelry store here in Providence for over 20 years now, and I've always had a pretty good feel for the gold market. For a long time, my own personal inflation hedge was just buying physical gold for the shop, or even some extra coins/bars for my strongbox at home. It felt tangible, right? I'd probably put about $30k-$40k into physical metal over the years.

But with all the talk about inflation really picking up steam, especially that spike last year, I started thinking more seriously about a Gold IRA. My retirement portfolio, which is mostly in traditional stocks and bonds, is sitting around $800k, and I wanted a more formal way to diversify with precious metals without all the storage hassle of physical. I ended up rolling over $50k from an old 401k into a Gold IRA with Augusta Precious Metals last September, mainly because I heard good things about their customer service and their fees seemed reasonable.

I guess what I'm grappling with now is the effectiveness of each approach for inflation. With the physical gold I own, I know exactly what I have, and I don't have to worry about custodian fees or anything like that. But with the Gold IRA, it's neatly tucked away and diversified within my retirement plan. Both have seen some decent gains since I bought in, but I'm trying to figure out which one provides better peace of mind against long-term inflation eroding my savings. The convenience of the IRA is huge, but sometimes I miss the direct control.

For those of you with both physical holdings and a Gold IRA, how do you see them balancing out as inflation protection? Am I overthinking the physical vs. paper distinction, especially since I understand the underlying asset so well? Or is having both a good strategy? I'd love to hear some other perspectives on this.