Gold IRAs - How much does coin grading really matter for us?

Donald Nelson

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Gold IRAs - How much does coin grading really matter for us?

donald_nelson💎Premium (500k-1m)

about 2 hours ago

Key Takeaways

•Been seeing a lot of chatter lately on different forums about coin grading, certifications, slabbed vs.
•It got me thinking about our Gold IRAs.
•I've got a decent chunk, maybe $600k-$700k, wrapped up in my IRA, and a good portion of that is gold.

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Been seeing a lot of chatter lately on different forums about coin grading, certifications, slabbed vs. raw, all that jazz. It got me thinking about our Gold IRAs. For those of us who've been in the game a while, especially with gold, how much weight do you honestly put on coin grading when it comes to the metals in your IRA?

I've got a decent chunk, maybe $600k-$700k, wrapped up in my IRA, and a good portion of that is gold. I'm a retiree from the auto industry here in Detroit, been around the block a few times and holding physical gold for over 20 years now. My personal philosophy has always been more about the metal content itself, especially for standard bullion coins like Eagles or Maples, rather than chasing specific grades for premium. Always figured the IRA is about asset preservation and hedging against inflation, not a numismatic collection with potential for huge grade-based premiums. My advisor pretty much confirmed that approach early on.

But then I see these discussions where people are obsessing over MS69 vs. MS70 and how much that extra point adds to the value. Is this something we should be paying more attention to for our IRA holdings? Or is it largely irrelevant for the purpose of a retirement account where liquidity and intrinsic value are king, and we're not planning on offloading individual coins at coin shows? Interested to hear what others, especially those with similar long-term holdings, think about this.

4 comments

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Best Answer▲ 8 upvotes

ronald_morris👑Elite (1m-5m)

Honestly, for a purely investment Gold IRA, I think people overthink grading. We're not talking about numismatic collections here where a PR70 vs. a PR69 means a 5x price difference. For IRA-approved bullion coins, you're mostly concerned with meeting the purity standards and the coin being recognized. A little wear might affect resale value slightly, but you're buying gold weight, not a pristine collectible for a museum. My two cents, anyway.

Comments (4)

sharon_evans💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

This is a solid question! I've wondered the same thing. I got into gold IRAs a few years back and honestly, at first, I didn't pay much mind to grading beyond "is it legitimate?" My thought was just to get the actual gold. But then I started seeing more discussions, and it made me think twice. I haven't gone down the rabbit hole of collecting rare, graded coins for my IRA, but I definitely pay more attention to the basics now, especially for long-term hold value.

david_brown💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

This is a great question. I've been wondering about the grading aspect myself.

For those of you who do factor in grading for your Gold IRAs, what's been your experience with specific grading companies? Any particular ones you trust more than others for this kind of investment?

ronald_morris👑Elite (1m-5m)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Honestly, for a *purely investment* Gold IRA, I think people overthink grading. We're not talking about numismatic collections here where a PR70 vs. a PR69 means a 5x price difference. For IRA-approved bullion coins, you're mostly concerned with meeting the purity standards and the coin being recognized. A little wear might affect resale value slightly, but you're buying gold weight, not a pristine collectible for a museum. My two cents, anyway.

jason_morgan💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor✓ Verified•less than a minute ago

Great question! For Gold IRAs, the *type* of gold you can hold is pretty specific, and generally, fancy grading isn't a huge factor for the typical IRS-approved bullion coins (like Eagles, Maples, Buffalos, etc.). These are valued by their gold content, not their numismatic value.

However, if you're looking at *certain* proof coins or specific collectible pieces that *do* qualify for an IRA (which is a much smaller list), then grading can absolutely impact their premium and thus their value. Just make sure whatever you're looking at is explicitly IRS-approved for an IRA – otherwise, it's a non-starter regardless of its grade!

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