New to Gold, but long-time silver stacker here - shifting focus a bit!

• •Okay, so I've been stacking silver for a while now, mostly rounds and some junk silver.
• •Started off super small, just picking up whatever I could afford every payday, usually 1 or 2 oz at a time.
• •I'm a teacher here in Columbus, so not exactly rolling in it, but I figured it was a good way to save outside of my regular retirement stuff.

Okay, so I've been stacking silver for a while now, mostly rounds and some junk silver. Started off super small, just picking up whatever I could afford every payday, usually 1 or 2 oz at a time. I'm a teacher here in Columbus, so not exactly rolling in it, but I figured it was a good way to save outside of my regular retirement stuff. My silver stash is probably sitting around $3-4k right now, mostly just kept at home in a safe. It's been fun, almost like a treasure hunt, watching the stack grow, and it definitely feels more tangible than just numbers on a screen.

Lately though, I've been getting more serious about my long-term retirement and started looking into a Gold IRA. I'm still super new to the whole IRA world, let alone a Gold IRA. It feels like a big step up from just buying physical silver myself. My total investable assets are still pretty small, probably under $50k across everything, so putting a significant chunk into something like this feels a bit daunting. I’m thinking about starting with a smaller allocation, maybe just 15-20% of my retirement savings for now, but even that's a decent chunk of change for me.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to shift some of my focus from silver to gold within an IRA structure. What are the main differences I should be aware of when moving from buying physical silver for personal storage to investing in gold for an IRA? Are specific types of gold rounds generally preferred for IRAs for liquidity or reporting purposes? I’ve seen talk about American Gold Eagles, obviously, but are there other common options that are good for someone just starting out their gold IRA journey rather than someone with a massive portfolio?

Any advice from folks who have made a similar transition or started their Gold IRA relatively small would be super appreciated. I'm feeling a mix of excitement and "oh god what am I doing" right now. Thanks in advance!