Numismatic vs. Bullion for Gold IRA - My Experience & Questions

Steven Mitchell

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Numismatic vs. Bullion for Gold IRA - My Experience & Questions

steven_mitchell🏆Advanced (250-500k)

about 2 months ago

Key Takeaways

•Alright, so I’ve been heavily invested in my Gold IRA for a while now, sitting on about $380k in physical gold through it.
•Most of my holdings are in bullion coins – think ASEs, Canadian Maples, and a few 1oz Krugerrands.
•I started this whole thing a few years back, maybe 3-4 years ago, when the market was feeling particularly squirrelly.

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Alright, so I’ve been heavily invested in my Gold IRA for a while now, sitting on about $380k in physical gold through it. Most of my holdings are in bullion coins – think ASEs, Canadian Maples, and a few 1oz Krugerrands. I started this whole thing a few years back, maybe 3-4 years ago, when the market was feeling particularly squirrelly. Being a manufacturing guy in Cleveland, I definitely appreciate tangible assets, and the idea of having a good chunk of my retirement in something real, something I can actually hold, just made more sense to my gut than just numbers on a screen.

Lately, though, I’ve been having some conversations with a buddy who's pushing hard for numismatic coins. He's saying they have better growth potential beyond just the spot price, given their rarity and collector value. On the flip side, I’ve always been wary of the premiums on those things. It just feels like overpaying for something that's essentially still gold, and it makes me nervous about the liquidity down the line if I ever needed to sell. My main goal is long-term wealth preservation and a hedge against inflation, not necessarily becoming a coin collector.

I’m trying to decide if it’s worth diversifying a small percentage, maybe 5-10%, of my existing holdings into numismatics, or if I should just stick to my guns with bullion. Has anyone here had good or bad experiences with numismatic coins in their Gold IRA? Did the premiums ever pay off for you, or did they just eat into your returns? I've been using tools like the Gold vs Stocks Comparison to track my bullion’s performance against the broader market, and it's been reassuring, but that tool doesn't really account for the numismatic premium.

What are your thoughts? Is there a sweet spot for both, or is one clearly superior for an IRA given the long-term investment horizon? Appreciate any insights you all have. Thanks!

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5 comments

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Best Answer▲ 8 upvotes

betty_king📊Growing (50-100k)

Hey, interesting post! It's cool to hear about your ASEs and Maples. Just to offer a slightly different take though, while numismatics can definitely be fun for collecting outside an IRA, I think for an IRA, pure bullion usually makes more sense. The premiums on some of those rarer coins can eat into your investment gains, and the IRS often has stricter rules about what kind of "collectible" coins are even allowed in an IRA to begin with. You've got a good amount in there, so every bit of premium saved makes a difference!

Comments (5)

william_davis💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor•about 2 months ago

Dude, I'm right there with you. My Gold IRA is almost entirely bullion as well, mostly Eagles and Maples. My initial thought was always "keep it simple, keep it liquid." But then last year, my broker brought up some numismatic coins for the first time and I've been low-key looking at them ever since. The premiums are wild, but the potential for higher returns if you pick right is definitely intriguing. Haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I'm curious what others have done.

joyce_cooper📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verified•about 2 months ago

That's a pretty solid chunk of change in physical gold! I'm curious, what made you decide on those specific types of bullion (ASEs, Maples, Krugerrands) over others, or even just straight up bars? Was it purely for liquidity, or something else?

betty_king📊Growing (50-100k)•about 2 months ago

Hey, interesting post! It's cool to hear about your ASEs and Maples. Just to offer a slightly different take though, while numismatics can definitely be fun for collecting outside an IRA, I think for an *IRA*, pure bullion usually makes more sense. The premiums on some of those rarer coins can eat into your investment gains, and the IRS often has stricter rules about what kind of "collectible" coins are even allowed in an IRA to begin with. You've got a good amount in there, so every bit of premium saved makes a difference!

gary_stewart📊Growing (50-100k)•about 2 months ago

Hey, great post! Appreciate you sharing your experience with the Gold IRA. On the numismatic vs. bullion front, one thing I found super helpful was reading up on the specific IRS guidelines for what's allowed. Sometimes people get confused about what "collectible" truly means in the IRA context, and it's stricter than you might think.

For anyone else looking into this, here's a pretty clear breakdown of eligible vs. ineligible coins directly from the IRS: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/epche504.pdf (check out page 4, "Collectibles"). It really helped me understand why some of those beautiful collector coins, while valuable, aren't suitable for an IRA.

maria_campbell📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verified•about 2 months ago

Totally agree with your approach, sticking to bullion for the Gold IRA just makes the most sense from a cost perspective. The premiums on numismatics are just brutal, especially when you're looking at a larger investment. My Gold IRA is a bit smaller than yours, around $150k, but I've kept it 100% in ASEs and some gold bars for the same reason. Don't want to pay extra for collector value that might not even be there down the road when it comes time to liquidate.

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