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

• •I've been wrestling with this for a while now and wanted to get some other perspectives from folks who've gone down the Gold IRA path.
• •Now, a year later, as I'm looking to potentially add another chunk to my IRA – probably another $50k-$75k this fall – I'm questioning that decision.
• •The bullion coins have tracked the spot price of gold pretty closely, which is what I expected.

I've been wrestling with this for a while now and wanted to get some other perspectives from folks who've gone down the Gold IRA path. When I was setting up my account last year, my rep really pushed numismatic coins, talking about their "collector value" and "higher appreciation potential." I ended up putting about 20% of my initial $150k investment into some certified proof eagles and other seemingly rare pieces, with the rest in standard bullion like American Gold Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs.

Now, a year later, as I'm looking to potentially add another chunk to my IRA – probably another $50k-$75k this fall – I'm questioning that decision. The bullion coins have tracked the spot price of gold pretty closely, which is what I expected. But those numismatics? While the spot price has had its ups and downs, the numismatic values seem... less transparent? It feels like the premiums I paid were significant, and I haven't seen any clear signal that they've gained enough to justify those higher initial costs. I'm aiming for an early retirement around 55 (I'm 44 now), so capital preservation and solid, predictable growth are my priorities, not chasing speculative collector markets.

Living here in Minneapolis, I've got a few local dealers I've spoken with, and their opinions are, unsurprisingly, mixed. The ones pushing numismatics always have amazing stories about how XYZ coin shot up in value. The ones focused on bullion just point to the daily spot price. It's making my head spin a bit. My gut is telling me to stick to pure bullion for any new purchases, especially given the extra paperwork and sometimes higher storage fees for numismatics.

So, for those of you with Gold IRAs (or even just extensive physical gold holdings), what's been your experience with numismatic vs. bullion? Did you find numismatics lived up to their "potential" or were the premiums just not worth it in the long run? I'm trying to figure out if I should just swallow the potential "loss" on the numismatics I already own and pivot entirely to bullion for future contributions, or if there's a compelling argument I'm missing for keeping a portion in the collector market.