Numismatics vs. Bullion in IRA - What's your play?

Mark Adams

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Numismatics vs. Bullion in IRA - What's your play?

mark_adams👑Elite (1m-5m)

about 1 hour ago

Key Takeaways

•Alright, so I’ve been kicking this around for a while now and need some outside perspectives.
•bullion debate always seems to pop up.
•Right now, it's pretty heavily weighted towards standard bullion coins – mostly Eagles and Maples, nothing too exotic.

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Alright, so I’ve been kicking this around for a while now and need some outside perspectives. My advisor and I are looking at rebalancing a portion of my gold IRA holdings, specifically what’s sitting in my Delaware depository, and the numismatic vs. bullion debate always seems to pop up. Right now, it's pretty heavily weighted towards standard bullion coins – mostly Eagles and Maples, nothing too exotic. But I’m wondering if it makes sense to diversify a bit into some numismatic pieces, particularly with a portion of the new contributions.

I know the typical advice is to stick with bullion for liquidity and lower premiums when it comes to IRAs, and I totally get that. We’re talking about a significant chunk of my personal gold allocation here, currently valued somewhere north of $2.5M, so I’m not looking to gamble. But hypothetically, if I were to allocate say, 5-10% of that new money, maybe $50k-$100k, into some higher-grade, certified numismatic coins with solid historical appreciation, could that make sense long-term? I’m thinking pre-33 gold, maybe some graded St. Gaudens or similar. The idea isn't speculation, but rather finding pieces that have an intrinsic value plus collector demand, thereby potentially offering an additional layer of appreciation beyond just spot price.

My fund's been doing well, and frankly, my Greenwich property taxes feel like they're climbing faster than the S&P these days, so I'm always looking for smart hedges. I’m thinking less about trading these actively within the IRA and more about them as a generational hold. Has anyone here gone this route for their IRA? What kind of experience did you have with premiums, grading, and finding genuinely investment-grade pieces that are also IRA eligible? I'm particularly interested in hearing from anyone who's actually sold any numismatic pieces out of their IRA – was the spread as brutal as some folks make it out to be?

My advisor is, understandably, more conservative on this and leans heavily towards pure bullion for the IRA given the regulatory framework. But I keep wondering if I'm leaving a bit of diversification on the table. Thoughts?

4 comments

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Best Answer▲ 10 upvotes

margaret_chen🏆Advanced (250-500k)

Interesting discussion. While the numismatic vs. bullion debate has its merits, I think it's important not to overlook the practicalities too much. For most IRA investors, especially those focusing on long-term wealth preservation and not active trading, the slight premium or potential upside of numismatics might not outweigh the simpler liquidity and often lower storage costs of pure bullion. It really depends on your goals beyond just "gold in an IRA."

Comments (4)

betty_king📊Growing (50-100k)•less than a minute ago

This is such a relevant question! I actually went through something similar a couple of years ago when I was looking to add more gold to my IRA. My initial thought was all bullion, but my advisor brought up numismatics and it definitely gave me pause.

Ultimately, I ended up going with mostly bullion for the bulk of it, just for the straightforward market price correlation. But I did dip my toe into some certified pre-1933 US gold coins for a small percentage. The historical aspect was pretty cool, and I figured it offered a different kind of diversification. Curious to hear what others decided!

joyce_cooper📊Growing (50-100k)✓ Verified•less than a minute ago

Interesting! When you say "rebalancing a portion" of your Gold IRA, are we talking about converting some existing bullion into numismatics, or adding new funds that would be split between the two? Just curious about the strategy there.

margaret_chen🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

steven_mitchell🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verified•less than a minute ago

Hey, interesting topic! I've been down this road too. One thing that helped me when I was trying to figure out numismatics vs. bullion for my IRA (especially with the Delaware depository aspect) was looking at the actual fees associated with each. Sometimes the premium on numismatics, while potentially offering more upside, also comes with higher storage and insurance costs that can eat into long-term gains. Not always, but worth double-checking!

You might find this article on Investopedia about gold numismatics vs. bullion helpful for a quick rundown on the different considerations.

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Most people don't diversify until after a crash. Get the free guide and protect your nest egg.

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