Platinum IRA Rollover - Tax Questions After Leaving Banking

• •I recently left my bank manager position – after nearly a decade, it was time for a change – and with that comes rolling over my old 401k.
• •My main concern is making sure I avoid any nasty surprises with the IRS.
• •Are there any particular pitfalls unique to platinum that I should be aware of beyond the standard IRA distribution rules?

Thinking about my platinum IRA rollover lately and it's brought up some tax questions I'm hoping some of you seasoned investors might have insights on. I recently left my bank manager position – after nearly a decade, it was time for a change – and with that comes rolling over my old 401k. I've got around $350k currently sitting there, and my goal is to move a solid chunk of that, probably half, into a self-directed IRA with a significant allocation to physical platinum.

My main concern is making sure I avoid any nasty surprises with the IRS. I'm based here in Portland, and while I understand the general rules around direct rollovers to avoid immediate taxation, I know that platinum specifically, and precious metals in general, can be a bit of a different beast when it comes to valuations and potential future distributions. Are there any particular pitfalls unique to platinum that I should be aware of beyond the standard IRA distribution rules? I’m envisioning this as a long-term play, really diversifying away from traditional paper assets, which as a former banker, I've seen firsthand can be quite volatile.

I'm also curious about reporting requirements. Is there anything specific I'll need to do come tax season that's different from a standard stock/mutual fund IRA? My plan is to work with a reputable custodian who specializes in precious metals IRAs, so they should handle a lot of the paperwork, but I always prefer to be educated myself. Any personal experiences with platinum specifically, or even just gold/silver rollovers and subsequent tax reporting, would be immensely helpful. Really trying to get this right and maximize the long-term benefit of having this tangible asset.