Rebalancing - Moving some equities to physical gold? Looking for input.

• •I’m mostly retired military, 58 years old, and I’ve got a good chunk of change, about $850k across various accounts.
• •For the last 15 years, a solid 60% of that has been in broad market equities, and it’s done well, no complaints there.
• •My current gold allocation is only about 8-9%, mostly through ETFs, which I picked up back in the early 2010s.

Alright, so I’m sitting here in Honolulu, watching the news about everything heating up in the Pacific, and it’s got me thinking hard about my portfolio. I’m mostly retired military, 58 years old, and I’ve got a good chunk of change, about $850k across various accounts. For the last 15 years, a solid 60% of that has been in broad market equities, and it’s done well, no complaints there. But lately, with the instability around Taiwan and a general feeling of unease with how things are globally, I can't shake the feeling it's time to seriously re-evaluate my asset allocation.

My current gold allocation is only about 8-9%, mostly through ETFs, which I picked up back in the early 2010s. I’m seriously considering moving a good 10-15% of my equity holdings into physical gold for my IRA. I’m thinking about selling off some of my more volatile tech stocks and using the proceeds to buy actual gold coins and bars held in a depository. The idea of having something tangible, something that’s always been a store of value when currencies and markets go sideways, is really appealing right now. I just feel like the financial system is a lot more fragile than people want to admit, and having that security cushion, especially out here in the middle of the Pacific, just makes sense to me.

My main concern is the tax implications of selling off some of these equities that have had significant gains over the years. I know capital gains taxes can be a real killer, and I want to make sure I’m making a smart move here, not just a gut reaction. I’ve been messing around with this Tax Calculator tool I found online to get a rough idea, but I’d really appreciate hearing from others who have gone through a similar rebalancing, especially those who transitioned from paper assets to physical gold within their IRA. What were your experiences? Any pitfalls I should be aware of?

Beyond taxes, I'm also wondering about the logistical side of things. What are the best practices for setting up a Gold IRA and choosing a depository? Are there specific types of gold (e.g., American Gold Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) that are generally preferred for IRAs? I’m looking for long-term hold, not speculative trading. Just trying to diversify and protect what I’ve built up over my career. Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your input, reddit.