Silver vs. Gold in MY Gold IRA - What's your split?

Janet Cook

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Silver vs. Gold in MY Gold IRA - What's your split?

janet_cook📊Growing (50-100k)

about 1 hour ago

Key Takeaways

•I've been running a jewelry store here in Providence for over 20 years, so I obviously know my way around precious metals.
•But investing for retirement is a beast of its own, so I finally pulled the trigger on a Gold IRA about 18 months ago.
•Got about $75k in it right now, mostly American Gold Eagles and some Gold Buffalos.

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I've been running a jewelry store here in Providence for over 20 years, so I obviously know my way around precious metals. But investing for retirement is a beast of its own, so I finally pulled the trigger on a Gold IRA about 18 months ago. Got about $75k in it right now, mostly American Gold Eagles and some Gold Buffalos. Seriously kicking myself for not doing it 5 years ago when I first started looking into it, but hey, better late than never, right?

Lately, I've been thinking about diversifying within my precious metals. I've always been super bullish on gold, but seeing how silver has been behaving, especially with the industrial demand picking up, it’s making me wonder if I'm missing out by being so gold-heavy. Right now, it's probably 90% gold, 10% silver in the IRA. I put some Silver Eagles in there when I first opened it, almost as an afterthought.

My concern is keeping a good hedge against inflation and general market volatility, which is why I went this route in the first place. Gold has always been the king for that, but silver definitely has that industrial utility angle that gold doesn't as much. Given my background, I see a ton of recycled silver coming through the shop, and the demand signals are pretty strong for new stuff too.

So, for those of you with Gold IRAs holding both, what's your allocation look like? Are you going closer to 70/30, 60/40, or staying mostly gold like me? I’m contemplating moving another $10k or so into silver in the next few months, maybe some Canadian Maple Leafs or even some generics for the lower premium. Curious to hear other perspectives on balancing these two in a retirement account.

3 comments

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Best Answer▲ 8 upvotes

paul_hill🏆Advanced (250-500k)

Hey, that's a cool background, knowing the metals so well already! I actually had a pretty similar experience – inherited some old coin collections, so I was comfortable with the physical metal but the IRA aspect was totally new.

For my split, I went heavier on silver initially, probably like 70/30 silver to gold. I saw some good value there at the time, but I've been slowly rebalancing towards a more even 50/50 as prices have shifted. Curious to hear what others are doing too!

Comments (3)

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

karen_robinson💼Starter (0-50k)•less than a minute ago

Hey, that's awesome you pulled the trigger on a Gold IRA! Interesting that you're a jeweler, makes a lot of sense you'd be looking at precious metals for retirement.

You mentioned 18 months ago - were there any particular events or market conditions that made you decide to get into one then?

jennifer_martinez💰Established (100-250k)Real Investor✓ Verified•less than a minute ago

It's interesting how many people seem to lean heavily into one or the other. I've always viewed silver as more of a growth play, with its industrial demand and lower price point offering more upside if things really go sideways. Gold feels like the ultimate stability. So, while I definitely understand the appeal of a heavy gold allocation, I can't help but think a more balanced approach with a decent chunk of silver for that potential "pop" might be a better bet for a *retirement* account specifically. Just my two cents, obviously everyone's situation is different.

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

Under $100k? Compare options →