In the BullionMatch IRA Guide, we help you compare IRA-approved bullion from leading precious metals dealers, ensuring you get a fair price for your self-directed IRA (SDIRA).
What’s a self-directed IRA?
Assets held in an SDIRA can have greater protection from creditors, and being self-directed, you get more control over your choice of assets to invest in.
There are two primary types of SDIRA with different tax advantages.
- Traditional SDIRA: Contributions may be tax-deductible and gains grow tax-deferred.
- Roth SDIRA: Contributions are post-tax, but gains and qualified withdrawals are tax-free.
Why hold bullion in a self-directed IRA?
Holding bullion in a self-directed IRA (SDIRA) can help investors diversify their portfolio and protect against persistent inflation and economic downturns, especially because precious metals tend to move independent of stock indices and bonds.
Furthermore, precious metals are physical assets, which can appeal to investors who want to hold something with intrinsic value. However, as with anything physical, there can be not-insignificant storage and custodial costs.
Holding bullion in a self-directed IRA (SDIRA) carries potential drawbacks. These include strict IRS regulations designed to prevent tax penalties and potentially lower liquidity compared to conventional paper or digital investments.
Bullion Eligibility for an IRA
IRA-approved bullion must be purchased through a custodian and meet IRS purity requirements for inclusion in a self-directed IRA.
- Metals: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium
- Purity Standards: Gold (99.5%), Silver (99.9%), Platinum (99.95%), Palladium (99.95%)
- Formats: Only specific non-collectible coins and bars are allowed, like:
- American Gold Eagle coins (exception: despite being only 91.67% pure, they're allowed)
- Canadian Maple Leaf coins
- Australian Kangaroo/Nugget coins
- Approved bars from recognized refineries or mints (e.g., approved by COMEX), or are certified to comply with ISO 9001:2015 standards.
- Storage Requirements: Held by an IRS-approved trustee or custodian (not by the IRA owner personally) in a secure vault or facility. For example, Equity Trust, is an established provider and meets the requirements.
Inclusion Criteria for Dealers
In the BullionMatch IRA Guide, we cover the following dealers because they provide a clear and representative cross-section of the physical investment-grade precious metals market.
- APMEX: APMEX is one of the largest online retailers in the United States and serves as the retail division of APMEX Wholesale, which is one of only nine authorized purchasers in the country that the U.S. Mint permits to distribute its coins directly.
- JM Bullion: is the largest discount metals retailer in the U.S. and operates as the retail arm of A-Mark Precious Metals, another U.S. Mint-authorized distributor.
- BGASC: Large, independent discount retailer that operates without a wholesale arm.
- Golden Eagle Coins: Another large, independent discount retailer that operates without a wholesale arm.
- Lear Capital: Representative of the “full-service” precious metals dealer category, and the largest of its kind. Unlike online-only retailers, full-service firms assign experienced brokers to guide clients through the metals acquisition process for self-directed IRAs
Due to the higher level of service, full-service dealers like Lear Capital typically cater to wealthy individuals and clients making larger investments. Therefore, product premiums may be somewhat higher than others.
Fair Price for IRA Gold, Silver and Platinum Bullion
Precious metals IRA custodians charge a premium for their services, which include purchase facilitation, regulatory compliance, and storage arrangements. BullionMatch calculates a fair price based on a combination of the "fair markup" ranges over the metal's melt value and the relative pricing derived from current industry data, indicating their pricing position by placing them into a percentile group.
Step 1: Understand the Melt Value
Every bullion item has intrinsic value based on:
- Its weight (in troy ounces),
- Its purity (e.g., 99.9% pure gold), and
- The current spot price of the metal.
We calculate what’s known as the melt value: the raw metal worth of the item.
Step 2: Add Real-World Premium Expectations
Coins and bars typically sell above melt value. But how much over is fair?
We’ve established benchmark premium percentages based on historical market behavior:
- Smaller weights have higher premiums due to manufacturing and distribution costs.
- Coins tend to have higher markups than bars.
- The system uses a set of “breakpoints” to determine what percent over melt is acceptable for each weight and type.
For example:
- A 1 oz gold coin might have a fair premium of 15% over melt.
- A 0.1 oz silver bar might expect a 25% premium.
These expectations are built into our algorithm.
Step 3: Score the Deal
We then compare the listed price of the bullion to its melt value plus the expected premium.
Based on this comparison, we assign the following:
- Fair – Right around expected value.
- Unfair – Higher than justified.
This scoring system helps you cut through the noise and focus on value, not just marketing.
Step 4: Show Your Price Boundaries
Alongside the score, we also show:
- A “Buy Price” – The highest price still considered a great deal.
- A “Don’t Buy Price” – The threshold beyond which the premium is no longer reasonable.
This allows you to make smart, informed decisions with clear pricing benchmarks.
Numismatics Exclusions
For avoidance of doubt, BullionMatch does not include numismatic items in its calculations or scores for generic bullion (e.g., 1 oz American Silver Eagle) unless expressly stated. We consider an item numismatic if any of following conditions are met:
- Certified by a major grading service (e.g., PCGS, NGC)
- Issued as a special edition or limited mintage, including proofs, commemoratives, or coins with restricted production numbers;
- Features distinct privy marks (e.g., Lunar Privy, Maple Leaf privies);
- Has unique labels or designations (e.g., First Strike, Early Releases, Anniversary Editions);
- Exhibits special finishes or cameo contrast (e.g., UCAM, DCAM, Reverse Proof);
- The mintage year is before 2010 and the pricing is relatively skewed from the rest.
Conclusion
The BullionMatch IRA Guide helps you compare IRA-approved bullion from leading precious metals dealers, ensuring a fair price for your self-directed IRA. It covers criteria for bullion eligibility, dealer inclusion, and fair pricing thresholds for evaluating deals.
If you have any questions, contact the team at BullionMatch with any query whatsoever, please email Ludwig at mises@bullionmatch.com