Provided the items possess a certain composition, both coins and bars made from precious metals such as gold and silver are eligible for inclusion in a self-directed IRA.

Per Internal Revenue Service requirements, gold assets must have a fineness of at least 0.995; silver assets need a 0.999 fineness.

Holding physical precious metal assets in an IRA offers some tax advantages. Contributions are made on a pretax basis, and taxes are deferred until the holder takes distributions. With a ROTH IRA, precious metal contributions are made on a post-tax basis, essentially equating to tax-free withdrawals.

The vast majority of Gainesville Coins’ clients tend to primarily be interested in obtaining coins, according to Everett Millman, a Precious Metals Specialist at Gainesville Coins.

“That’s what they're used to,” Millman says. “The legal tender status of coins sometimes adds a slight premium to the price. Even a bullion coin that government mints pump out millions of every year, because they're coins and have interesting designs — they have the government stamping on them, where they basically tell you that this is legit — people do pay a premium for [those], relative to bars.”

Gainesville Coins Bar Basics

Precious metal bars can potentially offer investors a way to save money when they're buying gold and silver, according to precious metals dealer Gainesville Coins.

“One of the major benefits of bars is the lower price point,” he says. “A bar of precious metal is invariably going to be slightly less expensive than a coin of the same weight because bars have lower manufacturing costs; they're a more generic product, so they don't cost as much to make and can be sold closer to their melt value.”

Investors who buy precious metal bars are getting the same weight and purity as ones who purchase an equivalent amount of coins; yet Millman says bars can potentially offer more bang for your buck — particularly if you plan to purchase a large amount of precious metal.

“The more you're buying, the more money you'll save by choosing bars over coins,” he says. “I don't think a lot of buyers are familiar with that.”

According to Millman, clients who contact Gainesville Coins about making a large purchase — such as more than six figures worth of gold — frequently have that format in mind.

“They tend to be well-informed about buying bars,” he says.

At times, Millman says he’s struggled to explain to people why investors would choose to buy coins if bars are less expensive and offer the same quality.

Part of it may be the design, he says; a number of people could be willing to pay extra due to the aesthetics of a coin — and its country of origin can also play a part.

“The national pride that is bound up in the different coins issued by different countries, people do tend to take a pretty keen interest in that,” Millman says. “But at the end of the day, what it might come down to a lot of times is they prefer the product of a coin more — [and] they may not realize that they are paying extra for it.”