Whether a coin, round, or bar can be held inside a self-directed IRA turns on a single statute, Internal Revenue Code section 408(m)(3), plus the physical-possession rule that keeps the metal at an IRS-approved depository. The lookup below tells you the answer for the 40 items custodians see most often. Educational only; confirm any purchase with your custodian and tax advisor before you fund it.
IRA Coin Eligibility Checker
Type any coin, round, or bar name. The tool filters a curated dataset of the 40 items custodians handle most and shows the verdict with a one-line reason and the fineness. Every claim is tied back to IRC 408(m)(3) or a U.S. Mint or LBMA specification.
Showing all items
Statutory fineness minimums for bullion
Gold: .99599.5 percent pure, LBMA or COMEX approved refiner.
Silver: .99999.9 percent pure, LBMA or COMEX approved refiner.
Platinum: .999599.95 percent pure, LBMA or NYMEX approved refiner.
Palladium: .999599.95 percent pure, LBMA or NYMEX approved refiner.
Statutory carve-out: the American Gold Eagle is the one bullion coin that is IRA-eligible despite falling short of the .995 gold minimum. It contains 22-karat gold at 91.67 percent purity, but Congress named it by cross-reference to 31 USC 5112(a)(7) through (10) inside IRC 408(m)(3)(A), so it clears the exception on its own terms. The American Silver Eagle and American Platinum Eagle are similarly named in the statute; both already meet the metal-specific fineness thresholds.
Sources: IRC section 408(m)(3), United States Mint American Eagle specifications, and LBMA Good Delivery List. If you cannot find your item here, ask your IRA custodian in writing for a yes or no on the exact product code before wiring funds; custodians will not accept an ineligible item once the wire lands.
Educational only. Not financial, tax or legal advice.
The statute lists a small set of exceptions to the general rule that collectibles cannot be held in an IRA. Bullion qualifies if it meets the metal-specific fineness minimum (gold .995, silver .999, platinum .9995, palladium .9995) and comes from a refiner accredited by the LBMA or a COMEX or NYMEX approved brand list. A handful of coins are named directly in the statute, most notably the American Gold Eagle at 91.67 percent purity, which is the one common exception to the .995 gold rule. Everything else is either not eligible on fineness grounds (Krugerrand, Sovereign, junk silver), disqualified by the collectibles definition (pre-1933 U.S. gold, numismatic coins), or acceptable only if the refiner is on the accredited list. Storage at home defeats the whole exception and triggers a taxable distribution the moment the metal leaves the depository.
Why does the law bother restricting which coins can go in an IRA?
The general rule is in IRC section 408(m)(1): a collectible held in an IRA is treated as if the account had distributed the money used to buy it. That means immediate ordinary income tax on the purchase price, plus the 10 percent early-distribution penalty if you are under 59 and a half. Section 408(m)(2) defines collectible broadly: any work of art, rug or antique, metal or gem, stamp or coin, alcoholic beverage, or any other tangible personal property the IRS specifies. Left there, that definition would ban every metal from every IRA. Congress added the section 408(m)(3) exception to carve out investment-grade bullion and named U.S. coins so retirees could take a defined slice of exposure to precious metals inside a tax-advantaged account without turning the account into a curio cabinet. The four fineness thresholds and the physical-possession-at-a-trustee requirement are the price of admission.
What did Congress actually write in section 408(m)(3)?
The statute has two parts. Subparagraph (A) names four categories of coin that escape the collectibles ban: a gold coin described in paragraph (7), (8), (9), or (10) of 31 USC 5112(a); a silver coin described in 31 USC 5112(e); a platinum coin described in 31 USC 5112(k); and any coin issued under the laws of any State. The first three cross-references are the American Gold Eagle bullion coins, the American Silver Eagle, and the American Platinum Eagle. That is how the Gold Eagle at 91.67 percent purity survives the .995 gold fineness minimum: Congress named it by cross-reference, so the fineness rule does not apply to it. Subparagraph (B) covers the bullion path: any gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion of a fineness equal to or exceeding the minimum fineness that a contract market (as described in section 7 of the Commodity Exchange Act) requires for metals which may be delivered in satisfaction of a regulated futures contract, if the bullion is in the physical possession of a trustee described under subsection (a) of this section. That last clause is what forces IRA metal into an approved depository and out of your basement.
What fineness numbers do the futures contracts actually require?
The section 408(m)(3)(B) cross-reference to futures-contract fineness translates in practice to gold .995, silver .999, platinum .9995, and palladium .9995. Those are the levels that COMEX (for gold and silver) and NYMEX (for platinum and palladium) require for physically delivered contracts, and they align with the LBMA Good Delivery specifications for large bars. Bullion below these thresholds is not eligible under the bullion path, even if the coin comes from a sovereign mint and looks identical to an eligible product. That is why a 22-karat British Sovereign and a 24-karat British Britannia get different verdicts: the Sovereign is .9167 (below .995), and the post-2013 Britannia is .9999 (above .995). Same mint, same country, different result, based purely on how many nines the metal carries.
Worked example one: the American Gold Eagle versus the South African Krugerrand
Both coins are one troy ounce of gold in a 22-karat alloy at 91.67 percent purity. The physical metal is identical. Yet the Gold Eagle is IRA-eligible and the Krugerrand is not. The reason is not fineness; it is the statutory list. IRC 408(m)(3)(A) names a gold coin described in 31 USC 5112(a)(7) through (10), which is the American Gold Eagle bullion series. It does not name any South African coin. Section 408(m)(3)(B), the bullion path, requires .995 fineness or higher; the Krugerrand fails that test at .9167. Without either path available, the Krugerrand fails. A retiree who buys a Krugerrand for their IRA discovers this the day the custodian refuses receipt, and the money remains in cash inside the account until a compliant purchase can replace the order. If the Krugerrand somehow settled first (rare, but not impossible with a careless custodian), the IRS would treat the purchase as a distribution of the full price to the account holder, taxable as ordinary income, with the 10 percent penalty on top if under 59 and a half.
Worked example two: pre-2013 Britannia versus 2013-and-later Britannia
The Royal Mint changed the Gold Britannia specification for the 2013 issue. Pre-2013 Britannias were .917 fineness (22 karat), matching the Sovereign tradition. Starting with the 2013 date, the coin is .9999 fine. Same coin name, same reverse design (Britannia standing with trident and shield), same monarch on the obverse for a stretch of years, but two different IRA verdicts based on the date on the coin. A retiree who wants Britannias in an IRA must specify 2013 or later on the purchase order and verify the year mark on the coin before the depository logs it in. Reputable dealers know this; the risk is buying from a generic online marketplace where the year is not called out. If a mixed lot arrives at the depository containing both dates, the custodian will accept the 2013-and-later coins and return or refuse the older ones.
Comparison table: common coins that look interchangeable but are not
| Coin | Fineness | IRA-eligible? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Gold Eagle (1 oz) | .9167 | Yes | Statutory exception under IRC 408(m)(3)(A) |
| South African Krugerrand (1 oz) | .9167 | No | Not named in statute; below .995 minimum |
| American Gold Buffalo (1 oz) | .9999 | Yes | U.S. Mint bullion, clears .995 minimum |
| British Gold Britannia (2013 or later) | .9999 | Yes | Clears .995 minimum |
| British Gold Britannia (pre-2013) | .917 | No | Below .995 minimum, not named in statute |
| British Gold Sovereign | .9167 | No | Below .995 minimum, not named in statute |
| Canadian Silver Maple Leaf | .9999 | Yes | Clears .999 silver minimum |
| Junk silver (pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters) | .900 | No | Below .999 silver minimum |
| American Platinum Eagle | .9995 | Yes | Named in statute and meets .9995 minimum |
| Pre-1933 U.S. Double Eagle | .900 | No | Numismatic per IRS interpretation; below .995 |
The home-storage trap: why an eligible coin held at your house is still a taxable distribution
Section 408(m)(3)(B) ends with the clause that requires bullion to be in the physical possession of a trustee described under subsection (a) of this section. Subsection (a) is where the statute defines what a trustee is: a bank, a federally insured credit union, or another entity approved by the IRS. Your dining room is not on the list. The Tax Court settled this in McNulty v. Commissioner (157 T.C. 10, 2021), which found that self-directed IRA holders who took physical possession of American Eagle coins at their residence had triggered a taxable distribution of the coin’s value, plus penalties. The coin was fully IRA-eligible on the way in. The moment it left the depository and entered the home, section 408(m)(3)(B)’s trustee-possession requirement failed and the whole exception collapsed for that item. See the McNulty case walkthrough for the full sequence and the court’s reasoning. The takeaway: passing the eligibility check is necessary but not sufficient. The coin must also stay at the depository until distribution.
Why do dealers keep pushing numismatics and proof coins?
Numismatic and proof coins carry a wide spread between the price the dealer sells them for and the price a buyback would return. On a plain bullion American Gold Eagle, the sell-buy spread is typically 3 to 6 percent. On a proof Eagle or a graded Eagle in a slab, the spread can widen to 15 to 30 percent because the numismatic premium is not part of the metal value. Dealers who work on commission have a direct incentive to move higher-margin product. For an IRA, the premium is almost never recoverable at distribution: the IRA holds the metal, not the story, and the custodian values the coin at fair market value on distribution day. If the buyback market discounts the premium away, the retiree paid retail for spot. Sticking to plain-bullion Eagles, Buffalos, and Maple Leafs (or ounces of accredited bar) avoids the trap. Graded and slabbed coins can be technically eligible if the underlying coin qualifies, but the premium rarely justifies the tax-advantaged wrapper, and some custodians refuse graded coins entirely. Read the gold purity verification guide for the checks that catch these before the wire lands.
What about bars? How does the accredited-refiner rule work?
The bullion path in section 408(m)(3)(B) requires the metal to meet the futures-contract fineness minimum, which by cross-reference means an LBMA Good Delivery or a COMEX or NYMEX approved refiner brand. The LBMA publishes the current Good Delivery List on lbma.org.uk and updates it as refiners are added, removed, or lose status. For a retiree, the practical test is whether the refiner’s stamp appears on the LBMA list on the day of purchase. Common accepted refiners include PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Argor-Heraeus, Perth Mint, Rand Refinery, Royal Canadian Mint, Sunshine Minting, Asahi, and Johnson Matthey. Generic rounds and no-name bars without a listed refiner mark are refused by depositories on arrival. If a coupon-heavy online dealer offers unbranded rounds at a discount, that discount is precisely because the product is IRA-ineligible.
Bullion versus proof American Eagles: does the premium matter inside an IRA?
Both are IRA-eligible; the U.S. Mint sells both directly. The bullion Eagle carries a modest premium over spot (typically 5 to 10 percent for the 1 oz Gold Eagle, higher for fractional sizes). The proof Eagle carries a much larger premium (often 15 to 30 percent over spot at issue). Inside an IRA, the account value is the fair market value of the coin at each valuation date, and at distribution the custodian reports the fair market value on Form 1099-R. If a bullion Eagle and a proof Eagle bought on the same day both hold their metal value at distribution, the bullion coin outperformed on a return basis because you paid less to get in. That is the core reason IRA custodians and honest dealers steer clients toward bullion issues unless the client has a specific numismatic interest they are willing to fund at retail cost. Details on the reporting side are in the custodian fair market value guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put a pre-1933 U.S. gold coin in my IRA?
No. Pre-1933 U.S. gold coins (Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, Liberty Head Double Eagles, Indian Head coins) are treated as numismatic and are not covered by the section 408(m)(3)(A) statutory exception, which references paragraphs (7), (8), (9), and (10) of 31 USC 5112(a). Those paragraphs are the modern American Eagle series, not the historical U.S. coinage. The fineness of pre-1933 gold (.900) also fails the .995 bullion path. Retiring collectors sometimes want their coins in an IRA for tax deferral; the answer is that the coin has to leave the collection or the IRA has to hold something else. The Gold Buffalo primer is the closest modern substitute inside an IRA.
What if the dealer says a coin is IRA-eligible but the custodian refuses it?
The custodian’s decision controls. Custodians hold the fiduciary responsibility for what enters the account and will not accept a product they cannot verify against the section 408(m)(3) tests. Get the yes or no from your custodian in writing before you wire funds to a dealer. If a dealer refuses to route the purchase through the custodian’s normal process, treat that as a red flag; every accredited IRA transaction runs custodian to dealer, not account holder to dealer.
Are graded or slabbed coins IRA-eligible?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If the underlying coin (Gold Eagle, Silver Eagle, Buffalo, Maple Leaf) qualifies under section 408(m)(3), the fact that PCGS or NGC graded and slabbed it does not by itself disqualify the coin. However, the grading premium is almost never recoverable at IRA distribution, and some custodians refuse graded coins as a matter of policy to avoid disputes at valuation. If you want graded coins for collection reasons, hold them personally; the IRA is not the right wrapper.
Can I put fractional-size Eagles in an IRA?
Yes. The 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz American Gold Eagle sizes are all covered by 31 USC 5112(a)(7) through (10), so all four fall under the section 408(m)(3)(A) exception. The premiums per ounce of gold are higher on fractional sizes because striking costs are spread over less metal, but the eligibility itself is not in question. Fractional Silver Eagles do not exist; the U.S. Mint only strikes a 1 oz Silver Eagle bullion issue.
What if I want to add a coin that is not in the checker?
Ask your custodian in writing for a yes or no on the exact product code. The four fineness minimums (gold .995, silver .999, platinum .9995, palladium .9995) plus the LBMA or COMEX or NYMEX accredited-refiner rule cover most cases. If the coin fails both the statutory list and the fineness test, it is not eligible. If it clears one path, the custodian will confirm and log it. If the answer is uncertain, do not fund the purchase; there is no cure once an ineligible coin lands in the account.
Does the 28 percent collectibles capital gains rate apply to my IRA?
Not directly, because the IRA is a tax-deferred wrapper and distributions come out as ordinary income, not capital gains. The 28 percent rate matters when you hold physical metal outside an IRA, or when you take an in-kind distribution and later sell the metal in a taxable account. See the IRA-versus-taxable comparison for the tax-shelter math and when it makes sense.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Code section 408(m): full text of the collectibles rule and the coin and bullion exceptions.
- United States Mint American Eagle bullion program: statutory basis and specifications for the Gold, Silver, and Platinum Eagles.
- LBMA Good Delivery List: accredited refiners for gold and silver bullion.
- IRS Publication 590-A: contributions to individual retirement arrangements, including the collectibles rule.
- IRS Publication 590-B: distributions from individual retirement arrangements, including how a prohibited investment is treated.
- McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. 10 (2021): home-storage IRA case establishing that trustee physical possession is required for the section 408(m)(3)(B) bullion exception.
Related reading on this site: the gold IRA overview, the McNulty home-storage warning, and the full library of numeric tools at Goldiew Tools.