American Bullion Review

Last updated: July 12, 2026 · By White Metal Resources Editorial

Two guardrails frame this review. The first is what American Bullion publishes on its own website, quoted directly and dated. The second is the neutral public record: SEC EDGAR, the Better Business Bureau, industry membership lists, and the federal rulebook every precious-metals IRA has to obey. If a claim below has no URL behind it, we omit it or flag it as "not publicly disclosed."

What actually stands out about American Bullion

Three specific things separate American Bullion from the pattern seen at most competing dealers, based on the company's own site as of July 2026.

The first is a written fee schedule that is actually posted online. On its FAQ page, the company lists three self-directed IRA plans through STRATA Trust Company with dollar amounts attached: a Precious Metals IRA at "$25 set-up fee. $160 annual account fee," a Basic IRA at "$200 annual account fee," and a Flex IRA at "$275 annual account fee." Most peers force you onto a phone call to see these numbers. American Bullion prints them.

The second is the pioneer positioning. The About page states the company was "founded in 2009 by two veteran precious metals traders" and calls itself "the pioneer and a trusted leader in adding precious metals to your Individual Retirement Account." The founders named in the same paragraph are Orkan Ozkan and Nevtan Akcora, described as former commodity brokers.

The third is exclusivity of infrastructure. The FAQ page names STRATA Trust Company as the custodian for every American Bullion account, and the Delaware Depository as the destination for every IRA purchase. That is unusually specific for a public site, and it means the account paperwork you sign is predictable rather than left to the specialist's choice on the day.

The rest of this review looks at the parts of that pitch that matter for a retirement decision. What the STRATA fee schedule really covers. What the pioneer positioning does and does not tell you. Which metals show up as first-class products and which show up as a page still under construction on the live site.

The STRATA fee schedule, in dollars

American Bullion is the rare dealer that publishes an IRA fee schedule anyone can read on a plain URL. On the FAQ page, the company answers the question "Who is the custodian of my Gold IRA and what are their fees?" with three named STRATA Trust Company plans. Direct quotes below.

• Precious Metals IRA (STRATA). "May only hold precious metals. $25 set-up fee. $160 annual account fee."
• Basic IRA (STRATA). "May hold any combination of precious metals, brokerage accounts, public REITs, public LPs and LLCs, Public Note of Debt Offerings, bank CDs, or other publicly registered or available products. No set-up fee. $200 annual account fee."
• Flex IRA (STRATA). "May hold any combination of precious metals, real estate, trust deeds, mortgages, private stocks, REITs, private LPs or LLCs, Private Note of Debt Offerings, or other alternative investments permitted by SDIRA Services. No set-up fee. $275 annual account fee."

An asterisk applies to every plan. The FAQ page adds: "Annual account fees may vary if the amount invested is above $100,000 or if the metals are stored in a segregated storage facility." Segregated storage costs more than commingled storage at Delaware Depository, and larger balances trigger a different fee bracket. The published number is a floor, not a ceiling.

The chart below shows the three annual fees side by side so the STRATA cost gap is easy to read at a glance.

Two categories of cost are not on the public page. First, the Delaware Depository storage line does not appear on the FAQ, and asterisks confirm segregated storage is priced separately. Second, the dealer spread on the actual coins and bars, the gap between what American Bullion pays wholesale and what you pay retail, is not disclosed for any specific product. Both need to be quoted in writing before you fund the account.

The recommended $10,000 minimum rollover

The company's FAQ answers the minimum-order question in two parts. On direct order minimums, the answer is a plain yes, and specialists set them by product. On rollovers, the FAQ names a specific figure: "American Bullion recommends a minimum rollover amount of $10,000 to account for any fees associated with the process."

That figure is a suggestion rather than a hard gate. It reflects a real cost problem: fixed annual STRATA fees plus storage add up to hundreds of dollars a year. On a $5,000 balance those fixed costs run above three percent of assets before any metal even moves. The dollar hurdle is honest, not arbitrary.

For a rollover between $10,000 and $50,000, the flat $160 STRATA Precious Metals IRA fee is workable but starts to bite. For rollovers above $100,000, the FAQ asterisk kicks in and the number can change. Ask the specialist to write down the total annual dollar cost for your specific balance before you commit.

How this company handles silver, platinum and palladium IRAs

American Bullion is one of the few peers to keep dedicated top-nav pages for all four IRS-eligible metals. Whether every page holds up is the question this section answers, one metal at a time.

Silver IRA

The Silver IRA page is genuine editorial, not a placeholder. It defines the account and names Delaware Depository as storage. It lists rollover-eligible source accounts: Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, TIAA CREF, and pension. A dedicated silver specialist line is published at 1-800-326-9598.

Featured silver products in the top nav include the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Proof American Eagle, PAMP Suisse bars, Johnson Matthey bars, and Peace Silver Dollar coins.

Platinum IRA

The Platinum IRA page is also real editorial. It cites the .9995 fineness minimum for IRA-eligible platinum under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. It discusses the relationship between platinum and gold prices. Two featured platinum IRA products are named: the American Platinum Eagle and PAMP Suisse platinum bars. Verify with a specialist whether the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf and Proof American Platinum Eagle are stocked and IRA-approved today.

Palladium IRA

This is where the site falls short of the pioneer positioning. The public Palladium IRA page briefly describes two featured products: the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf and PAMP Suisse palladium bars. The page then closes with placeholder text lifted straight from a WordPress theme demo: "I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit." That copy is on the live page as of July 2026.

Palladium is a real product line on paper, but the marketing content around it has not been finished on the site. If you plan to build any meaningful part of your account around palladium coins or bars, treat this as a signal to press for extra written confirmation before you fund the account.

The federal rules do not depend on which dealer you pick. Silver must be at least .999 fine to sit in an IRA. Platinum and palladium must be at least .9995 fine. The American Platinum Eagle and Palladium Eagle qualify under a separate United States coin carve-out (source: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m)). See our silver IRA guide, platinum IRA guide, and palladium IRA guide for how each metal behaves inside a retirement account.

Where the metal is stored: Delaware Depository

Every American Bullion IRA purchase ships straight to the Delaware Depository, according to the FAQ. The company says the vault process, "shipping, logging, and moving the metals into the vault," takes about seven business days after purchase. Delaware Depository is one of the two industry-standard IRA vault operators, alongside Brink's, and it is fully IRS-approved as a nonbank trustee under 26 U.S.C. Section 408(n).

What the site does not spell out is the annual storage fee for your balance, or whether that fee changes when you request segregated storage instead of commingled. Both details sit inside STRATA's storage agreement rather than on American Bullion's public site. Request both dollar figures before you fund an account.

The pre-1933 coin catalog and the numismatic question

The About page lists pre-1933 coins prominently in the product mix: "American Bullion carries all U.S. and European pre-1933 coins, as well as modern gold and silver bullion in the full spectrum of currently available coin and bar products." The company is also an authorized dealer for the Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, the two dominant coin-grading houses.

Pre-1933 coins are generally not IRA-eligible under 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m). They belong to the taxable side of the business, sold outside an IRA. Federal regulators have historically warned about pitches to buy "premium," "rare," or graded coins at prices well above their bullion melt value. The spread on numismatics is larger and less visible than on standard bullion.

The mere presence of a pre-1933 catalog does not make American Bullion a numismatic upsell operation. But any conversation about "premium" or "collectible" coins for your IRA needs to end with the specialist confirming, in writing, that the coin meets the federal fineness rule. Confirm too that it is not a graded numismatic piece priced above melt.

Public record: BBB, SEC, and industry memberships

Three separate public sources tell you different things about a precious-metals dealer. Read them in sequence, not in isolation.

The BBB signal

American Bullion is headquartered in California and listed on the Better Business Bureau site as a Los Angeles gold-dealer profile. The live BBB profile sits behind a Cloudflare human-verification challenge, so we could not confirm the current letter rating or complaint count via a scripted fetch this session. Third-party comparison sites frequently cite an A-plus BBB rating. The authoritative source is the bbb.org profile itself. Load it in a real browser before you commit funds.

The SEC EDGAR check

A full-text search on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database returned zero filings for American Bullion the Los Angeles precious-metals dealer as of July 2026 (source: SEC EDGAR full-text search). The only EDGAR match on the phrase belongs to an unrelated defunct Canadian mining company, "American Bullion Minerals Ltd," last active with a revoked filing in 2010.

Zero SEC filings is normal for a physical precious-metals dealer. The coin and bar business is regulated primarily by state consumer-protection law and the Federal Trade Commission rather than by the SEC. The absence of filings is not a red flag on its own.

The industry membership list

The About page states the company is a United States Mint listed dealer and a Royal Canadian Mint Registered Bullion DNA Dealer. It also claims membership in the American Numismatic Association and the Industry Council for Tangible Assets. It is listed as an authorized dealer of both the Professional Coin Grading Service and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation.

Each membership is verifiable on the parent organization's site. None of them substitutes for reading the current BBB profile and the STRATA custodial agreement.

Trustpilot and other review widgets

The company site displays a "Trustpilot" widget with the word "Excellent" attached. The live Trustpilot page for americanbullion.com sits behind an AWS bot-check screen, so the current star score and review count could not be confirmed by scripted fetch. Load the page directly at trustpilot.com/review/americanbullion.com in a browser. Read a sample of both the five-star and one-star reviews before you decide.

American Bullion at a glance

The table below is a snapshot of what the company publishes on its own site, checked in July 2026. It names no winner. Use it as a checklist for your first written exchange with a specialist.

Sources: americanbullion.com About, Silver IRA, Platinum IRA, Palladium IRA, FAQ, and home pages, all live-checked July 2026. Federal rules apply per 26 U.S.C. Section 408 and IRS Publication 590-B.

What annual fees cost over ten years

The STRATA line at $160 or $200 sounds modest until you look at it against a modest IRA over a decade. The calculator below lets you see the cost of any annual fee schedule against your balance, without touching the dealer spread separately.

Pros and cons from the public record

How to open a precious-metals IRA with American Bullion

The mechanics below match the standard self-directed IRA process used by every compliant precious-metals dealer, adapted to the STRATA and Delaware Depository infrastructure American Bullion has named on its own FAQ.

1. Contact American Bullion for a specialist call. The company publishes a general line at 1-800-465-3472 and a dedicated silver line at 1-800-326-9598. Ask up front for the written STRATA fee schedule for your target balance and the Delaware Depository storage fee.
2. Confirm your source account is rollover-eligible. Traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs qualify, along with 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), Thrift Savings Plan, TIAA CREF, pension, and beneficiary IRA balances (source: IRS Publication 590-A).
3. Choose your STRATA plan. Precious Metals IRA at $160 a year is the cheapest and the right pick if you only want physical metal. Basic and Flex plans add asset flexibility you probably do not need if you came here for a rollover into gold or silver.
4. Open the STRATA self-directed IRA. STRATA Trust Company will send account-opening paperwork. STRATA is the IRS-approved trustee that holds legal title to the metal and files your annual tax paperwork, per federal rules.
5. Fund via direct transfer or direct rollover. A trustee-to-trustee direct transfer moves the money custodian to custodian and avoids both the 60-day deadline and the 20 percent mandatory withholding that apply to indirect rollovers on qualified-plan distributions.
6. Pick IRS-approved metals. Choose gold at .995 fine or better, silver at .999 fine or better, and, if you go that route, platinum or palladium at .9995 fine or better. Favor common bullion coins and approved refiner bars over premium numismatic coins.
7. Let Delaware Depository take physical custody. Per the FAQ, the coins or bars ship straight to the vault and the logging step takes about seven business days. Home storage of IRA metal is not allowed under federal law (source: IRS collectibles issue snapshot).

Who this dealer fits, and who it does not

American Bullion fits savers who value transparency of infrastructure. If you want to know before the first phone call which custodian will hold the account and which vault will hold the metal, this dealer publishes both names on the FAQ. It also fits savers who want a silver-heavy or platinum-inclusive IRA and are comfortable working through a specialist for the palladium side.

It fits less well for three groups. Anyone who wants palladium as a headline holding right now, because the public palladium page still contains placeholder text. Anyone whose rollover total sits below the recommended $10,000, because the fixed STRATA line becomes a serious percentage drag on very small balances. Anyone who wants the dealer spread on specific coins printed on the public site before a specialist call, because that number is not disclosed for any product.

For those preferences, use our precious-metals IRA companies list and the dealer checklist to compare side by side.

When a precious-metals IRA is the wrong move

An honest review has to name the situations where any precious-metals IRA is the wrong choice, not only where a specific dealer is not the right fit. If any of the following describes you, slow down and consult a licensed advisor before comparing dealers.

• You may need the cash within a few years. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium can move sharply in short periods, and selling means crossing the dealer spread again. Before age 59.5, a distribution without a qualifying exception carries a 10 percent federal additional tax on top of ordinary income tax (source: IRS Publication 590-B).
• Your total retirement balance is small. Fixed annual fees plus the dealer spread punish small accounts hardest, because the same fixed dollar cost is a much larger percentage of a smaller balance. That is exactly why American Bullion recommends a $10,000 rollover minimum on its own FAQ.
• You have no other retirement savings yet. A physical-metal IRA belongs alongside a broader base of retirement savings, not in place of one. A diversified plan for the next generation of your family works better than a single-asset bet.
• You are chasing a guaranteed return. Nobody can predict where metal prices will go in the future. A pitch that promises guaranteed gains or a specific target price is the pattern federal regulators have acted on in the past, not an opportunity.

American Bullion questions, answered

Is American Bullion a legitimate company?

American Bullion is an operating precious-metals dealer. It publishes a 2009 founding year, two named founders (Orkan Ozkan and Nevtan Akcora), a working phone line at 1-800-465-3472, and a specific custodian and depository on its FAQ page. Its industry memberships include the American Numismatic Association, ICTA, PCGS, and NGC, all verifiable on the parent organizations' sites. Whether the account is the right fit for your situation is a separate question, for a licensed advisor rather than a website.

What are American Bullion’s IRA fees?

The FAQ page lists three STRATA Trust Company plans by dollar amount. The Precious Metals IRA is $25 set-up plus $160 annual. The Basic IRA has no set-up fee and runs $200 a year. The Flex IRA has no set-up fee and runs $275 a year. Fees may vary if your balance goes above $100,000 or you request segregated storage at Delaware Depository. Ask a specialist for the total annual cost including the storage line before you fund the account.

What is the minimum investment for an American Bullion IRA?

The FAQ recommends a rollover of at least $10,000 "to account for any fees associated with the process." That is a suggestion, not a hard gate. On a $10,000 balance the flat STRATA line becomes a meaningful percentage of the account, so ask the specialist to write down the total annual dollar cost at your target balance before you commit.

Does American Bullion offer a Silver IRA?

Silver is a first-class product. The Silver IRA page is real editorial content. A dedicated silver specialist line is published at 1-800-326-9598. Top-nav products include the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Proof American Eagle, PAMP Suisse and Johnson Matthey bars, and Peace Silver Dollar coins.

Does American Bullion offer a Platinum IRA?

Yes. The Platinum IRA page correctly cites the .9995 fineness rule under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and names the American Platinum Eagle and PAMP Suisse platinum bars as featured IRA products. The site's top-nav lists two more platinum items (the Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf and the Proof American Platinum Eagle) as well. Confirm current stock and IRA eligibility on the specialist call.

Does American Bullion offer a Palladium IRA?

The company sells palladium on paper. Palladium sits in the site's top navigation with two featured products, the Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf and PAMP Suisse palladium bars. The Palladium IRA page itself still contains placeholder Lorem ipsum theme text as of July 2026. If you want a meaningful palladium position, ask a specialist for a written product list, order minimums, and the spread above spot before you fund the account.

Who is the custodian for an American Bullion IRA?

American Bullion works exclusively with STRATA Trust Company. The FAQ names STRATA as the trustee that holds legal title to your metal and handles the annual tax paperwork. Verify STRATA's own separate BBB profile and any complaint history before you sign the account paperwork.

Where does American Bullion store IRA metals?

Delaware Depository. The FAQ page states that every IRA purchase ships straight to Delaware Depository and the vault logging step takes about seven business days. Ask the specialist for the annual Delaware Depository storage fee for your balance, and for the segregated-storage upcharge if you want your coins held in a separate, dedicated allocation rather than commingled.

Is American Bullion BBB accredited?

American Bullion maintains a Better Business Bureau profile as a Los Angeles gold-dealer listing. The live BBB page sits behind a Cloudflare human-verification challenge, so we could not confirm the current letter rating or complaint count in this session. Load the profile in a real browser at bbb.org and check both fields before you sign anything.

Does American Bullion have any SEC filings?

A full-text search on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database returned zero filings for American Bullion the Los Angeles dealer as of July 2026. The only match on the phrase is an unrelated Canadian mining company. Zero SEC filings is normal for a physical precious-metals dealer. The coin and bar business is regulated primarily by state consumer-protection law and the Federal Trade Commission rather than by the SEC.

What does the “pioneer” claim actually mean?

The About page positions American Bullion as "the pioneer and a trusted leader in adding precious metals to your Individual Retirement Account." The company opened in 2009. That is seventeen years after the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 first allowed a broader range of bullion coins inside IRAs.

"Pioneer" is a marketing claim about how the founders framed the rollover process. It is not a claim about being the first firm to sell an IRA-eligible coin. Read it as brand voice, not as regulatory precedence.