The Complete IRA-Eligible Precious Metals List

Editorial notice: This page is educational reference material for retirement savers researching physical metals. It is not financial or tax advice. Confirm any eligibility question with your self-directed IRA custodian and a licensed tax advisor before wiring funds. White Metal Resources does not sell metals or run an IRA program.

Last updated: August 4, 2026 · By White Metal Resources Editorial

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This page is the working reference for what a self-directed IRA can hold across all four physical precious metals. Below sit four rosters, one per metal, with the issuing mint or refiner, common weights, and the exact legal path to eligibility. Every row is verified against the tax code and the mint's own product page as of publication. See the white metals IRA overview for the plain-English basics before you scan the tables.

How the tax code defines eligibility

Physical metals are not simply listed in a friendly IRS product database. Congress wrote two legal tests into IRC Section 408(m)(3), and any coin or bar that clears either one is eligible for a self-directed IRA. Reading both matters, because the first test rescues a handful of coins that would otherwise fail on raw purity.

Path 1: the U.S. coin carve-out

Section 408(m)(3)(A) exempts from the collectibles ban "certain gold, silver, or platinum coins described in 31 U.S.C. Section 5112" (source: 26 U.S.C. Section 408). That statute lists the gold, silver, and platinum American Eagles, plus a small set of related U.S. issues. The carve-out is a listing test, not a purity test. A named coin qualifies even if its fineness falls below the bullion floor.

Path 2: the bullion fineness test

Section 408(m)(3)(B) admits "any gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion of a fineness equal to or exceeding the minimum fineness that a contract market ... requires for metals which may be delivered in satisfaction of a regulated futures contract." That points to the delivery minimums used by regulated commodity markets.

For an easy summary, see the IRS Issue Snapshot on collectibles (source: IRS Issue Snapshot). The metal must also sit in the physical possession of an approved trustee (source: IRS Publication 590-A).

The practical fineness floors

Translating the futures market minimums into a table:

Sources: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m); IRS Publication 590-A appendix; regulated commodity market delivery specifications reflected in the LBMA and NYMEX product sheets. Checked June 2026.

The complete IRA-eligible gold list

Gold takes the widest range of eligible product because the .995 floor is easier to hit than the white metals thresholds. The Gold Eagle is the outlier at .9167 fine, admitted only through the coin carve-out. Every other row below clears the fineness test on its own.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m); U.S. Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Austrian Mint, Perth Mint, Royal Mint, and China Mint product pages. Checked June 2026. See the IRA-eligible gold coins reference.

Sources: LBMA Good Delivery gold list; refiner product sheets from PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Argor-Heraeus, Perth Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, and Asahi Refining. Checked June 2026. See the IRA-eligible gold bars reference.

The complete IRA-eligible silver list

Silver eligibility rests on a firm .999 floor, and the Silver Eagle qualifies at that exact figure. The Maple Leaf sits above it at .9999. Bars run wider, from small assay-carded pieces up to 1,000 ounce wholesale bars traded in the London market.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m); U.S. Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Austrian Mint, Perth Mint, Royal Mint, and Casa de Moneda de México product pages. Checked June 2026. See the IRA-eligible silver coins reference.

Sources: LBMA Good Delivery silver list; refiner product sheets from PAMP Suisse, Sunshine Minting, Asahi Refining, Royal Canadian Mint, and Perth Mint. Checked June 2026. See the IRA-eligible silver bars reference.

The complete IRA-eligible platinum list

Platinum eligibility jumps to .9995 fine because that is the delivery minimum on regulated futures. The Platinum Eagle takes the carve-out route the same way the Gold and Silver Eagles do. Every other platinum coin below qualifies only if the specific issue year meets .9995 fine or higher.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m); U.S. Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint, Austrian Mint, and Royal Mint product pages. Checked June 2026. See the platinum products reference and the platinum IRA overview.

Sources: LBMA and LPPM Good Delivery platinum lists; refiner product sheets from PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Argor-Heraeus, and Heraeus. Checked June 2026.

The complete IRA-eligible palladium list

Palladium eligibility follows the same .9995 fine floor as platinum. The Palladium Eagle debuted in 2017 and is admitted through the bullion test rather than the carve-out. Product supply is narrower than the other three metals, and depository acceptance is worth confirming in writing for palladium especially.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m); U.S. Mint and Royal Canadian Mint product pages. Checked June 2026. See the palladium products reference and the palladium IRA overview.

Sources: LBMA and LPPM Good Delivery palladium lists; refiner product sheets from PAMP Suisse, Baird & Co., and Heraeus. Checked June 2026.

Bars: refiner and accreditation standard

A fineness stamp on a bar is not enough on its own. The bar has to come from a refiner recognized by a commodity market or by an equivalent standards body. The London Bullion Market Association sets the Good Delivery standard for gold and silver used by wholesale markets globally (source: LBMA Good Delivery). For platinum and palladium, the London Platinum and Palladium Market keeps its own Good Delivery list.

U.S. self-directed IRA custodians generally accept refiners appearing on either LBMA or LPPM Good Delivery, plus a short list of comparable NYMEX and COMEX-recognized names. A refiner missing from every one of those lists is a hard no, no matter what the stamp on the bar says. Confirm the refiner in writing with your custodian before a purchase clears.

What the four lists leave out

The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions, because dealers most often try to steer buyers into products off these lists. Anything failing both eligibility tests counts as a collectible under Section 408(m). Buying one inside an IRA triggers a deemed distribution equal to cost, taxed as ordinary income, plus the 10% additional tax if the account holder is under age 59.5 (source: IRS Publication 590-B).

Sources: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m); IRS Publication 590-B; IRS Issue Snapshot on collectibles. Checked June 2026.

Enforcement of the physical-possession rule is not hypothetical. In McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. 10 (2021), the U.S. Tax Court sided with the IRS against taxpayers who kept IRA-held metals in a home safe. Federal price-manipulation enforcement is also active in the precious metals space. A 2020 CFTC order required JPMorgan Chase and subsidiaries to pay a total of $920.2 million over spoofing that spanned gold, silver, platinum, and palladium futures (source: CFTC Release 8260-20).

How to verify a product before purchase

The steps below follow the check most self-directed IRA custodians run before they accept a shipment.

1. Confirm the product name and issue. Match the exact coin or bar description ("Platinum Maple Leaf, 1 oz, 2024 issue") against the mint or refiner product page. Ambiguous naming is a common upsell tactic.
2. Read the stamped fineness. Verify the fineness on the coin, bar, or manufacturer spec sheet. Bars should also show refiner name and serial number.
3. Check the refiner accreditation. For bars and rounds, confirm the refiner appears on LBMA Good Delivery, LPPM Good Delivery, or a comparable regulated futures market list.
4. Ask the custodian for written acceptance. Send the product spec sheet and get the custodian to confirm in writing that they will vault it before you wire funds. Verbal is not enough.
5. Route the shipment dealer to depository. The metal must ship directly to your custodian's approved depository, not to your home. A dealer who resists this step is a warning sign. See the neutral checklist for choosing a company.

When adding these products is not a fit

Eligibility is not the same as suitability. There are several situations where holding IRA-eligible metals works against a saver, even when every product on this page qualifies.

• The balance is small against fixed fees. Setup, custodian, storage, and dealer premium land mostly as flat costs. On a $5,000 or $10,000 account they eat a share that the account has little time to recover. See the fee breakdown.
• Withdrawal is close. Metal prices swing in the short term, and selling means crossing the dealer spread on the way out. Below age 59.5, the 10% additional tax stacks on top of income tax.
• The dealer is steering toward graded or "rare" coins. A pitch that pushes numismatic pieces over common bullion is often paid for by the premium. The coin is likely a collectible and not IRA-eligible in the first place.
• The account is being concentrated in one metal. A single-metal position leaves no buffer. Broad diversification usually comes first, with physical metals as a portion.
• A "free metals" promotion cannot be verified. The cost normally sits inside the coin premium on the products actually purchased. Ask for the itemized invoice before deciding.

Eligibility questions, answered

Is a South African Krugerrand IRA-eligible?

No. The Krugerrand is 22 karat at .9167 fine, below the .995 gold floor. It is also absent from the Section 5112 carve-out list, so both eligibility paths close. See the Krugerrand eligibility note.

Does the coin have to be a current year issue?

No. Any issue year is eligible if the coin meets the fineness test or sits on the carve-out list. Older Silver Eagles from the 1980s qualify the same way current issues do. Numismatic premium on older dates does not add or remove eligibility, only cost.

Can foreign coins be IRA-eligible?

Yes, when they meet the bullion fineness test and come from an approved sovereign mint. The Canadian Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Perth Mint Kangaroo, and Royal Mint Britannia all qualify. Older foreign coinage at lower fineness (British Sovereign, Mexican 50 Pesos) does not. See foreign coins in an IRA.

Are proof coins IRA-eligible?

Only under narrow conditions. A modern proof from a sovereign mint at the required fineness can qualify if held by an approved trustee at an IRS-approved depository. Buying a graded proof from a private seller at a numismatic premium turns it into a collectible.

Do palladium and platinum have the same rules as gold and silver?

The legal framework is identical. Section 408(m)(3) covers all four metals. The only differences sit in the fineness floors (.9995 for platinum and palladium versus .995 for gold and .999 for silver) and the shorter list of sovereign issuers.

Can I store IRA-eligible metals at home if I have a safe?

No. Section 408(m)(3) requires physical possession by an approved trustee. Home storage of IRA-owned metal is a deemed distribution equal to cost, taxed as ordinary income, plus the 10% additional tax if under age 59.5. The U.S. Tax Court confirmed this reading in McNulty v. Commissioner in 2021.

What if my dealer says a coin is eligible but the custodian refuses it?

The custodian and depository make the final acceptance call. A product can be statutorily eligible and still declined for internal reasons (refiner not on their list, product not vaulted). Get written custodian acceptance before wiring funds, not after.

Does the fineness floor change from year to year?

The statutory floor tracks the delivery minimum on regulated futures contracts. Those minimums are set by the exchanges (COMEX, NYMEX) and change rarely. As of publication, .995 gold, .999 silver, .9995 platinum, and .9995 palladium remain the practical thresholds every custodian applies.

Where does the LBMA fit in the U.S. IRA rules?

The LBMA Good Delivery list sets the recognized refiner standard for gold and silver in the London wholesale market. U.S. custodians rely on this list because refiners on it are the same ones whose bars clear regulated futures delivery. A bar from a refiner missing from LBMA (or LPPM, for platinum and palladium) is usually declined.

Are cryptocurrencies or metal ETFs on this list?

No. This page covers physical precious metals only. Metal ETFs and mining shares can sit inside a traditional IRA held by a mainstream broker, but they are securities and follow securities rules, not the Section 408(m) physical-metal framework covered here.

Sources

1. Cornell Legal Information Institute, 26 U.S.C. Section 408. Checked June 2026.
2. Cornell Legal Information Institute, 31 U.S.C. Section 5112 (U.S. coin denominations and specifications). Checked June 2026.
3. IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements. Checked June 2026.
4. IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. Checked June 2026.
5. IRS Issue Snapshot, Investments in collectibles in individually-directed qualified plan accounts. Checked June 2026.
6. London Bullion Market Association, Good Delivery. Checked June 2026.
7. U.S. Mint, Bullion Coins (Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium Eagles). Checked June 2026.
8. Royal Canadian Mint, Bullion coins (Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium Maple Leaf). Checked June 2026.
9. Perth Mint, Bullion bars and coins. Checked June 2026.
10. Austrian Mint, Bullion (Philharmonic series). Checked June 2026.
11. Royal Mint UK, Precious metals investment (Britannia series). Checked June 2026.
12. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Release 8260-20 (JPMorgan spoofing order, September 2020). Checked June 2026.