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But what if you’re worried about the hard-earned money you’ve put toward retirement?

Augusta Precious Metals helps you turn your current retirement funds into a gold IRA and/or silver IRA. You can buy coins, rounds, and bars for any occasion, as well, but its bread and butter is precious metals IRAs.

Here’s what you need to know about Augusta Precious metals.

What is Augusta Precious Metals?

Augusta Precious Metals is a gold and silver dealer primarily focused on precious metals IRAs. It also sells metals to own outside an IRA—but its specialty is helping you to open an IRA with gold and/or silver. 

Augusta has been in business since 2012, exhibiting its trustworthiness as a business in an industry with commonly high dealer turnover. It’s one of the highest-rated gold companies around, receiving excellent reviews on Trustpilot and earning zero complaints with the Better Business Bureau in the past three years.

What is a precious metals IRA?

A precious metals IRA serves the same purpose as a conventional IRA: It lets you invest your retirement savings in a tax-advantaged account to grow (or preserve) your funds for after you retire.

The difference is that “alternative investments” like gold and silver require that you open a “self-directed” IRA. This will let you use your IRA money to buy precious metals. You can also use regular funds to buy gold and silver and deposit those into your IRA (up to the IRS-stipulated maximum each year).

When buying gold or silver for an IRA, you cannot hold the physical metals yourself. You must use an IRS-approved custodian to house your investment, instead.

How opening an IRA with Augusta Precious Metals works

Opening an IRA through Augusta is simple. Here’s a quick and dirty step-by-step:

1. Peruse Augusta’s educational materials: The Augusta Precious Metals website offers free checklists, guides to precious metals IRA costs and risks, articles on scams to watch for, and more.
2. Set up a self-directed IRA: Augusta helps you to find a trusted custodian to handle your precious metals IRA. If you’ve already got a self-directed IRA, you can typically transfer or roll over the funds without getting dinged.
3. Invest at least $50,000: Augusta enforces a minimum investment of at least $50,000 to open an IRA. This will mostly have to come from your current retirement funds, as you can only add up to $8,600 in new funds per year, depending on your age.
4. Choose your gold and silver: Augusta representatives will explain with patience and detail everything you need to know about the metals you buy, and they will help to narrow down the selection to products that fit your strategy.

Products offered by Augusta Precious Metals

Augusta Precious Metals sells more than 40 different coins, rounds, and bars—the overwhelming majority of which are IRA-eligible. Augusta clearly tags each eligible product with an “IRA approved” label to help those interested in funding a precious metals IRA clearly identify which bullion qualifies according to IRS rules.

Popular options for funding your IRA include:

• 1oz Gold American Eagle Coin
• Gold American Buffalo 1oz BU coin
• 1oz Gold Bullion Bar
• 1oz Silver Eagle Coin
• 1oz Canadian Silver Maple Leaf Coin

Unfortunately, Augusta does not list live prices on its website. You’ll instead have to call to get those numbers. It’s a bit of an inconvenience—but the company representatives are famously low-pressure, as they’re salaried and don’t get a commission from making a sale.

Pros and cons

Augusta Precious Metals buyback program

No reputable precious metals company in the U.S. guarantees it’ll buy back the gold or silver it sells to you; if a dealer makes that claim, take it as a red flag.

As you’d expect, Augusta Precious Metals doesn’t promise a buy back. However, it has historically purchased metals back from its customers, publishing a landing page that comprehensively outlines its policy (not all dealers even advertise a buyback program).

Augusta states that they’ll typically pay more for gold and silver purchased through them than if you were to sell it elsewhere. You can expect to get around 5% less than Augusta is currently selling the same product for. In other words, if you were to sell back a coin that Augusta is currently selling for $2,000, it would likely pay you $1,900. Augusta also will not charge a separate liquidation fee when buying back.

Augusta touts what they call a “Highest Buyback Guarantee.” This means that when you sell your metals back to Augusta, you can cancel within 24 hours if another buyer offers you more.

What customers have to say

It’s virtually a rule that online reviews skew negative, particularly in the financial world, as customers who have experienced issues are typically much louder than those with a seamless experience.

That said, Augusta Precious Metals maintains a stellar 4.8 stars on Trustpilot and a 4.93 stars with the Better Business Bureau. Customers routinely comment on the courteous and patient representatives—and the lack of high-pressure tactics. They’re quick to answer any and all questions, and they outline pricing and fees very transparently.

Negative reviews tend to focus on the anecdotal inability to retrieve hard copies of services and misleading buyback expectations. Customers also don’t appreciate that you have to call the company to see gold and silver prices, as the website does not have live prices.

Is Augusta Precious Metals right for you?

A sea of precious metals dealers exists. To know if Augusta is a good option for you, ask the following questions:

Can you afford the minimum investment?

Augusta Precious Metals is very customer-friendly—with the exception of its $50,000 minimum investment. If you can’t swing that dollar amount, you’ll need to find a dealer with a lower minimum requirement.

Do you want to invest in precious metals other than gold or silver?

Augusta Precious Metals only deals with gold and silver. If, for example, you want to invest your retirement in platinum, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Do you value the volume of reviews more than the star rating?

Augusta Precious Metals has been in business since 2012—but the number of reviews it has on sites like Trustpilot pales in comparison to other popular dealers. While Augusta has some of the highest ratings of any precious metals company, it simply doesn’t have that high of a review count. You’ll find many more data points by looking at companies like Lear Capital and Silver Gold Bull.

The takeaway

Augusta Precious Metals is a top-tier gold and silver dealer specializing in precious metals IRAs. It’s a well-established company with over a decade of experience and a sky-high customer rating. 

If you’re anxious about the direction of the U.S. dollar and would like to preserve the value of your retirement, Augusta can help you to convert your current IRA or 401(k) into a precious metals IRA, thoroughly educating you along the way. 

Frequently asked questions