What’s a Silver Eagle IRA? Investment Guide

James McCollum

One of the best things about investing in precious metals is you have many different ways of doing it. You could invest in gold coins, silver coins, or silver bullion bars.

Therefore, you can try many different investment strategies and see which is best for you. People often get precious metals to create precious metal IRAs. These accounts work similarly to traditional retirement accounts, but they allow you to add precious metals to your retirement funds.

Most people managing precious metal IRAs invest in gold coins, gold bullion bars, or silver bars, but not all of them know they can also buy silver eagles. There are several types of silver coins available on the market, but Silver Eagles are the best option for many investors.

Are you interested in learning what Silver Eagles are and how you can profit from them? This is the page for you. Read on to learn everything you need to know about Silver Eagles and how you can use them for a precious metals IRA!

You can find more articles related to self-directed IRAs and precious metals on the InvestorCircle website.

What Are Silver Eagle Coins?

Silver Eagle IRA Investment

American Silver Eagle Coins are the official silver bullion coins of the U.S., and that’s what makes them more popular than other silver coins out there. Silver Eagles are available all across the country and are famous internationally.

Although people can use Silver Eagles as a currency since they have a face value, their intrinsic value is much more expensive. The face value of American silver coins is $1.00, while the current intrinsic value of the asset follows the current market trends and can change suddenly.

As we mentioned before, people can use American Eagle Coins as currencies. However, most people use these coins for their investment value, so they add them to their portfolios or use them to invest in a precious metals IRA.

You need to find a precious metals dealer that sells American Silver Eagles since not all of them do.

History of Silver Eagle Coins

American Silver Eagles first came out in 1986 after being authorized by the United States Congress. The idea to develop these coins came from the Liberty Coin Act of 1985. Regardless of Silver Eagles being the first successful attempt from the U.S. government to sell silver coins, it had been trying to do it since 1970.

The plan was to sell reserves from the Defense National Stockpile to balance the federal budget. Nonetheless minting a new coin is a complex process, so it took many years to make these new coins the official silver coins of the country.

Regarding the process to sell off reserves from the National Stockpile, those silver reserves were almost over by 2002, and no one was planning to keep producing these coins after that.

Nevertheless, the Bush administration thought American Silver Eagles could bring profits to the country in the future, so it passed a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Treasure to buy silver from other countries and companies to produce more silver coins.

Gold Eagles also came into the market in 1986, and although the original American Gold Eagle is way older than that, it was a huge success to bring them back.

The government also released proof coins in 2006, which were named American Eagle Uncirculated Coins. Proof coins are mainly used for their collection value, but people looking forward to getting silver coins for a precious metals IRA should go for the original American Silver Eagles.

Design

It’s not difficult to tell Silver Eagles apart from other coins due to their sophisticated design. The front side of the coin has a design by Adolph Weinman named the “Walking Liberty,” and it consists of a woman with the U.S. flag and some flowers behind her. You can see the sun on the lower left of the coin and the phrase “IN GOD WE TRUST” on the lower right.

As for the back side of the coin, you can see the classic American Eagle of the United States. This design consists of an eagle behind a shield holding a banner with the Latin expression “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” The eagle also holds an olive branch and some arrows, and you can read “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” at the top of the coin.

Silver Eagles are not that big since they only have a diameter of 40,6mm and a thickness of 2.98mm. It’s worth noting these coins are 99.99% made of pure silver.

Can I Add Silver Eagle Coins to a Precious Metals IRA?

The short answer is yes; you can add Silver Eagles to your IRA account along with other precious metals. This is not something new, though. Investors with a precious metals IRA have been able to add Silver Eagles to their portfolios since these coins first came out.

Is It Any Good to Have Physical Precious Metals?

Not all investors are sure if investing in precious metals would be a decent financial move since they don’t know the benefits of owning physical precious metals.

We understand if you are hesitant to invest in precious metals since most people are only used to investing in other assets such as currencies, stocks, or CFDs. Nonetheless, there are many advantages to creating a precious metals IRA account, and here are some of them:

They Work as a Safety Net

As we mentioned before, Silver Eagles have a different market value from the one you see on the face of the coin. These coins are made of pure silver, so they follow the value silver gets on the market. This means Silver Eagles are way more valuable than people think.

Regardless of the current value they have, the best thing about opening a precious metals IRA account is they work as a safety net against economic crises and as a hedge against inflation. What does this mean? Your assets won’t lose all their value overnight due to inflation, which allows you to go for slow investment strategies and have emergency funds at hand.

Some precious metals, such as gold, are ideal for an IRA account since they work as countercyclical investments. Hence, the current gold value goes up when the value of other mainstream assets goes down.

They Are Stable Assets on the Market

It’s not only that precious metals are not affected by inflation but rather that they are not as volatile as other assets. People investing in cryptocurrencies, for example, need to spend hours checking how the market changes, and since the crypto market is one of the most volatile ones, they always have to make dangerous investments.

Silver is one of the most volatile precious metals out there, but it’s not nearly as volatile as other assets, so you can trust it to keep its value for long without going down or making you lose the money you invested in it.

They Are Easier to Manage

Managing an IRA account is not as difficult as many people think, as long as you have a financial advisor to help you with everything and choose a decent self-directed IRA custodian. Investing in other assets requires you to understand complex technical terms that can become too overwhelming to beginner investors.

When you have a precious metal IRA, you only need to worry about paperwork and how you want to manage your IRA funds. Investing in precious metals is as easy as choosing the type of precious metal you want to get and making sure it follows the IRS rules.

Are There Other Silver Bullion Coins on the Market?

Silver Bullion Coins

Although Silver Eagles are the official silver bullion coins of the country, they are not the only ones available. Even if you don’t invest in them, it’s good to know the other options you can go for in case they suit your investment plans better than the ones you wanted to use in the first place.

Canadian Silver Maple Leaf

As their name suggests, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins are issued by the Canadian government. Due to these coins not coming from the U.S. government, many think they can’t use them for their precious metal IRA. They can, though, and these coins are even more affordable than Silver Eagles.

Silver Britannia

Just as you can use Canadian Leaf coins for self-directed IRAs in the United States, you can also use Silver and Gold Britannia. Regardless of that, these coins are not as popular as others since they don’t offer better benefits than Silver Eagles or Canadian coins.

Silver Kookaburra

Another alternative to Silver Eagles on self-directed IRAs is Silver Kookaburra coins. These coins come from Australia. The only issue with these coins is they are not as easy to find as Britannia coins or Gold Eagles.

Conclusion

We understand opening a self-directed IRA can be stressful, but everything will be alright as long as you have a decent investment plan and IRA custodian. Choosing the right IRA custodian for your self-directed IRA is one of the most important parts of the process, so take all the time you need to do it.

However, if you need more information on the matter, you can also read more articles on the InvestorCircle website.

Bank Failure