Best Overall

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Gold & Other Precious Metals

Purchase gold and silver coins
Eligible orders qualify for up to $5,000 in free silver and no IRA fees for three years
Detailed descriptions of the metals sold
Shipped metals are insured and require a signature to be received
Excellent ratings from its customers
7-day money-back guarantee

Gold IRAs require an initial purchase of $10,000
Doesn’t sell platinum or palladium coins or bars

American Hartford Gold is a precious metal investing company based out of Los Angeles, California. The company focuses on helping its customers build an investment portfolio of gold, silver, and other valuable metals.

With American Hartford Gold, investors can open a precious metal IRA, which lets them hold their metal in a retirement account. These accounts offer benefits, including tax-deferred or tax-free growth on earnings.

In this review:

What does American Hartford Gold offer?
Are there any costs associated with American Hartford Gold?
Customer ratings
Where does American Hartford Gold store my precious metals?
Can I see how my precious metal investments are performing?
Pros and cons of American Hartford Gold
How to open an account

What does American Hartford Gold offer?

American Hartford Gold helps its customers buy and sell precious metals, primarily gold, silver, and platinum. It can deliver metals straight to customers’ doorsteps or help rollover 401(k) or IRA accounts.

Precious metals IRA

Saving for retirement is essential. Social Security doesn’t provide enough for most people during retirement, so you want to make sure that you have a nest egg that you can rely on. Investing your money is one of the best ways to grow your savings over time, so many people invest for retirement.

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are a special type of investment account. These accounts help people save for retirement and offer tax advantages to people who use them.

American Hartford Gold will help you set up a self-directed IRA and place gold and silver inside of that IRA.

Silver, gold, and platinum products

If you don’t want to open an IRA but still want to invest in precious metals, American Hartford Gold can help you purchase metals. The company primarily focuses on gold and silver products from the following countries:

Australia
Austria
Canada
South Africa
Switzerland
United States

One drawback of American Hartford Gold, which is relatively common among online precious metal dealers, is that it does not list prices online. If you want to know how much a specific coin or metal bar costs, you’ll need to call to request pricing.

Are there any costs associated with American Hartford Gold?

Whenever you’re thinking about working with a financial company or making an investment, you should take the time to think about costs. Every dollar you pay in expenses and fees is a dollar that isn’t in your investment portfolio working for you.

Unlike investments like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, gold and silver are physical assets. This means that investing in metal involves additional costs that you need to be aware of, including transportation, storage, and security.

American Hartford Gold does not charge for the transportation of precious metals, so you don’t have to worry about those costs when you buy or sell metals.

The company does not publicly list its fees but states that “fees vary based on your account’s size and the metal holdings in your depository. Depending on your situation, the storage might be free.” The larger your portfolio, the better your chances of American Hartford Gold covering the storage costs for you.

Customer ratings

If you’re thinking about opening an account with an online financial company, you should take a few minutes to research that company’s reputation. You want to make sure that you’re working with a reputable business that you can trust.

This is especially true in the precious metals industry.

American Hartford Gold is well-reviewed and has many happy customers. It also has some celebrity endorsements, including accolades from Bill O’Reilly and Rudy Guiliani.

Source	Rating
Better Business Bureau	A+
Trustpilot	4.9/5
Google	4.8/5

The ratings above were collected on April 16, 2021.

Where does American Hartford Gold store my precious metals?

Storage is one of the most complex aspects of investing in precious metals. You need to keep your metal somewhere and make sure that it is safe from damage and theft.

American Hartford Gold recommends several storage locations, including Brink’s Global Services in California and Utah or Delaware Depository Service in Delaware. The company can help with arranging transportation to these locations and storage at them.

American Hartford Gold recommends against storing precious metals in your home for the long term. In fact, IRS rules generally forbid investors from storing a precious metal IRA in their homes. When you withdraw from your account, you can receive your withdrawals in cash or have American Hartford Gold deliver your metal to you.

Can I see how my precious metal investments are performing?

When you invest, it’s important to keep an eye on your portfolio to ensure it’s performing well. If you monitor your portfolio’s performance, you can adjust your investing strategy based on changes in the market and your financial needs.

The company doesn’t provide a dashboard through its website, but after helping you set up your self-directed IRA, you’ll be provided with a portal that can be used to see your account balance.

Pros and cons of American Hartford Gold

Pros

Excellent customer reviews
Price match guarantee
Buyback commitment

Cons

No pricing listed on the website
Does not ship outside the United States

How to open an account

Opening an account with American Hartford Gold involves a simple, three-step process.

First, you’ll need to call the company and speak to one of its account specialists. You can ask any questions you might have about American Hartford Gold and its investment offerings. You can also discuss whether you want to open an IRA or a taxable investment account.

The account specialist will send you the necessary paperwork and help you fill it out. You’ll have to provide some personal information, as well as banking information, so that you can start funding your account.

After you’ve finished talking with the account specialist, you’ll have to wait while your money moves from your existing retirement account to your new self-directed IRA account. It usually takes about three days to fund your account.

Once your money arrives in your precious metals account, you can start buying silver, gold, and platinum coins and bars. American Hartford Gold will help you transport and store your metals at one of its recommended facilities.

How can I withdraw from my account?

When you want to make a withdrawal from your precious metal account, you have a few options.

One is to take your withdrawal as cash. American Hartford Gold offers a buyback commitment. American Hartford Gold never charges any additional liquidation fees and their clients enjoy a quick and simple three-step liquidation process. You can simply give them a call to start the process. The company will help arrange shipment and then issue payment.

If you prefer, you can have the company arrange transport of your metals from a storage facility to your home. You’re then free to do whatever you’d like with the metal, including store it in your home or sell it locally.

Keep in mind that there are restrictions surrounding withdrawals from IRAs. If you make a withdrawal before turning 59½, you’ll have to pay a penalty on top of any income taxes that you owe.

Where to find American Hartford Gold alternatives

American Hartford Gold is a good company to work with if you want to invest in precious metals, but it is just one of many businesses in the industry. It’s good practice to shop around and do your due diligence so that you can find the company that best fits your unique needs.

If you’re interested in investing in precious metals, our guide to precious metal companies is a good place to start.

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Our choice for best overall

American Hartford Gold can help you set up a self-directed IRA & purchase precious metals
Metals for sale include gold, silver, and platinum
The company has an excellent rating from its customers on Trustpilot