American Hartford Gold (AHG): 2024 Review

Best Overall

4.9 _/5

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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 recipient’s signature
• 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.

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 in your 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 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 common among online precious metal dealers, is that it doesn’t list prices online. You’ll need to call to request pricing if you want to know how much a specific coin or metal bar costs.

Are there any costs associated with American Hartford Gold?

Unlike stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, gold and silver are physical assets. Investing in metal involves additional costs, including storage and security. American Hartford Gold doesn’t charge to transport precious metals.

The company doesn’t 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 your storage costs.

Customer ratings

If you’re considering opening an account with an online financial company, research that company’s reputation first. Ensure you’re working with a reputable business you can trust.

This is especially true in the precious metals industry. American Hartford Gold is well-reviewed and has many happy customers:

Source	Customer rating	Number of reviews
Better Business Bureau	4.89/5	521
Trustpilot	4.8/5	1,236
Google	4.8/5	1,046

Where does American Hartford Gold store my precious metals?

American Hartford Gold recommends several storage locations, including Brinks Global Services in California and Utah or Delaware Depository Service in Delaware. The company can help arrange storage and transportation to and from these locations.

IRS rules forbid investors from storing a precious metal IRA in their homes. When you withdraw from your account, you can get 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 monitor your portfolio. By monitoring its 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 you set up your self-directed IRA, it will provide a portal to view your account balance.

Pros and cons of American Hartford Gold

Pros

• Excellent customer reviews

• Price match guarantee

• Buyback commitment

• Eligible orders qualify for up to $5,000 in free silver and no IRA fees for three years

• 7-day money-back guarantee

• Purchase gold and silver coins

• Detailed descriptions of the available metals

• Shipped metals are insured and require a signature

Cons

• No prices listed on the website

• Does not ship outside the United States

• Gold IRAs require an initial purchase of $10,000

• Doesn’t sell platinum or palladium coins or bars

How to open an account

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

1. 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.
2. Complete the paperwork. The account specialist will send you the necessary paperwork and help you fill it out. You’ll provide personal and banking information to start funding your account.
3. Wait while your money moves from your current retirement account to your new self-directed IRA account. Funding your account usually takes about three days.
4. Start buying precious metals. Once your money arrives in your 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.

1. Take your withdrawal as cash. American Hartford Gold offers a buyback commitment. It never charges additional liquidation fees, and its clients enjoy a simple three-step liquidation process. Call a representative to start the process, and the company will help arrange shipment and issue payment.
2. If you prefer, you can have the company arrange transport of your metals from a storage facility to your home. You can then do whatever you’d like with the metal, including store it in your home or sell it.

Keep the restrictions surrounding withdrawals from IRAs in mind. For example, if you withdraw before turning 59½, you’ll pay a penalty on top of any income taxes you owe.

Where to find American Hartford Gold alternatives

American Hartford Gold is our top company to work with if you want to invest in precious metals, but it’s just one of many businesses in the industry. It’s smart to shop around and research to 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 terrific place to start.

How we rated American Hartford Gold Group

We designed LendEDU’s editorial rating system to help readers find companies that offer the best gold IRAs. Our system awards higher ratings to companies with affordable solutions, positive customer reviews, and online transparency of benefits and terms.

We compared American Hartford Gold to several gold companies, using hundreds of data points from company websites, public disclosures, customer reviews, and direct communication with company representatives. We weighted, scored, and combined each factor to produce a final editorial rating. This rating is expressed on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest possible score. Our take is represented in our rating and best-for designation, recapped below.

Product	Best for	Our rating
American Hartford Gold & Other Precious Metals	Best overall	4.9/5