What gold is IRA approved?

IRA approved gold has to be at least 99.5% fine, with a single statutory exception for the American Gold Eagle, which qualifies at 91.67% because the tax code names it.

The tax code bars retirement accounts from holding collectibles and then carves out an exception for bullion meeting a minimum fineness, which for gold is 0.995. The rule is written about purity rather than about brands, so any refiner's bar meeting the standard qualifies while a coin below it does not.

The American Gold Eagle is the notable exception, named in the statute and eligible despite being 22 carat, and the exception covers the proof Eagle as well as the bullion coin. Collectible and numismatic coins, including rare dated coins and pieces graded and sealed in a slab for the collector market, generally fall outside the bullion exception, so ask the custodian to confirm a coin is eligible before the dealer ships it.

Silver, platinum and palladium have their own thresholds and can sit in the same account, so a gold IRA is a description of what people usually put in it rather than a restriction on what it may hold.