If you believe in gold as a long-term investment, you may want to hold some in your IRA. However, putting gold into your IRA can be complicated. There are ways to use your IRA to invest in physical gold but it’s a lot easier to use securities that are linked to the price of gold.
IRS Publication 590, which covers IRAs, says that if a traditional IRA invests in collectibles, that investment will be treated as a distribution. That is, you will owe income tax on the amount invested and usually a 10% penalty before age 59-1/2. According to the IRS, "metals" and "coins" are specifically named as collectibles.
That said, there are exceptions. IRS Publication 590 lists one-, one-half, one-quarter, and one-tenth ounce U.S. gold coins as well as one-ounce silver coins minted by the Treasury Department as permissible IRA investments. Therefore, American Eagle gold and silver bullion coins, from the U.S. Mint, are acceptable for IRAs.
Still, you have to find a cooperative IRA custodian to hold coins, and the fees might be relatively high. You might be better off with gold-related investments acceptable to most custodians, such as gold mining stocks, precious metals mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds that hold gold bullion, such as SPDR Gold Shares or iShares Gold Trust.