Of all the rare precious metals, platinum is one of the two rarest types. The other really rare metal is palladium, which is part of the platinum family and known as PGM complex. It’s often challenging and difficult to figure out which platinum coins are the best to choose as an investment for your retirement portfolio. But now that you found your way here, you can feel confident knowing that you’re about to receive an excellent education. This education will teach you about the best platinum bullion coins and the five most popular that are perfectly suitable to meet the strict requirements of precious metals IRA accounts.
And since you’re visiting a website focused on precious metals IRAs, we’re only going to tell you about the platinum coins that are designated by the IRS as allowable in a gold IRA. Because the IRS has strict policies regarding purity requirements, and you have to meet their standards in order to have them deem your investment acceptable according to their rules and regulations.
The mandated purity standards for platinum bullion coins acceptable in a precious metals IRA include .9995 fineness levels, which equates to 99.95% pure platinum. That’s just one of the standards that need to be upheld to receive qualification from the Internal Revenue Service. It’s also important that the coin was struck in a mint run by a foreign government with IRS approval. Last but not least, the platinum itself must consist of real bullion, and it cannot be a numismatic coin. So you have to avoid coins that are considered rare, collectible, or they charge a high premium price for you to own them. These coins never qualify as acceptable in a precious metals IRA.
Critical & Necessary Investing Guidelines
You can only add physical platinum to your IRA account with two methods. You can either purchase platinum bars or platinum coins. But there are definite differences between picking bullion bars and bullion coins made of platinum. Overall, the biggest result of your decision leads to choosing platinum over unpredictable currencies made of paper like the US dollar or the UK pound. And this is true no matter whether you buy platinum bars or coins.
If you are curious which types of platinum will fit into your IRA, we wrote a guide to qualified platinum IRA investments.
With that said, we will take a look at the top five platinum coins made of bullion that are perfect for a precious metals IRA.
Platinum Austrian Vienna Philharmonic Coins
Out of all the bullion coins produced in Europe, the Austrian Vienna Philharmonics are incredibly popular. The version of these coins made of platinum is a classic issue that was introduced in 2006 and contains .9995 purity levels of platinum.
Similar to the silver and gold Philharmonic from Austria, the obverse side of the coin is designed using the picture of the Great Pipe Organ, which can be found in the Vienna Golden Hall. On the reverse side of the coin, you’ll see a number of different instruments that you can find in orchestras that are played throughout the world.
The Austrian mint located in Vienna is the location that produces these beautiful platinum coins. They fully own up to the levels of purity and the high quality of each one of these coins. And they are proud of their rich tradition of making coins that goes all way back to over 800 years. At that time, King Richard the Lionheart of England paid them in silver when he was ransomed by the Austrian Archduke silver coins in the 1200s and haven’t stopped minting them since.
As of now, the face value of Philharmonic coins shows that the leaguer tend to value is worth €100, which believe it or not is twice the value of the Canadian Maple Leaf and American Eagle platinum coins that act as its chief rival. In fact, as far as platinum coins go, this coin has the highest face value of any of its kind produced by a major national mint.
Platinum American Eagle Coins
The United States only has one official platinum coins backed by the government, and it is the platinum American Eagle coin. Since it is the only coin made of platinum issued by the American government and guaranteed with their seal of approval, the coin first appeared in 1997 when it was initially made available to the public.
Although relatively new, these coins are quite recognizable to just about anyone who sees them. Another interesting fact is they change the design on the reverse side of the coin every year, so it never remains the same. These platinum coins are the only ones to have their purity, content, and weight backed by the trust and faith of the United States government.
1997 was the year that the American Eagle bullion coin first appeared in platinum form. The director of the US Mint at the time, Philip Diehl, joined forces with Jacques Lubin, the Executive Director of the Platinum Guild International, and David Ganz, the President of the American Numismatic Association. This group of three men lobbied to create a platinum version of the American Eagle and asked Congress to authorize its creation. They made this happen within two years of their initial lobbying efforts.
Just like the American Eagle silver and gold versions, the platinum option has a proof iteration made available as well. These coins were struck specifically for collectors and you’ll pay an extra premium to own them. They have a gorgeous visual appearance and highly polished appeal when compared to their cousins made of bullion. And the proof coins share the same appearance, size, shape, and quality except they’re more expensive because they are considered a collector’s item.
Platinum Canadian Maple Leaf Coins
Due to the major success of the Gold Canadian Maple Leaf coin series, the Royal Canadian Mint chose to create and release platinum and silver Maple Leaf coins back in 1988. Although the silver and gold versions of these coins are struck year after year, the platinum Maple Leaf doesn’t share the same consistency, and they do not produce nearly as many of the platinum coins as they produce their silver and gold versions.
After issuing them for two years, the Maple leaf coins made of platinum were originally available in four denominations and weights that had the portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II on the front. Then in 1990 and all the way through 2002, these newer coins had the bust of Queen Elizabeth II but it was an older version of her when she had reached her 64th birthday. In 2001 the Royal Canadian Mint stopped producing platinum Maple Leaf coins on a consistent annual basis. In 2002, the Royal Canadian mint struck 500 unique holographic sets of platinum coins that year, which is part of a very rare collection.
Afterward, platinum Maple Leafs weren’t minted again until the year 2009. They created a limited-edition worth one Troy ounce. It had the picture of Queen Elizabeth II on it, but she was 79 years old in this version. The Royal Canadian Mint strikes each version of these platinum Maple leafs in their main branch in Winnipeg. Each one of these coins shares the face value on them, which is good because it helps with transactions that require legal tender. Each platinum version is worth C$50 according to face value.
Platinum Australian Koala Coins
The Australian Koala coins made of platinum were designed and struck at the Perth Mint. Out of all of the platinum coins produced throughout the world, this series always gets a new coin minted every year, which is why investors consider it a very good choice. They originally struck the first platinum Koala in 1988, and they were the first to mint a platinum bullion coin worth one Troy ounce, which is why it garnered so much success on the international stage and other mints in the US and Canada began to jump on this trend bandwagon.
In 1991, the Perth Mint began striking larger versions of their platinum, gold, and silver bullion coins. They created a kilogram, a 10 ounce, and a 2 ounce version. Even better, the platinum koalas are only available in a limited amount, which means they have additional appeal because they are rarer than other coins, yet they still meet the requirements for inclusion in a precious metals IRA account.
Platinum Isle of Man Noble Coins
Off the coast of Ireland and Great Britain, you’ll find a small island known as the Isle of Man. It’s part of the British protectorate, and long ago it was a Viking kingdom during medieval times, yet it still maintains its independence to this day. This place produces top-quality silver, gold, and platinum coins. The platinum Noble is the first investment grade coin made of platinum offered here. Another name for it is the Manx Noble.
These coins are very interesting because the Isle of Man does not have its own national mint. They are not minted by Great Britain’s Royal Mint either. Believe it or not, the Pobjoy Mint in Britain is responsible for privately producing them in their own facility. Remember that these are uncirculated coins, yet they possess the level of quality and investment grade purity for platinum coins needed to qualify for a precious metals IRA. And they were first released in 1983, in November of that year. Even though they aren’t produced by a national mint, the Internal Revenue Service recognizes their value and allows them in a precious metal IRA because they meet the requirements and specifications decreed by the Royal Mint which has IRS approval.
Why Should I Invest in Platinum Coins?
Are you wondering about making this investment? Do you want to know if platinum coins are better investment than platinum bars? In our opinion, they provide big advantages that you can’t get with bars. One advantage is cultural appeal. Another advantage is coins are a lot more conversational than bars.
Some other reasons to consider platinum coins for your precious metals retirement investment account include:
- More collectors are interested in coins as opposed to bars. So when you’re talking about bullion coins, they definitely contain a great deal of value. They are attractive, well-crafted, and have beautiful appearance which far surpasses bullion bars.
- Platinum coins made of bullion have better liquidity over platinum bars. They are produced more and they are more popular, so they’ll be easier to sell on the open market.
- Platinum bullion coins are quite popular and considered legal tender since they have a specific face value pressed directly on the coin. You can gain that value if you use them in the country of issue. In turn, this creates a higher level of appeal, especially if you’re afraid that the world is entering into a financial crisis.