Gold & Silver IRA / Why silver
There are two ways to own silver with us. You can move part of a 401(k) or an IRA into a Gold & Silver IRA, or you can buy it outright with cash. This page explains why people hold silver, what silver can go into an IRA, and how our pricing works.
Silver has two jobs. It is a precious metal people choose to own, and it is a material manufacturers cannot easily do without. The case for owning it starts with both.
01 — What silver is now
Silver has been used in coins and jewelry for thousands of years. It is also used in solar panels, electronics, medical equipment and data centers.
In November 2025 the United States added silver to its Critical Minerals List. That is the government’s term for materials the economy and national security depend on, and whose supply could be disrupted.
So there are two kinds of buyer for the same metal: families who own it to protect their savings, and manufacturers who need it to make things.
02 — The supply gap
Silver has substantial demand from both industry and investors. Industrial use fell slightly in 2025 as solar manufacturers found ways to use less of it, and it is expected to ease again in 2026. Even so, total demand has exceeded supply every year since 2021, and 2026 is forecast to be the sixth.
Mines cannot respond quickly. Most silver comes out of the ground as a by-product of copper, lead and zinc mining, so output follows decisions made about other metals. A new mine takes years.
Silver used in long-lived products can stay tied up for years. Recycling returns some metal to the market, and more of it in 2025 than in any year since 2013, but it does not replace everything being used. The shortfall has been met by drawing on existing silver stocks.
Cumulative supply deficit, 2021–2025
716 million
ounces short
Total silver demand exceeded supply by approximately 716 million ounces across those five years.
Source: The Silver Institute, World Silver Survey 2026 (Metals Focus), supply and demand table.
A supply deficit does not guarantee a higher silver price. Demand can weaken, and silver prices can fall.
Why Grace
Physical gold and silver, priced transparently and fairly. Four commitments make that more than a promise, and all four are written down here.
01
The markup over spot is 11.1%. That is the whole markup. Nothing is added on a phone call. Nothing is negotiated off it. Inside an IRA, your custodian and depository charge their own annual fees, which are set out on our pricing page.
See the pricing →
02
When you decide to sell, Grace buys back with no commission. No exit spread, no liquidation fee, no markdown.
How buyback works →
03
American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, LBMA-approved bars. No numismatic, exclusive, rare, premium, or proof coins in any form.
Why no numismatics →
04
The person you speak to earns the same whether you buy or sell. No commissions, no referral fees, no volume incentives.
Meet the expert team →04 — What you can hold
IRA-eligible silver must be at least 99.9% pure, come from an approved mint or refiner, and be held by an IRS-approved depository under your custodian’s control. Some silver that passes that test is still silver we choose not to sell.
Standard bullion versions only, at 99.9% fineness or better.
Some products in these categories may qualify for an IRA. They can cost more than standard bullion containing the same amount of silver, and you may not recover that premium when you sell.
Historic Morgan and Peace dollars contain 90% silver and do not meet the silver bullion purity requirement.
The free silver briefing
Written by Bill Armour, Co-Founder
“Silver is money. It has been money for thousands of years, and it was money in this country before the dollar was paper. That has not changed.”
Bill Armour spent years inside the Gold IRA industry before co-founding Grace. This is the briefing he wrote on silver.
Understand silver’s supply and demand, how buying physical silver works, and what to check before you buy. We email it to you as a PDF.
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The Big (Silver) Short is on its way to {{ email }}.
Common questions
Yes. One account, one custodian, one depository. You can hold gold, silver, or a mix of the two, and you can change the mix later. Our spread is 11.1% on either metal, so the split is a decision about what you want to own, not about what it costs you.
No. IRA-eligible silver must be at least 99.9% pure. Historic Morgan and Peace dollars, and other pre-1965 US coinage, contain 90% silver and do not meet the silver bullion purity requirement.
Yes. A 401(k), 403(b), TSP, traditional IRA, Roth IRA or SEP IRA can all be moved into a precious metals IRA. Handled as a direct rollover between eligible accounts, the money goes from your existing provider to your new custodian without passing through your hands, and it is not taxed or penalized. Moving money from a traditional account into a Roth IRA is different and may be taxable. Your Grace expert handles the paperwork with both sides, and your tax professional can confirm how the rules apply to you.
There isn’t one. Grace does not set a minimum. Some people move part of a retirement account; others start with a few ounces bought outright with cash. The spread is 11.1% either way.
If you buy it outright with cash, yes. It is yours, and you can keep it wherever you like. If it is held inside an IRA, no — the IRS requires metal in a retirement account to be held by an approved depository under your custodian’s control. Anyone advertising a “home storage IRA” is offering something that can put the tax status of your whole account at risk.
Storage and insurance are billed by the depository, not by Grace, alongside an annual custodian fee. Both are third-party charges, both are set out in full on our pricing page, and Grace receives no part of either. Ask your expert to confirm the current figures for the holding you are considering before you buy.
Usually one to three weeks from start to finish. The limiting factor is almost always how quickly your existing provider releases the funds, which is outside our control and we say so up front. Opening the account and choosing your metal take very little time by comparison.
You tell us, and we buy it back. No commission, no exit fee, no liquidation charge. The proceeds go back into your IRA, where you can hold them as cash, buy something else, or take a distribution under the normal rules. You are not obliged to sell to us, and you can transfer your metal to another dealer if you prefer.
You can buy a silver exchange-traded product through an ordinary brokerage IRA. Some hold physical silver; others use different structures. You own shares in the product rather than specific coins or bars held for your IRA, and delivery rights depend on the product’s terms. Which you want is a decision for you and your advisor. Grace deals only in the physical metal.
It passes to whoever you have named as beneficiary on the account, the same as any other IRA. The rules for what they can do with it differ depending on whether the beneficiary is your spouse, and the SECURE Act changed the timetable for most non-spouse beneficiaries. Name your beneficiary when you open the account and review it if your circumstances change. Your tax professional can advise on the specifics.
