Barrons Independent

If you’re considering adding silver, gold, or other precious metals to your portfolio and have been looking into what the process involves, you may have come across a few unfamiliar phrases.

The list below should help get you up to speed on a few of the more frequently used precious metals–related words.

Physical Precious Metals Assets: Tangible items, such as coins and bars, made of metals like gold and silver that can be purchased and held in your home or, in many cases, within a self-directed individual retirement account (IRA). Some U.S. Money Reserve reviews shared by customers mention motivations for purchasing gold, such as economic uncertainty. One portfolio holder, Katie, says she views diversifying with goldas “covering [her] bases.”

Precious Metals-Backed IRA: A self-directed IRA that can include some of the same assets as a conventional IRA, such as stocks and bonds, yet also offers the flexibility to include nontraditional assets such as certain gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins, bars, and rounds. Portfolio holders such as Edward S. have transitioned to this type of IRA; in a U.S. Money Reserve review on the Better Business Bureau website, Edward says he moved from a 401(k) that had been losing money “to a gold IRA plan that is making me more return on my investment.”

Fineness: A measurement that conveys the precious metals content of gold and silver items in parts per thousand, which is sometimes expressed as a decimal or percentage.

Coins: Legal-tender pieces minted by a sovereign government with a visible denomination (not to be confused with the “melt” or “spot” price of their precious metals content).

Bullion: Coins that feature a standard finish; their price is typically determined by the weight of their precious metals content.

Proof Coins: Coins produced through a specialized minting process in which highly polished planchets, or blanks, are hand-loaded into a coin press before being struck multiple times with treated dies, which produces a high level of detail. These are typically produced in smaller quantities than their bullion counterparts.

Bars: Rectangular slabs of .999 pure gold or silver, typically produced by a private mint. These generally do not feature a distinctive design but are minted with identifying marks that provide information about the bar’s producer, weight, and metal purity. A bar may also feature a serial number.

Rounds: Pieces that feature a similar shape to coins but are produced by private mints — which, unlike the governing authorities that create coins, lack the power to imbue their products with monetary value. These are not considered legal tender.

Palladium: A silver-white metal and one of the four most sought-after precious metals. It is mined primarily in Russia and South Africa, with the majority of available supply used in automotive catalytic converters.

Platinum: One of the rarest metals in the world. This metal is resistant to tarnishing and corrosion with a softness that makes it flexible. Utilized in items ranging from jet engine components to anti-cancer drugs, platinum is the third-most-traded precious metal in the world.

To view U.S. Money Reserve reviews from clients, information about the precious metals purchasing process, and other helpful resources, visit U.S. Money Reserve’s website.