Thank you for visiting our American Bullion review (2023). In this review, we’ve looked into Amerian Bullion’s BBB ratings, reviews and complaints, product assortment, fees, gold IRA opening process, and more to see whether the company is legit.
Our goal is to provide you with the most accurate and reliable information to help you identify the best option to grow and protect your wealth today.
With careful and extensive research, we have reviewed and rated the 6 best precious metals IRA companies of 2023 to help make your decision easier!
>>See our list of the top 6 precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).
For a limited time, they are offering up to 10% of your order in FREE silver! Meaning that if you purchase metals for $100,000, you get $10,000 in FREE silver!
- Free Storage for Non-IRA Precious Metals
- Biggest Promotions in the Industry
- Unmatched Customer Service
- No High-Pressure Sales Tactics
- Outstanding Ratings & Customer Reviews
- FREE and Easy IRA & 401(k) Rollovers
- A+ BBB Rating and AAA BCA Rating
- Highest Buy-Back Guarantee
- 2021 Company Of The Year Award
With that being said, let us now look at how Amerian Bullion measures up! Please feel free to use the quick links in the TOC list to jump straight to any section:
Introduction American Bullion Review (2023)
American Bullion, yet another company in the bullion industry that specializes in precious metals IRAs. We’ve gone over why this is a good thing: when you’re opening a gold IRA, you want to work with someone who’s as close to a specialist as possible.
American Bullion fits that bill pretty well, with a very retirement-oriented website. If they’re using a website theme, we’d imagine it’s called “Savings”. Indeed, left and right, they inform visitors of the importance of sound long-term investment, especially pertaining to retirement.
There are quite a few things we like about the company and there’s not much to dislike. But first, let’s delve into what we know in terms of the company’s background.
What Is American Bullion?
With a foundation date of 2009, American Bullion is among the more experienced companies of this kind, with over a decade in business. There’s not a whole lot available about the team, but American Bullion was started by Orkan Ozkan and Nevtan Akcora, two commodity brokers.
They’ve notched a prominent celebrity endorsement in the form of Rhett Jeppson, who was director of the US Mint and is now the company’s spokesperson. That probably goes a long way toward getting your customers to place their trust in you.
One of the earliest companies in this sector to have cryptocurrency payments available, American Bullion also stands out due to being a registered dealer of both the US Mint and the Royal Canadian Mint.
They are also affiliated with the American Numismatic Association (ANA), the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA), the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), and the National Guaranty Corporation (NGC) to varying degrees.
Since there are gold IRA companies that have been in business for longer than 2009, we aren’t so sure about their claim of creating the precious metal IRA opening process. Still, their tenure is lengthy enough to give them plenty of clout among competitors.
If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the top 6 precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).
American Bullion Products
Although they also serve as a regular bullion dealer, their gold IRA is the main product, so much so that it has its own section on the website. From there, the bullion listed has no prices, which is pretty common for IRA dealers.
Each of the four precious metals is well-represented, and we imagine most investors will find something to their liking there. Let’s start with the obvious one.
Gold
- American Eagle, bullion and proof, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz
- Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, no denominations listed
- American Buffalo, 1oz
- Austrian Philharmonic Gold, no denominations
- Credit Suisse gold bars, 1oz and 10oz
- UBS gold bars, 1oz and 10oz
- Pamp Suisse gold bars, 10oz
Silver
- American Silver Eagle, bullion and proof, 1oz
- Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, 1oz
- Austrian Silver Philharmonic, 1oz
- Johnson Matthey silver bars, 1oz, 10oz and 100oz
- PAMP Suisse silver bars, 1oz
- Various “junk silver” coins
Platinum
- American Platinum Eagle, bullion and proof, 1oz
- Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf, 1oz
- Pamp Suisse platinum Bars, 10oz
Palladium
- Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf, 1oz
- PAMP Suisse palladium bars, 10oz
Buyback Program
The only buybacks mentioned on their website, which have their own “Sell My Gold” section, are those from an IRA you already own. It’s not clear whether the company buys precious metals from those willing to sell as many dealers do.
A little digging told us that this is the case, yet the website only mentions the IRA process and details it out. If they really do buy bullion from website visitors, it would be nice to have a section that clarifies it to greater extent.
Opening An American Bullion Gold IRA
As you probably know, most gold IRA companies follow the same streamlined process: they work with one or more custodians, which manage the accounts, and one or more depositories that hold the bullion. American Bullion is no different.
It seems Sterling Trust Company is their main custodian, though they mention working with many others.
In regards to storage, only the Delaware Depository is listed. While a very reputable facility, a lot of gold IRA investors like to have more storage options to choose from so that their bullion can be “closer to home”.
Everything on the website is a kind of instruction manual on how IRAs work, how you can open one, what coins and bars are about, and so on. We like to see this kind of transparency, as merely visiting the website and going through its various sections will probably tell you most of what you need to know about opening a self-directed IRA.
Fees & Investment Minimums
Here’s what you can expect in regard to fees:
- $50,000 investment minimum
- $90 to $290 annual account maintenance fee based on the value of your account: the more metals, the larger the fee
- The first year of fees waived on all accounts
- $150 fee when closing an account
Annual Fees | Custodial Fees | Investment Minimums |
$90-$290 | All fees waived on all accounts for the first year | Precious Metals IRA $50,000 |
There is an obvious lack of a clear markup, and in the absence of prices, one wonders what the products might cost. It’s also not really explained if the annual account maintenance fee covers only custody or storage as well. Still, it’s a pretty attractive fee structure overall.
If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the top 6 precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).
American Bullion Reviews & BBB Ratings
The company’s reviews are, as stated, mostly good.
The Better Business Bureau page has some funny, or not-so-funny business that we’ll address separately. The BBB has accredited them with an A, just short of the highest mark, and they have a 3.67/5 rating based on 3 reviews.
Things look better on the Business Consumer Alliance website, where they have the highest rating of AAA and 5 out of 5 stars based on 8 reviews, with no complaints.
TrustPilot gives them 4.4 stars with 83% 5-star reviews and 11% 4-star ones based on 193 reviews.
On TrustLink, things are practically spotless with a 5 out of 5 star rating based on 57 reviews.
Plus, on Google they hold a 3.9 5 star rating based on 41 reviews.
Overall, positive reviews say pretty much everything you’d like to hear about a gold IRA company. Satisfied customers who praise the customer representatives’ technical know-how, low maintenance fees, and a generally friendly approach.
Not much is said about product prices, however.
American Bullion Complaints
Though complaints aren’t numerous, there is one interesting back-and-forth and a few to go over.
The sole complaint on their BBB page gives us something to read if nothing else. It’s a year-long affair where someone’s son states that his elderly father purchased too many coins above fair value.
However, we like American Bullion’s response here. They point out that the coins have appreciated to the purchased price in the meantime and offer to buy them back for the same amount. The person who filed the complaint says things were resolved well, so maybe someone was too hasty in dishing out judgment. You be the judge.
Not that much in terms of negative feedback, as we said. Generally, the four-star and below reviews date back to 2014 and earlier, and a lot of them seem to do with customers not understanding that spot prices are lower than what you can actually purchase bullion for.
Pros And Cons Of American Bullion
To give you a quick overview, here are some pros and cons of American Bullion:
- Very good selection of IRA-oriented bullion
- Experts in IRA investments
- General focus on gold IRA investment as opposed to dealership
- Responsive and knowledgeable customer support
- All fees for the first year are waived
- Good, if not great feedback
- All purchases of gold, platinum, palladium and silver are delivered within 7 days
- No bullion prices on the website
- Only one depository available
- A few complaints are present
- Limited selection of bullion outside of what might appeal to IRA investors
If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the top 6 precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).
American Bullion Review 2023: Verdict
The verdict of our American Bullion review (2023) is that more than anything else, what stands out to us about American Bullion is their time in the sector.
Approaching 15 years is a lot: it’s the kind of background that many competitors undoubtedly hope to have. And in those 15 years, if they’ve garnered negative feedback, they managed to hide it pretty well.
American Bullion seems like a pretty straightforward company, and not one you’re likely to go wrong with if you choose them for your IRA investments.
One of the things we like most is the way their representatives sound when replying to negative feedback: it’s fairly straight to the point and doesn’t have the kind of artificial or condescending tone that can sometimes pop up in instances such as these.
Because the company is as geared towards retirement investment as it is, you might find yourself wanting if you’d like some of the more exotic product varieties.
One could argue that even some top IRA choices are missing, and while denominations on some products are clearly listed, others are absent altogether.
In general, with all four precious metals being well-represented in terms of bars, we’d say that their bar selection is stronger than the coin one relative to competitors.
If you’re really itching for negative reviews, you can always try and dig them up and see what they have to say. But as mentioned, the feedback is nowhere near the “you ruined my life” type of stuff that is sometimes seen among even reputable companies in this sector.
Plus, the former director of the U.S. Mint recommends this company. Who are we to argue?
If you are ready to take action, >>>>see our list of the top 6 precious metals IRA companies (cash sales also available).
Or, you can go straight to their website here.
American Bullion Alternatives
If you want to look around a bit more before making a final decision on what gold IRA provider to choose, we have reviewed and rated the best gold IRA companies of 2023. You can request their gold IRA kits directly from the reviews table below:
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About the Author
Stina is an entrepreneur who's passionate about personal finance, investing, and digital marketing. She's been a writer in this space for over a decade.