Our Editorial Team — 
Birch Gold Group, founded in 2003, is the longest-established company on this site, with a BBB A+ rating, a 4.5/5 Trustpilot score and a $10,000 minimum. Birch offers gold, silver, platinum and palladium and partners with Delaware Depository for storage.
Birch Gold Group has operated since 2003. This site lists it with a $10,000 minimum, a BBB A+ rating and a 4.6/5 editorial rating. The sections below explain what that means for a rollover and what to verify before you fund an account.
Birch Gold Group is the longest-established company in this table, founded in 2003, and the site lists Most Experience as its highlight. Longevity shows that the company has survived several market cycles, including the 2008 financial crisis. It does not by itself prove low fees, fair spreads or good service. Treat the founding year as a reason to ask for references and a clear complaint record, not as a substitute for them.
Birch lists gold, silver, platinum and palladium for IRA accounts, which is the widest metal range among the five companies. Every metal must meet an IRS fineness standard to qualify. Gold bullion must be at least 99.5% pure (0.995), silver 99.9% (0.999), and platinum and palladium 99.95% (0.9995). The American Gold Eagle is a statutory exception that qualifies despite its lower fineness.
A wider menu is useful only if you need it. Each additional metal adds its own spread, its own storage line and its own sale terms. Ask Birch for a written quote on each metal you are considering and compare the spreads side by side.
The Educational Resources feature listed here is most valuable if you read it before talking with a salesperson. Write down three questions from the material: one about fees, one about storage and one about selling. Then check whether the answers on the call match the material. A mismatch is the most useful signal you can collect for free.
The site's summary for Birch names Delaware Depository as a storage partner. Ask which custodian will hold your account, whether storage is segregated or commingled, and what the annual charge is for each. Segregated storage keeps your own coins and bars identified under your name. Commingled storage pools them with like metal and normally costs less.
Birch shares the $10,000 minimum with American Hartford Gold but has a 12-year-longer history (2003 versus 2015). It rates 4.6/5 on this site, below Augusta (4.9), Goldco (4.8) and American Hartford Gold (4.7) and above Noble Gold (4.5). If experience and metal variety matter more to you than the highest rating, Birch is the company to quote first. If the free kit matters, remember that Augusta fulfills it for every company on this site.
Birch fits a saver who wants a company with a long history, a wide metal menu and educational material, and who can fund $10,000 or more. It is a weaker fit for a saver who wants the highest rated company on this site, which is Augusta at 4.9/5, or the strongest buyback emphasis, which is Goldco. A saver who wants to spend only on gold may find that the platinum and palladium menu adds little. The practical test is simple: request a written quote for the same gold coin from Birch and one other company, and compare the full cost, not the headline price.
This site lists 2003 as the founding year, the earliest among the five companies.
The site lists gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Each must meet the IRS fineness standard to qualify for an IRA.
This site lists $10,000, tied with American Hartford Gold as the lowest of the five.
No. Our partner Augusta Precious Metals fulfills every Get Free Kit request on this site.
See our comprehensive comparison table for detailed company comparisons and ratings.
