Capstone Metals — gold and silver IRA dealer
Speak with a specialist: (800) 200-9553Monday – Friday, 7am – 4pm Pacific

Reference

Every term you will hear, defined

Dealers use vocabulary that makes comparison difficult. Here is the whole list, defined plainly, so nothing said on a sales call can slide past you.

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Monday – Friday, 7am – 4pm Pacific

  • Licensed and insured since 2014
  • Fiduciary advisory — licensed since 1970
  • Preferred Trust & GoldStar custodians
  • No card payments, no pressure, no commissions-first pitch
Assay card and hallmarked bullion bar
From the Capstone Metals Wealth Protection Guide, 2026 edition.

Troy ounce

31.103 g

Fine gold

.995+ for IRAs

Premium

Price over melt

Spread

Bid to ask gap

Pricing terms

These four decide what you actually pay and what you can sell for.

  • Spot: the current price for immediate delivery of one troy ounce
  • Bid and ask: what a dealer pays and what a dealer charges
  • Premium: the amount above melt value you pay for a specific product
  • Spread: the gap between bid and ask — your round-trip cost
  • Melt value: metal content multiplied by spot
Fiduciary advisor's desk with leather folio, fountain pen and a tray of gold and silver coins
Advice before product: a fiduciary desk where the plan is written first and the metal follows it.
Describe this illustration: Fiduciary advisor's desk with leather folio, fountain pen and a tray of gold and silver coins

This firm is built on a simple order of operations: advice before product. The plan is written first and the metal follows it. The leather folio in front of the coins signifies that what you keep, what you move and what you never touch are decisions made on paper, for your benefit, before anything is bought. Capstone Metals delivers advisory work under a true fiduciary standard — Mark Bugli has been a licensed financial advisor since 1970 — so metals allocation is discussed against your complete financial picture and never sold in isolation. That fiduciary duty is the difference between a metals dealer and a wealth-protection partner, and it is the reason this page exists.

Product and purity terms

Purity and form determine both IRA eligibility and liquidity.

  • Fineness: purity expressed in thousandths, e.g. .9999
  • Bullion: coins or bars valued on metal content
  • Numismatic: coins valued for rarity and condition rather than metal
  • Proof: specially struck finish, usually sold at a large premium
  • Assay: certified verification of weight and purity
  • LBMA Good Delivery: refiners accepted by the London market

Account and storage terms

The words that appear on IRA paperwork.

  • Self-directed IRA: an IRA permitting alternative assets including bullion
  • Custodian: the regulated trustee that administers the IRA
  • Depository: the insured vault facility holding the metal
  • Segregated: your exact items stored separately under your account
  • Commingled: equivalent metal pooled with other holders' metal
  • In-kind distribution: taking physical coins instead of cash
  • RMD: the required minimum distribution from a traditional IRA

Transfer terms

How money moves without a tax event.

  • Direct transfer: custodian to custodian, no tax, no deadline
  • Rollover: funds pass through you and must be redeposited within 60 days
  • 1099-B: the form reporting certain bullion sales to the IRS

Rather just ask someone?

A specialist can answer this in two minutes. Monday – Friday, 7am – 4pm Pacific.

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Most gold and silver firms can only talk to you about gold and silver. We have licensed advisors on staff, so the same conversation can cover your retirement accounts, your market holdings, insurance and estate structure alongside a completely private metals purchase — one fiduciary review of everything you own, not a sales call about one product.

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Licensed and insuredFiduciary advisory since 1970Independent IRA custodiansPrices quoted, never card-charged

Common questions

What is the difference between a troy ounce and an ordinary ounce?
A troy ounce is about 31.103 grams, roughly 10% heavier than the 28.35 gram avoirdupois ounce used for groceries. Metals are always quoted in troy ounces.
Which purity qualifies for an IRA?
Generally .995 fine gold and .999 fine silver from approved mints and refiners, with the American Gold Eagle admitted by statute despite its .9167 fineness.
Is a lower premium always better?
Usually, but liquidity matters too. Widely recognized coins may carry a slightly higher premium and still resell more easily at a tighter spread.
What does 'good delivery' mean?
That the bar comes from an LBMA-accredited refiner and meets weight and purity standards accepted for wholesale settlement.

Continue reading

Costs

Gold IRA Fees

Eligibility

IRA Approved Gold

Investor protection

Gold IRA Scams & Red Flags

Still unsure about a term on a quote?

Read it to us over the phone and we will translate it in plain English.

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Licensed and insuredFiduciary advisory since 1970Independent IRA custodiansPrices quoted, never card-charged
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