Noble Gold Review - Summary
In this Noble Gold review, you’re going to learn everything you need to know about Noble Gold, including pricing, fees, products, online reviews, and more. Noble sells precious metals and manages retirement accounts. We found that they are a trustworthy and reputable company, have fair pricing and fees, and get great reviews and ratings around the web.
Team
Pricing
SUPPORT
SECURITY
Selection
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Key points from our review:
- Noble Gold is a trustworthy and reputable firm, if a bit young in the gold IRA space - they get 4.5 stars from us.
- Excellent ratings and reviews: A+ rating and 5 stars at the BBB, AAA BCA, 5 Stars at Consumer Alliance.
- Some of the best gold IRA fees and costs in the industry (if not always transparent on their website)
Noble Gold Investments is among the youngest gold IRA companies we've reviewed.
Normally, being in business for just over five years and dealing in both precious metals and IRA management would raise red flags and we wouldn’t review it.
However, it's actually pretty remarkable that Noble Gold has accomplished as much as it has in such a short timeframe, and that got our attention.
Important Warning - Before you read this review:
Buying gold for your retirement is a serious decision that should not be undertaken lightly - at stake is nothing less than your financial security and scams are common in this space. Always discuss investment decisions with your financial advisor and family members before making decision and make sure you are working with a reputable gold dealer.
Take a look at our top rated gold IRA firm here, or get educated on common gold IRA dealer lies and scams here.
BEWARE OF GOLD IRA DEALER LIEs: Get The Guide
Noble Gold Pros and Cons
Cons
Let's get deeper into the review, starting with the company and leadership.
About Noble Gold
Having initially had two key people running the business, operations have since fallen entirely on the current CEO, Collin Plume, who owns Noble Gold. The co-founder appears to have left and opened his own precious metals company. Perhaps they had such a good business model that he didn't want to share?
Whichever the case, Plume's motivations for getting into precious metals are commendable and relatable even though he has a "Wall Street type" vibe to him. Not that it hurts when it comes to running a company.
Plume leveraged his 15 years of experience working in various sectors in finance to open the California-based firm that has quickly climbed to be one of the top names in the industry.
Plume says that the financial fallout of 2008 and presumably 2011 made him understand the value of precious metals and warned him of the inherent risks in the markets. This was the case for many. These two years are hallmark years in gold's history, with the latter representing an all-time price high that many doubted would be reached again as soon as it did.
That gold recaptured its famous $1,910 high from 2011 and went past it only strengthens both Plume's resolve and the general case for gold investment.
Noble Gold reviews & ratings online
While gold investing is safe, opening a company this massive in the sector is risky. You have to do a lot of things right from the get-go, because there's no shortage of competitors with pristine reputations. After all, name value is a thing.
Noble Gold appears to have done most of those things right, according to various online reviews of the company. For example, many of the companies we've reviewed that have been in business for decades have a lackluster Better Business Bureau (BBB) profile. They have a low score, no accreditation and so on.
Noble Gold is both accredited with the BBB and has an A+ rating, which instills a lot of consumer confidence. A 5-star rating based on 50 reviews is some of the best feedback we've seen on the BBB, and the 3 complaints in the last 3 years seem to have been promptly resolved.
Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) and ConsumerAffairs tell a similar tale. The company is AA rated on the BCA website, the highest rating being AAA. Still, certainly no slouch.
On ConsumerAffairs, 158 reviewers have given them an overall 5.0/5 score. The lowest-rated review is 4 stars, meaning the company has practically no negative feedback. This is fairly uncommon among companies that deal heavily in physical precious metals outside of an IRA, and all the more reason to place one's faith in Noble Gold.
Noble Gold fees
On the IRA side, they have one of the best fee structures in town. On the dealership side, we are left wanting with no price listing for any of their products. The Royal Packs are the only exception, but a complex one, because this product doesn't reveal the products inside them. More on that later.
Here is the Noble Gold Investments gold and silver IRA fee structure:
- No charges to open the IRA - some sources say $2,000
- $80 annual custodial fee
- $150 annual fee to store gold in either the Delaware Depository or the recently-expanded-into Texas Bullion Depository
- Some sources say that the silver IRA has an annual fee of $225 and a $250 fee for Texas storage
There is no markup listing when it comes to transactions made inside or outside of an IRA. Browsing through the company's many varied products only makes us wonder more how much of a premium they charge.
Noble Gold products
Noble Gold operates a bit differently than some gold IRA companies, and has a unique approach to its product line.
In this section, we’ll go through each of their main products, and what you can expect from them.
Gold and Silver IRAs
One of Noble Gold's primary products is gold and silver IRAs, but a lack of clarity again emerges.
Here's what you can expect from Noble's gold IRA offering:
- With Noble you get a tax-efficient, tax-advantaged SDIRA (self-directed gold IRA) that holds precious metals
- Noble has a secure partnership with IDS (International Depository Services) in Dallas for your gold storage needs.
- Noble will direct you to work with Equity Trust, their IRA custodian of choice.
- Noble can help you rollover your current retirement account to a gold IRA (also known as a gold IRA rollover)
One thing that really stands out for us is that Noble has separate fee structures for their gold and silver IRAs.
Does this mean that customers who hold only gold in their IRA pay less than those with silver, too?
Since platinum and palladium are listed as "IRA-eligible" metals on the site and are offered by the company, we assume these can be placed into their IRAs. But how much are the charges, then?
Even though there is a bit of confusion here that we feel could be set straight with a brief section on the website, finding out the details probably won't be a chore.
As the reviewers tell us, talking to a Noble Gold representative is a breeze. There don't even seem to be cases of people running into the odd and rude representative. Again, somewhat unusual and a big plus.
So while you might have to ring up Noble Gold to get more details about their IRA, it will probably be a pleasant experience.
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins
Noble Gold coins are best split in three categories: standard, "junk silver" and rare.
We'll cover them in reverse order based on quantity.
Though they've given rare coins their own section, there are only three mintages, all 19th-century American. These are some of the classics that collectors enjoy, and it's fairly common to not have pricing on them.
The "junk silver" coins, or silver coins that aren't eligible to be held in an IRA due to strict purity requirements, don't have their own section.
It's not clear what coins are available, how much they go for, what quantities they're sold in and so on. They're simply listed as a single product in their "silver" category.
Since they have such a wide inventory, we feel this section could be expanded on. Ringing up about IRA fee structure is one thing, but calling a precious metals dealer to see what coins they have under junk silver leaves a bit to be desired on the disclosed side of things.
The standard, or what you might call "top coins", are the most elaborately detailed product. Though they lack prices as mentioned, they are listed in specific denominations, which are very varied as well. The coins are:
- American Gold Eagle, bullion and proof, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz, also available in a 4-set proof piece
- American Silver Eagle, bullion and proof, 1oz
- America the Beautiful Silver, 1oz
- American Eagle Platinum coins, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz
- Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, 1oz, 1/2oz and 1/4oz
- Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, 1oz
- Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf, 1oz
- Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf, 1oz
- Australian Gold Kangaroo, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz
- Australian Silver Kangaroo, 1oz
- Australian Silver 1-kilo coin
- Austrian Gold Philharmonic, 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz
- Austrian Silver Philharmonic, 1oz
Yes, they really do have a 1-kilo coin available for sale.
Australia's Perth Mint is actually known for issuing these, it's just that you don't see them in a lot of inventories. Overall, a strong and undoubtedly IRA-centered coin selection.
Bullion bars and rounds
The only round listed is the 1oz Highland silver round. Bars are yet another positive surprise. Whereas many precious metals IRA companies offer "our discretion" bars, Noble Gold lets customers pick from a range of bar weights and manufacturers.
Current Noble gold bullion and bars offered are:
- Pamp Suisse Lady Fortuna gold bars, 2.5 gram to 10oz
- Pamp Suisse 100-gram gold bars
- Perth Mint 10oz gold bars
- 1-kilo Johnson Matthey gold bars
- 5oz Highland Mint silver bars
- 10oz and 100oz Republic Metals silver bars
- 1oz Rand Refinery silver bars
- 1oz and 10oz Baird & Co platinum bars
- 1oz Credit Suisse palladium bars
Quick side note here: Platinum and palladium are typically harder to find, and while Noble has a decent selection, you might want to check out Provident or USPM if you're looking for platinum/palladium products.
Buybacks
While not a product of their own, we like a good buyback program, and Noble Gold seems to have just that. We aren't entirely sure, but their no-questions-asked policy in regards to buybacks seem to apply to both precious metals sold inside an IRA and those sold otherwise.
We'd say that this policy has greatly contributed to the lack of dissatisfaction on behalf of the customers.
Having your precious metals vendor offer to buy the metals back for the same price unconditionally is a major plus. A lot of the negative feedback we've seen surrounding other companies has to do with disputes over a product sale and refunds. Having this eliminated up-front is great.
Noble Gold Survival Packs
The Noble Gold Survival Packs are the most curious product listing that the company has, and that says a lot since they have a 1-kilo coin in their inventory.
These are also the only products that have an upfront price listing:
$10,000 Knight, $25,000 Baron, $50,000 Viscount, $100,000 Earl, $250,000 Marquess and $500,000 Duke.
What are they? It seems they're an assortment of quality bullion, both coins and bars but perhaps rounds as well. That's where our certainty ends. What's in each of the packages?
Noble Gold assures us that the bullion is high-quality, and we don't doubt it, but with such price tags, customers might want a better idea of what's under the hood.
All of these except the Duke seem predetermined, that is to say, Noble Gold chooses the bullion inside and not the customer. It's also unclear whether some contain platinum and palladium, or if it's just gold and silver.
As for the product appeal, these are meant to act as a kind of disaster fund.
Noble Gold offers to either ship them to you or have them stored in a third-party facility (depository). While the choice is good to have, is there really a point to having your bullion stored in another state once the bombs start falling, a scenario Noble Gold is quick to outline?
There is also the Noble Ambassador pack for foreign customers presumably wanting to seek refuge in the U.S. if their own nation experiences some sort of calamity. Although gold investing always appeals to people expecting the worst, we have to think that something below $10,000 would be more alluring to this customer base.
Noble Gold FAQs
Yes. Not only are there no indications of the company being a scam company on any level, but there also aren't any indications of malpractice. The only complaints we've come across were closed almost instantly and have not affected the company's rating, making them very much on the up-and-up.
Normally, a gold IRA denotes a retirement account that can hold gold and other precious metals. However, it seems that Noble Gold IRAs are actually a unique account with its own set of custodial and storage fees, different from a general precious metals IRA you might see with a lot of companies.
Noble Gold opened its doors in 2017. Again, we have to emphasize that their relative lack of experience hasn't translated to poor performance in the sector. Just the opposite, as they have some of the best customer feedback we've come across.
We aren't going to say Noble Gold is a lackluster silver dealer or anything. In general, however, you want your silver vendor to be clear about both pricing and markups, something Noble Gold omits on the forefront. It essentially forces customers to ask about the prices of even the most common products,
Noble Gold Alternatives
There are plenty of alternatives to Noble on the market, and we've reviewed quite a few.
Each of the below gold IRA providers get top marks from us for one reason or another.
Depending on your needs, one of these may be the perfect fit for you.
# 1 - Augusta Precious Metals (Most Trusted)
Augusta Precious Metals is our top gold IRA company recommendation. They have a great reputation, are great for high networth individuals, and have been around since 2012. They are almost completely focused on precious metals as their name suggests. Augusta Precious Metals is extremely well rated by both the Better Business Bureau as well as the Business Consumer Alliance.
We gave Augusta Precious Metals 5 Stars based on a number of factors, including: Team, Pricing, Support, Security, and Selection.
Pros
Cons
# 2 - American Hartford Gold (Best Customer Service)
American Hartford Gold is easily one of the most trustworthy gold IRA dealers, with near pristine ratings and reviews online, great product inventory, and super a super helpful team with great customer service. It's obvious they care about their customers. On the other hand, if you're looking for platinum or palladium, you're out of luck. We gave AHG 5 out of 5 stars.
We gave American Hartford 5 Stars based on a number of factors, including: Team, Pricing, Support, Security, and Selection.
Pros
Cons
# 3 - Birch Gold Group (Best Choice For New Investors)
Birch Gold Group is a company with almost two decades of history. They’re gold IRA specialists with a great reputation that charges low fees and has an excellent as well as easy buyback program. Birch Gold Group is recommended for new investors since they’re easy and efficient to work with, have low fees and you can start a gold IRA with them for as low as $10,000.
We gave Augusta Precious Metals 4.5 Stars based on a number of factors, including: Team, Pricing, Support, Security, and Selection.
Pros
Cons
# 4 - Advantage Gold (Best For IRA Rollovers)
Advantage Gold is a relatively young company that’s been in business since 2014 and an awesome gold IRA company to work with for a rollover. They specialize in converting eligible accounts into precious metals IRAs and deal with both precious metals IRAs as well as cash sales of precious metals.
We gave Augusta Precious Metals 5 Stars based on a number of factors, including: Team, Pricing, Support, Security, and Selection.
Pros
Cons
Noble Gold review - Verdict
By the looks of it, Noble Gold is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get company and we're comfortable recommending them to our readers.
It has a distinct feel to it, with its 1-kilo silver coins and the survival packs that are seemingly paid just as much attention to as the gold and silver IRAs themselves.
What you don't see, however, are prices. Augusta Precious Metals, another company we've partnered with, is far more specialized in providing precious metal IRAs. More accurately, it's all that the company focuses on. Even though it's common practice for IRA specialists to not have their product prices listed, Augusta still tells us what their price markup is and that they don't charge shipping costs.
This way, you can get a ballpark idea of what the price of the product might be. It's far less common for precious metals dealers to not have any prices listed. However, since it hasn't gotten Noble Gold any negative feedback, customers can't be too dissatisfied.
And while it wouldn't hurt to know in greater detail how they differentiate from gold and silver IRAs, fee-related and otherwise, we feel that the company's drawbacks are minor for the most part. The good definitely outweighs the bad, and in just five years, Noble Gold has become a force to be reckoned with when it comes to gold IRA investment, precious metals brokerage and even providing some pricey survival packs.
BEWARE OF GOLD IRA DEALER LIEs: Get The Guide
