The outdated nature of physical gold and silver is one of the most attractive features of metals. They can't be tracked electronically, and in this era of government surveillance, that's increasingly important. Sales of American Silver Eagles, privately minted Silver Eagles, 100 ounce silver ingots, and Gold IRA accounts are not reported, regardless of quantity. Other precious metal products are declarable, but are not included here because the average investor doesn't trade them. Among the currencies that are subject to notification are 1-ounce maple leaf-shaped gold coins, 1-ounce gold Kruggerand coins, 1-ounce Mexican ounce gold coins, and any U.S.
coin made up of 90% silver. Silver also has a multitude of unique technical, industrial and medical uses, making it an interesting metal to own and invest in. In addition, silver is also used in the medical industry, as it is one of the few metals with antibacterial properties. These pieces include, among others, gold coins in fractional denominations; Eagle coins in American gold and silver; the U.S.
currency created after the creation of the IRS list of reportable items and any piece in foreign currency that is not explicitly mentioned in the previous section. Don't fund your precious metals IRA with fractionated gold or silver, as they are also unnecessarily expensive.