One troy ounce of 24-karat .9999 fine gold in the U.S. Mint’s American Buffalo design. The first .9999 fine 24-karat gold coin ever struck by the United States Mint. $50 face value U.S. legal tender, IRA-eligible. Year selected from stock.
99.99% (24k)
Brilliant Uncirculated
United States Mint
Mint Dates
Varies by issue
Composition
99.99% gold (24k)
Diameter / Weight
32.7 mm / 1.00 oz
IRA Eligible
Yes, IRA Approved
Available Sizes
See SKU weight
The 1 oz Gold Buffalo – BU pairs 99.99% (24k) gold content with sovereign-grade authority, giving you a tradeable bullion position with clear provenance.
The American Gold Buffalo was authorized by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 and first struck in 2006. It is the United States Mint’s first .9999 fine 24-karat gold bullion coin, produced as a direct competitor to the Gold Maple Leaf and Krugerrand for buyers who want a U.S.-issued pure-gold strike. Carries a $50 face value as U.S. legal tender and is struck at the West Point Mint.
The design is a faithful reproduction of James Earle Fraser’s 1913 Type 1 Buffalo Nickel: a Native American chief portrait on the obverse and the standing American bison on the reverse. Fraser’s design is widely regarded as one of the most distinctly American coin designs ever produced, and the Gold Buffalo preserves it in full sovereign-mint relief at 24-karat purity. The American Gold Buffalo, first issued in 2006, was the first .9999 fine 24-karat gold coin ever struck by the United States Mint, authorized by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005.
The Gold Buffalo is the U.S. Mint’s pure-gold answer to the Maple Leaf. Recognised by every U.S. bullion desk and a popular alternative to the Gold Eagle for buyers who specifically want 24-karat purity. Premiums run modestly above the Gold Eagle due to lower production volume and the pure-gold requirement. Cedar Gold’s Buyback Guarantee commits to purchase this product back at competitive market rates for as long as you hold it, with zero liquidation fees on the outbound side.
At .9999 fineness, the American Gold Buffalo qualifies for inclusion in a Self-Directed Precious Metals IRA under the general IRC §408(m)(3) gold fineness rule (.995 minimum). It does not require the §408(m)(3)(B) statutory exception that the Gold Eagle relies on, so eligibility is unambiguous on purity grounds alone. Inside a self-directed Precious Metals IRA, this product is held by a qualified custodian at an approved depository, so you retain ownership but cannot take personal possession until distribution.
Weight: 1.00 oz
Diameter: 32.7 mm
Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)
Edge: Reeded
Denomination: $50
Grade: BU
Dimensions and weight are to mint specification. Coins ship in capsule where noted; bars ship in sealed assay packaging.
Metal: Gold
Purity: 99.99% (24k)
24-karat gold (.9999 fine). 99.99% pure gold, the highest commercial gold purity in widespread bullion production.
Mint: United States Mint
Year varies by release.
Struck by the United States Mint. The U.S. Mint guarantees weight, metal content, and purity on every coin, and its bullion strikes carry federal legal-tender status.
Obverse: James Earle Fraser’s Native American chief portrait, faithfully reproduced from the 1913 Type 1 Buffalo Nickel.
Reverse: Standing American bison (‘Black Diamond’ from the New York Zoological Gardens), also from Fraser’s 1913 Type 1 Buffalo Nickel.
Ships in a protective capsule. Store in the capsule to maintain the BU finish.
U.S. Mint strike with reeded edge. No overt micro-security features; authenticity is verified by .9999 fineness, weight, dimensions, and the recognised Fraser Buffalo Nickel design.
This product meets the statutory minimum fineness for gold in a Precious Metals IRA (.995), at 0.9999 pure. It is struck by a qualifying mint/refiner and can be held by a qualified custodian at an approved depository.
IRS REQUIREMENTS (IRC §408(m)(3))
The Internal Revenue Code sets statutory minimum fineness thresholds for metals held in an IRA: gold .995, silver .999, platinum .9995, palladium .9995. Coins must be produced by a qualifying sovereign mint; bars must be produced by a refiner accredited by NYMEX, COMEX, NYSE-LIFFE, LME, LBMA, LPPM, TOCOM, ISO 9000, or a national government mint.
Collectibles are generally disallowed under IRC §408(m); the precious-metals exception in §408(m)(3) is narrow and fineness-driven. Specific U.S. coins, notably the American Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle, are listed by statute.
A Precious Metals IRA must be held under a qualified custodian (trust company, bank, or qualifying non-bank custodian) and the metals themselves must be stored at an approved depositary. You do not take personal possession of IRA-owned metals while they remain inside the account.
Common depositaries include the Delaware Depository, Brink’s Global Services, IDS of Delaware and Texas, and A-M Global Logistics. Your chosen custodian will coordinate shipment and intake with the depositary on your behalf.
Depositories offer two storage modes: segregated (your coins are held in a dedicated account and never commingled) and non-segregated or pooled (like-kind coins of the same series are stored together and a specific bar/coin is returned on distribution). Segregated storage carries a higher fee but preserves specific-coin identity.
All IRA-approved depositories carry all-risk insurance with Lloyd’s of London underwriting covering fire, theft, natural disaster, and employee dishonesty. Annual storage and insurance fees typically run from approximately $100 to $300, depending on account size and storage mode.
Traditional Precious Metals IRA: contributions may be deductible; growth is tax-deferred; distributions are taxed as ordinary income. Roth Precious Metals IRA: contributions are after-tax; qualified distributions (age 59½ and 5-year rule) are tax-free. Physical metals held in an IRA are treated identically to paper assets for tax purposes; the collectibles-rate long-term capital gains rule does NOT apply to metals held inside a qualifying IRA.
You can fund a Precious Metals IRA through a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer, a 60-day indirect rollover, or annual contributions. Direct transfers have no frequency limits and are not reported to the IRS as distributions. 60-day rollovers are limited to one per 12-month period across all of your IRAs (the Bobrow rule).
Eligible source accounts: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA (after two years), 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and TSP. The 2026 annual IRA contribution limit is $7,500 ($8,600 with the age-50 catch-up, per IRS Notice 2025-67). Confirm with your CPA or custodian.
Note: Cedar Gold Group is not a tax, legal, or financial advisor. IRA eligibility information is based on IRC §408(m)(3) as interpreted at the time of publication. Consult your tax professional and IRA custodian for guidance on your specific account.
