How the desk verifies a spec

Every guide on this site follows the same four-step method. The current verification month for all pages is October 2026.

1. Primary document first. Before anything is written, the editor reads the governing source: the statute section that decides eligibility, the IRS publication that restates it in numbers, or the mint/exchange spec sheet that decides a product question. Secondary sources — news articles, dealer blogs, forum posts — are used to find questions, never to establish specs.
2. Dated checks. Each page carries the month its specs were last verified against the primary sources. Fineness standards are manufacturing facts and mints change them (Britannia's 2013 change, Panda's 2016 change); when that happens, the affected pages are corrected and re-dated.
3. Plain statement, then source. Each rule is stated in plain English and linked to the document that decides it, so you can check the desk's reading in one click.
4. Where advice is needed, say so. Guides explain rules; they do not tell you whether to act. Questions about your tax position or a specific purchase go to a qualified CPA, enrolled agent, or attorney — and the pages say exactly that.

Sources used across the guides

Statute and the IRS

• IRC §408(m) — the collectibles rule: the default, the named-coin exception (§408(m)(3)(A)), and the bullion-by-fineness exception with the trustee-possession condition (§408(m)(3)(B))
• 31 U.S.C. §5112 — the coin statute §408(m)(3)(A) points to: American Gold Eagle denominations §5112(a)(7)–(10), Silver Eagle §5112(e), Platinum Eagle §5112(k)
• IRS Publication 590-B — the IRS restatement of the fineness numbers (.995 gold, .999 silver, .9995 platinum and palladium) and the collectibles discussion

Product specifications

• U.S. Mint spec sheets — American Eagle family: weights, denominations, the 22-karat alloy
• National mint spec pages for the Maple Leaf, Philharmonic, Kangaroo, Britannia, and Panda programs, including vintage-year fineness changes
• Exchange delivery standards (COMEX/NYMEX) and the LBMA Good Delivery list — the accreditation lists the fineness language reads through

Regulators and consumer protection

• FINRA investor bulletin on buying physical gold or other metals — premium patterns, red flags, buy-back promises
• IRS guidance on prohibited transactions for IRAs

Standards for any company references

The guides name no dealer as a recommendation. Where a guide describes what to verify (custodian product lists, assay certificates, premiums against spot), it describes checks you can run yourself rather than a ranked list. If the desk ever accepts compensation from a company, that relationship will be disclosed on the page where the company appears and on the disclosure page, and no amount of compensation changes a spec sourced to the statute or the IRS.

Corrections

Errors are fixed at the top of the queue. Send the page URL and the primary document that contradicts it through the contact page; verified corrections are made and credited within days.