GoldDealer.com is one of the oldest eCommerce websites for buying precious metals. It is the online division of a company that has been in business since 1980. With decades in the industry and thousands of online customer reviews, it’s no question that GoldDealer is an established industry player. But are they the best option for your investments?
We’ve taken a look at GoldDealer’s history, what they offer, and how they compare to the competition.
We have done hundreds of hours of research on the best precious metals investment companies for anyone that wants to invest!
About GoldDealer

GoldDealer is led by the company president, Richard Schwary. He received his Bachelor of Science degree fifty years ago, back in 1973. For over four decades, he has been well-known in the gold dealer community. In fact, he helped with drafting the California sales tax laws regarding precious metals, and he was among the first dealers to do legal business in Minnesota.
Since he has such a strong background in precious metals, he helped contribute prices to the official Guide Book of United States Coins. His work has been published in trade papers. He is personally a lifetime member with the American Numismatic Association and a member with the Numismatic Literary Guild.
In the past, Richard has served as the president of the Professional Numismatists Guild. He has been called as an expert witness for the state of California with regards to precious metals and rare coins. With the Ask an Expert section of GoldDealer, you can find his answers to many common questions.
Richard began GoldDealer with his close friend, Ken Edwards. However, Ken passed away in 2018.
IRA Services

Certain types of precious metals can be kept in your retirement account through a self-directed IRA. Because this is different from a typical IRA, you will need to make a new account with a new custodian. Self-directed IRAs are fully controlled by the holder, which means that you have full jurisdiction over how your assets are allocated.
Some gold IRA companies will fill out your paperwork and communicate with your custodian for you. They make the process as streamlined as possible.
While GoldDealer doesn’t handle the paperwork for you, they do have a wealth of information on their website. They explain the process of setting up a gold IRA, funding it, and purchasing precious metals. Then they tell the client the most popular custodian options.
GoldDealer prefers to work with Equity Trust on gold IRAs. Equity Trust is one of the most popular choices for precious metals IRAs and has excellent consumer reviews. They’re among the most reputable self-directed IRA custodians in the industry. Best of all, they exclusively focus on precious metals, so they’re experts in the involved rules and regulations.
GoldDealer states that Equity Trust’s customer support is great, and that you can easily get in contact with a human when you need to talk to someone. They encourage customers to use the training materials and webinars available through Equity Trust’s website.
In addition to Equity Trust, the GoldDealer website says that the most popular alternative options for their customers are Strata Trust and New Directions Trust. Like Equity Trust, these companies have solid reputations and good customer support systems.
Other Services

In addition to selling bullion and collectible coins, GoldDealer has a variety of other services. These can make it much easier to navigate the precious metals industry, especially if you’re new to investing. Among the available services are:
Coin Grading
One of the most important things when assessing the price of a rare coin is to have it graded. A professional grader will examine the coin and determine its quality, based on how much wear-and-tear it has undergone. They will also certify the authenticity of the coin.
There are two main grading organizations in the United States. One is the Professional Coin Grading Service, or PCGS. This organization disrupted the rare coins market in 1986 when they sealed rare coins into special holders to prevent them from being damaged. The other organization is the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, which adopted the same practices shortly thereafter.
Today, these two organizations set the standard for rare coin appraisals. If you have a rare coin and want to know its value, you'll need to have it appraised and graded by the PCGS or NGC.
Early in the creation of coin grading services, NGC and PCGS only graded rare coins. But nowadays, the organizations appraise and grade a number of different collectible items.
GoldDealer's parent company, California Numismatic Investments, has been authorized to deal NGC and PCGS coins for many years. The company president is an expert in rare coin certification and is happy to answer people's questions. Coin grading services can vary in price based on the valuation of the coin and the needed turnaround time.
You have the option of choosing an "economy" rate for getting your coins graded. Economy rates are very affordable, but they're also very slow. It sometimes takes months for you to receive your evaluation. If you pay extra for the standard turnaround, you'll get significantly faster results.
There are special services for rare coins in particular. In these cases, the price of certification will depend on how valuable the coin is. Many people attend PCGS or NGC shows and submit their valuables to be graded then. Oftentimes, the grading will be finished in a few days or weeks.
GoldDealer's Chief Financial Officer will submit your coin collections and numismatic rarities to NGC and PCGS for evaluation. He will also give you tips if you want to submit your coins yourself, rather than using a middle man.
Independent Storage
Many Americans don't trust the government or the banking system to keep their valuables safe. But home storage of precious metals is uniquely vulnerable to loss, theft, and damage. It's common for people to have entire safes stolen, or to lose their assets in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
More and more people are turning to independent storage facilities for their precious metals. These are storage facilities run with state-of-the-art security. Every vault has a full insurance policy, so even if something were to happen to your items, you could be reimbursed for their full value. Secure storage is the safest way to keep your precious metals safe outside of the banking system.
Independent storage options are also favored by people who do a lot of buying and selling of precious metals. By opening a storage facility with their precious metals dealer, they're able to trade items back and forth without accruing massive shipping costs.
GoldDealer does not operate its own depository. However, the company has partnered with the independent storage firm CNT Depository. This depository is specifically built to house precious metals, with full insurance policies through Lloyds of London.
To get signed up, you'll have to reach out to CNT Depository directly, rather than going through a GoldDealer mediator. But then you can give your account information to your GoldDealer rep. They will happily send your precious metals to be processed at the facility, and you'll have access to ongoing updates about the valuation of your holdings.
Free Appraisals
Sometimes coin collections and banknotes are part of an inheritance. You might not have a strong background in precious metals, and you're unsure where to begin. GoldDealer is a trusted appraiser. They are happy to answer questions about your valuables. Though an exact grading and valuation takes a long time, they can usually give a vague estimate of your item's value for free.
Sometimes this appraisal can even be made over the phone. Once you know about the potential value of your holdings, you can decide whether you want to have them professionally graded. This also gives you a better sense of what to ask for when you sell the items.
Rare Coin Insights
Rare coins are a much riskier investment than standard bullion. While they have a much greater potential for growth, they also have the potential to lose their value. The rare coin market is priced largely around supply and demand, rather than melt value.
If you have questions about the history, price potential, or anything else about a rare coin, GoldDealer's experts are happy to help. They can give you guidance about whether it's a good purchase for you, or whether there's another option that might serve your purposes better.
Selling Coins
You can sell your coins and bullion to GoldDealer, both by mailing them in and by going to the California Numismatics storefront in California. No matter the value of your collection, the experts at GoldDealer will happily take a look and make you an offer if possible. Payment occurs immediately upon receipt and processing of the shipment.
If you're planning to sell your coins to GoldDealer, you should call to get instructions for how to wrap, insure, and document your package to prevent damage or loss.
Supplies and Gifts
Coin collecting supplies and gifts are hard to come by with many dealerships these days. But they shouldn't be! It used to be much easier to get coin collecting memorabilia like quarter holders, magnifying glasses, and plastic cases. Similarly, there used to be books about rare coins and collections available right on the shelves of most dealerships.
For people looking for coin supplies and gifts for the future, GoldDealer recommends working with the company Wizard Coin Supplies. Though they aren't a subsidiary of GoldDealer, the company president states that he's worked with them for decades and trusts their sales practices implicitly.
Is GoldDealer Legitimate?

GoldDealer is a legitimate business. Not only are they licensed and accredited, but they also have thousands of positive online reviews. In addition, they have over four decades of experience in the precious metals industry.
According to their Better Business Bureau page, the company is officially registered under the name California Numismatic Investments, Incorporated. The BBB has accredited the business and given them an A+ rating, indicating that they respond to all customer complaints with an attempt at resolution.
There have been no official complaints filed against California Numismatic Investments in the past three years. The BBB page has just five customer reviews, with an average of 3.4 stars. Two of the reviews have one star. However, both of the complaints seem to be due to confusion rather than any issues on the company’s part.
One customer left a review saying that he was confused about why California Numismatic Investments and GoldDealer share a website. The company responded to explain that California Numismatic Investments is the corporate name, and GoldDealer is the URL. The corporate name is visible on the GoldDealer website as part of the site banner.
Another customer left a review saying that her mother had a terrible experience with the company. California Numismatic Investments replied to say that nobody sharing the reviewer’s last name had ever done business with them. The reviewer said that her mother had been alone and had gone to the storefront to sell a coin.
Apparently the security guard was rude and abrupt with her mother, and her mother was left feeling shaken about the encounter.
The company responded to say that it has been hard to do business during the COVID pandemic because the items in the parking lot cannot be properly evaluated by experts. But they also stated that there was no excuse for the rudeness. They had discussed the issue with the security guard and were working with their inventory experts to make the sale process easier.
This was in late 2021. The company representative stated that since the staff was now vaccinated, they should be able to return to their usual way of doing business soon.
Reviews on other websites are almost universally positive. On Trustpilot, there are nearly 1,500 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 stars, indicating 99% customer satisfaction. Several of the reviewers on Trustpilot stated that they have worked with GoldDealer for more than 15 years and have complete faith in the company.
Pros & Cons of GoldDealer
Pros
Cons
Final Thoughts
GoldDealer is a very solid eCommerce website with a storefront backing it up. There are multiple precious metals products available, including both bullion and rare coins. You can even get rhodium bullion bars and other materials that aren’t eligible for an IRA.
The company does have IRA services and information available. However, it isn’t as robust or focused as some IRA specialists. They explain how to contact a custodian and create an account, but they don’t handle the paperwork process for you. If you want to open a gold IRA, you might want to work with a more in-depth firm.
Overall, though, GoldDealer is a very impressive company. It has existed for more than four decades and has retained its integrity during that time. Many customer reviews come from people who have worked with them for a decade or more. The company president is an industry expert who is trusted by major publications, news networks, and even the state of California.
Other services are available as well. You can use GoldDealer for personal purchases, rare coins, storage options, coin grading, and more. Not a lot of precious metals companies are this versatile. The vast majority of products and services that an individual consumer might want can be found through this website.
Don't forget to checkout our highest recommended precious metals investment companies if you want to move forward with an investment!