Augusta Precious Metals vs Preserve Gold

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The head to head at a glance

Augusta Precious Metals and Preserve Gold are two California based precious metals dealers that Texas readers ask us to compare. Both work exclusively by phone, with no Texas walk in office. Both hold A+ BBB letter ratings referenced on their own websites. Beyond those surface parallels, the two dealers diverge on almost every material dimension a Texas retiree cares about.

The single biggest difference is corporate age. Augusta was founded in 2012 and has held BBB accreditation since 2014. Preserve Gold shows a BBB business start date of July 6, 2022, with accreditation from September 6, 2022. Roughly ten years of public track record separate the two firms as of this review.

The second difference is public disclosure. Augusta prints its minimum, its custodian, its recommended depository, and a typical annual fee range for both custodian and storage lines on one public page. Preserve Gold prints only the depository panel and markets a multi year fee waiver in place of a printed rate card. The tier thresholds for the waiver are not on the public page.

The third difference is Texas depository geography. Preserve Gold names two Texas facilities among its three storage partners: Shiner (Texas Precious Metals Depository) and Dallas (International Depository Services). Augusta lists both Shiner and Dallas in its FAQ but names Delaware Depository as the recommended vault on the main gold IRA page.

Public disclosure scorecard, side by side

Public disclosure is the wedge for this comparison. We scored both dealers on six hard items a Texas retiree needs before an intake call: account minimum, custodian name, depository names, annual custodian fee, annual storage fee, and coin by coin dealer spread. Augusta prints five of the six. Preserve Gold prints one of the six.

Read the scorecard carefully. One printed item does not mean Preserve Gold has no fee schedule. It means the fee schedule is not on the public gold IRA page. It is quoted by a specialist on the intake call and confirmed in the account application paperwork before the first buy. That is a normal industry pattern; it is also less friendly to a reader who wants to compare dealers from a search result.

Augusta prints its 50,000 dollar minimum on the gold IRA page. It names Equity Trust Company as custodian and Delaware Depository as the recommended vault on the same page. It also prints a typical annual custodian range of 75 to 150 dollars and a typical annual storage range of 100 to 150 dollars. All five items sit on augustapreciousmetals.com/gold-ira/, checked July 2026.

A Texas reader working from public pages alone can build a rough fee model at Augusta before ever picking up the phone. The same reader has no fee model to work from at Preserve Gold until a specialist quotes the numbers. That gap is the honest wedge for this comparison. It is not a scam claim on either side; it is a different disclosure choice.

Account minimum and who each dealer fits

Augusta prints a 50,000 dollar minimum on its gold IRA page (per augustapreciousmetals.com/gold-ira/, checked July 2026). That number is a real gate. A saver with less than 50,000 dollars in a rollover eligible retirement account is redirected at intake. Augusta also reserves its one on one educational web conference with Director of Education Devlyn Steele for savers with 100,000 dollars or more.

Preserve Gold does not print a minimum on its public gold IRA page. The page describes a three step intake (specialist call, funding, coin selection) without stating a dollar gate. The starting purchase size does drive the length of the fee waiver, so the effective minimum is tied to the waiver tier the buyer wants to unlock, and neither number is printed publicly.

The practical read for a Texas retiree in three balance bands. Below 25,000 dollars, Augusta will decline the account; ask Preserve Gold directly what its floor is before booking a call. Between 25,000 and 50,000 dollars, Augusta is off the table and Preserve Gold may be an option, likely at the shortest waiver tier.

Above 50,000 dollars, both dealers are on the table. Augusta enrolls at its printed tier and runs the education first intake for balances above 100,000 dollars. Preserve Gold treats the starting purchase as the waiver key. A larger opening buy unlocks a longer fee free window, up to the advertised five year maximum.

Custodian: named at Augusta, unnamed at Preserve Gold

Augusta names Equity Trust Company as the paired self directed IRA custodian on its gold IRA page. Equity Trust is a South Dakota chartered non depository trust that holds legal title to the metal on your behalf under IRC 408. The Equity Trust retail Fee Schedule (Rev. 110625) is public as a PDF linked at trustetc.com/fees/.

That schedule is a printed price tag for the custodian portion of an Augusta account. On the 50,000 to 99,999 dollar tier, which is Augusta's entry band, the retail schedule prints 425 dollars per year. On the 100,000 to 199,999 dollar tier it prints 500 dollars, on the 200,000 to 299,999 tier it prints 700 dollars, and at 2 million dollars and above it prints 2,250 dollars per year.

Augusta's own printed range of 75 to 150 dollars per year for the custodian line sits below every Equity Trust retail tier. That means Augusta either subsidizes the difference or holds a negotiated private schedule that differs from the printed retail sheet. Ask in writing which schedule applies to your specific account before you sign anything.

Preserve Gold does not name a custodian on its public gold IRA page. The page refers to "vetted custodians" without naming a specific corporate trustee (per preservegold.com/gold-ira/, checked July 2026 via Wayback). There is no way to pull a trustee fee sheet from a name you do not have. Ask the specialist to email the custodian name and the full fee schedule before you agree to any transfer paperwork.

Two friction fees on any custodian schedule are worth noting at rollover and at final liquidation. Wire fees, full account termination fees, and per asset partial termination fees are set by the custodian, not the dealer. Get each line in writing at both dealers before you commit to a transfer.

Storage and depository choice in Texas

Augusta names Delaware Depository as the recommended vault on its gold IRA page. Augusta's FAQ lists eleven storage cities including Shiner, Texas and Dallas, Texas, and closes with "Please ask us for a current list" (per augustapreciousmetals.com FAQ via Wayback capture May 2025). Shiner is Texas Precious Metals Depository. Dallas is International Depository Services in Irving.

Preserve Gold names three depository partners directly on its gold IRA page: Texas Precious Metals Depository in Shiner, Delaware Depository (with the Wilmington vault and a Boulder City satellite), and International Depository Services (Dallas or New Castle). All three are private IRS approved facilities regulated at the state level (per preservegold.com/gold-ira/, checked July 2026 via Wayback capture).

For a Texas reader who prefers in state storage, Preserve Gold's default depository panel is more Texas heavy. Two of its three named vaults sit inside Texas. At Augusta, the two Texas cities appear in a longer eleven city FAQ list, with Delaware named as the recommended default on the main product page. Both dealers can route to Shiner or Dallas on request.

Neither dealer prints a standing partnership with the Texas Bullion Depository in Leander. The Texas Bullion Depository is the only state administered precious metals depository in the United States. It was authorized by House Bill 483, signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 12, 2015. It sits on a 10 acre campus in Leander (per texasbulliondepository.gov and comptroller.texas.gov/programs/depository/, both checked July 2026). Day to day operations are run by Lone Star Tangible Assets under contract with the state.

If Leander storage is your primary requirement, neither Augusta nor Preserve Gold prints it as a standard option. A Texas reader who wants specifically the state administered vault should ask both dealers in writing whether they will accommodate Leander on request, and compare their answers.

Dealer spread and the fee waiver math

The dealer spread is the difference between the spot price of the metal and the price the dealer charges you for the same coin or bar. It is paid twice on any physical metal IRA: once at buy, and again on the way out through the buyback channel. Neither Augusta nor Preserve Gold prints a percent figure or a per coin price on any public page we captured in July 2026.

Preserve Gold pairs the unprinted spread with a marketed fee waiver. The waiver covers IRA storage and custodian fees "up to 5 years depending on your starting investment size" per preservegold.com/gold-ira/ (checked July 2026). The waiver structure is tiered. Larger opening purchases unlock longer waiver windows. The tier table is not published on the captured pages.

Two things about the fee waiver deserve careful reading. First, the waiver applies to custodian and storage lines, not to the dealer spread on the buy. The buy leg spread continues to apply on day one regardless of the waiver tier. Second, once the waiver window ends, the standard custodian and storage fees resume at whatever tier the specific trustee prices at the time.

Third, the true dollar value of the waiver depends on which trustee ends up holding the account. A three year waiver on a 500 dollar per year Equity Trust tier is worth 1,500 dollars. A three year waiver on a 200 dollar per year private schedule is worth 600 dollars. Ask the specialist to name the trustee and to price the fee lines that resume after the waiver ends.

At Augusta, there is no waiver period. The dealer spread and the ongoing custodian and storage fees are quoted straight on the day of the buy call. Ask for the per coin price and, in the same call, ask what the current spot price is. The gap is your buy spread at Augusta.

Buyback: two different framings

Both dealers describe a resale channel back to themselves. The framings are different. Augusta's gold IRA page describes buyback support without printing a fee schedule or a legally guaranteed price. Preserve Gold markets a zero fee buyback on metals originally purchased through the company, at "the highest price available on the market without fees" per preservegold.com/gold-ira/ (checked July 2026).

Neither statement means the sell side dealer spread is zero. A highest available buyback promise, at either dealer, is a marketing claim that the dealer will pay a competitive price versus other dealers on the same day, not that the dealer will pay spot. The buyback price is what the dealer will pay for the coin, which is below the same day spot by whatever spread the dealer holds on that product on that day.

The round trip cost, buy price minus buyback price, is the number that actually matters at exit. Ask each specialist for the same day buyback quote on the exact coin the specialist is offering on the buy call. Keep the emailed answer. The gap between the buy price and the buyback price is your true round trip dealer cost, not the framing on either dealer's public page.

Preserve Gold's zero fee buyback pledge applies to metals originally purchased through the company. Coins bought elsewhere may fall outside the pledge. Ask in writing what happens if you want to sell a coin the trustee holds in your account that was not part of the original Preserve Gold buy. The answer changes the practical value of the pledge.

Trust signals: BBB record and public identity

Both dealers hold public BBB profiles. Augusta Precious Metals is listed with A+ letter rating and BBB accreditation since 2014, per the profile referenced on augustapreciousmetals.com and confirmed via bbb.org. Preserve Gold shows an A+ rating with BBB accreditation since September 6, 2022, business start date July 6, 2022, and 2 complaints closed in the past three years per its bbb.org profile (checked July 2026 via Wayback capture).

Corporate age is a real difference. Augusta was founded in 2012, per its own about page. Preserve Gold shows a business start date of July 6, 2022 on the BBB record, which puts corporate age at roughly four years as of this review. A shorter operating history is not disqualifying, but it puts more weight on the paperwork you demand at signing.

Named ownership is another difference. Augusta names CEO Isaac Nuriani and Director of Education Devlyn Steele on its about page. Preserve Gold names Mr. Daniel Boston as owner and Jennifer Reubel as CEO on the bbb.org profile. Both dealers reduce the ambiguity a reader faces when a startup keeps its principals off the public record.

Both dealers use public marketing. Augusta features Joe Montana as a customer testimonial and cites Money magazine naming it Best Overall Gold IRA Company. Preserve Gold references media logos including Fox Business, Forbes, Newsmax, CBS, and The Epoch Times on its homepage. Neither set of endorsements changes the fee stack or the metal you receive.

Texas taxes and why fee drag matters more here

Texas has no state personal income tax on wages or on retirement account distributions (per comptroller.texas.gov, checked July 2026). Article 8, Section 24 of the Texas Constitution prohibits one without a statewide referendum. A California retiree taking a 30,000 dollar required minimum distribution pays California ordinary income tax on top of federal tax. A Texas retiree taking the same 30,000 dollar RMD pays federal only.

That state tax gap changes what matters inside the account. In a high tax state, the state income tax swamps almost every fee line. In Texas, there is no state income tax to swamp; the fee stack you signed at intake is a larger share of your net outcome over ten or twenty years.

Two identical rollovers, one in Dallas and one in Los Angeles, end up with different net balances after twenty years primarily because the state tax differential is zero in Texas. The practical effect for this comparison: fee transparency matters more in Texas than in New York, California, or Oregon.

Between the two dealers on this page, Augusta prints five items of hard fee context on one public page. Preserve Gold prints only the depository panel. A Texas retiree working from public pages alone has more concrete numbers to hold on to at Augusta, and a stronger case for asking Preserve Gold to email the fee sheet before any funds move.

How to compare the two on your specific rollover

Comparison at the search level is limited by what each dealer publishes. Comparison at the intake call level is not. The four line fee stack (setup, annual custodian, annual storage, dealer spread on buy) is the same set of questions at both dealers. Ask each specialist the same eight questions and put the answers in a two column spreadsheet before you sign anything.

1. Confirm the account minimum at each dealer. Augusta will confirm 50,000 dollars. Ask Preserve Gold directly and get the current minimum in email, since it is not printed on the public gold IRA page.
2. Ask for the one time setup fee, split. Get the dealer intake fee and the custodian application fee at each dealer. Confirm which line is refundable if you cancel before the first purchase. Neither dealer prints a setup dollar figure on the public page.
3. Ask for the custodian name and annual custodian fee at your account tier. Augusta names Equity Trust Company on the public page; cross reference the retail schedule (Rev. 110625) at trustetc.com/fees/. Preserve Gold does not name a custodian; get the trustee name plus its fee schedule in email before you sign.
4. Ask Preserve Gold for the fee waiver tier table. Get in writing which starting purchase size unlocks two, three, four, or the full five year waiver. Confirm which fee lines resume after the waiver ends, and at what dollar figure per year at your account tier.
5. Ask for the depository name and the annual storage fee, by venue. Get a specific number for Delaware Depository, for IDS in Dallas or New Castle, and for Shiner. Confirm whether the depository bills separately from the custodian and whether segregated storage adds an annual increment.
6. Ask for the per coin buy price and same day spot at each dealer. Do this on the exact coin the specialist proposes. The gap is your buy spread at that dealer. Get the same coin priced at both dealers for a true side by side.
7. Ask for the same day buyback quote on the same coin at each dealer. The gap between the buy price and the buyback price is your round trip dealer cost. Compare the round trip cost at each dealer, not just the buy leg.
8. Compute the ten year total at each dealer. Sum: setup once, plus ten years of custodian, plus ten years of storage (net of any Preserve Gold waiver), plus buy spread once. The lower ten year total on the same account tier is your fee cheaper dealer for a Texas rollover.

Worked example: 100,000 dollar Dallas rollover, both sides

When Augusta is the better fit

Augusta is the better fit for a Texas retiree with 50,000 dollars or more in a rollover eligible account who values printed fee context and structured education before a buy conversation. The 50,000 dollar minimum is a real gate. It filters out the smaller account tier where fee drag is hardest to justify and gives Augusta a more predictable buyer profile.

Augusta is also the fit for a reader who wants a named custodian and a named depository on public pages before an intake call. Both are printed on augustapreciousmetals.com/gold-ira/. A reader who prefers to model the fee stack on paper before agreeing to any phone conversation has a cleaner starting point at Augusta than at Preserve Gold.

Augusta is also the fit for a reader who wants a longer public track record. Fourteen years of trading and BBB accreditation since 2014 produce a deeper trail of independent reviews, media mentions, and regulatory filings than a four year old firm can offer, regardless of how well that younger firm currently rates.

Augusta's public marketing leans on a Joe Montana customer testimonial and on being named Best Overall Gold IRA Company by Money magazine. Neither claim changes the fee stack, the custodian, or the metal you actually receive. They function as brand comfort signals at the top of the funnel. Weigh them accordingly.

When Preserve Gold is the better fit

Preserve Gold is the better fit for a Texas reader whose rollover balance sits below the 50,000 dollar Augusta gate, because Augusta will not enroll that account tier. The public gold IRA page at preservegold.com does not print a minimum. A specialist call will confirm the current figure in writing, along with which waiver tier the opening purchase unlocks.

Preserve Gold is also the fit for a reader whose highest priority is in state Texas storage without an off menu negotiation. Two of the three depositories named on the captured product page sit inside Texas: Shiner (Texas Precious Metals Depository) and Dallas (International Depository Services). That is more in state storage geography than most competitors offer by default.

Preserve Gold is also the fit for a reader who values a multi year fee waiver at the opening tier and is willing to price the resumed rate carefully after the waiver ends. A three or five year window of zero custodian and storage cost is a real cash flow benefit at the front of the account, provided the resumed rate after year five is not disproportionately high.

When neither is right for you

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed by Harry's Coins Editorial. Last reviewed July 2026.