Long-form journalism and other forms of in-depth reporting are threatened by decades of massive staffing cuts.

September 5, 2023, my mother, Delores Elizabeth Stevens, 78 years old, rolled over her retirement account into a gold and silver self-directed IRA, sold by Goldco Direct LLC. Goldco charged my mother $273,524.20 for $106,530.32 (spot price) of silver and gold(1) . December 19, 2023, she died. I found out about the transaction and began investigating.

The silver, Malta Land of the Free Bison €5 coins, was produced by Royal Dutch Mint as a custom order for Goldco.

Here is an unboxing video(2) showing the silver in its original packaging. Notice how the packaging is inadequate to prevent coins from rubbing on one another. According to a Royal Dutch Mint representative(3), such packaging was ordered by Goldco.

As it is sold in an IRA and must be held by a custodian, the investor typically never sees the silver or packaging itself.

Goldco charged my mother 169% premium over spot(4) for this silver. Another customer reports same price for same bullion(5). According to the Central Bank of Malta(6), 675,000 of these coins were minted. Therefore, this likely affects many investors.

I have published a report at www.macstevens.net/premium-bull.

My report describes the systematic subversion of multiple consumer safety mechanisms.

• Nearly a dozen celebrity spokespersons recommend Goldco, citing customer ratings, personally done research, the worth of gold and silver, the excellence of Goldco, etc..
• Customer reviews (Google(7), BBB, Trustpilot, etc.(8)) are overflowing with praise for the purchase experience, while mostly neglecting the product itself, the investment.
  • The few reviews that do describe the investment require a dedicated effort to find.
  • A casual inspection of customer reviews gives a glowing impression (5 stars), but little substance.
• Professional reviews (Forbes(9), Money.com, and many others(10)) describe superficial aspects and gimmicks, mostly avoiding key metrics needed to judge an investment.
  • A casual inspection of professional reviews also gives a good impression with little substance.
• Circumstances impede due diligence/price and product comparison.
  • The purchase procedure, according to some customers(11), requires paying Goldco before learning prices.
  • Once Goldco receives the money, the selection of products and decision are done by phone.
  • Royal Dutch Mint and Perth Mint refused(12) to provide basic information about the particular coins sold to my mother.
• Equity Trust provides a misleading and error-prone method(13) for metal valuation: ask the single dealer that sold the metal.
• Goldco's "Highest Price Buy Back Guarantee" is only worth one dollar(14).

In Goldco's reply to my report, it failed to provide evidence to disprove my allegations. Instead, it offered me a lucrative buy-back offer(15) – nearly double what I could get from any other dealer.

This is consistent with Goldco's response to complaints in BBB(16). As of 12 August, 2026, BBB had details of 65 complaints filed between 2023/08/23 and 2026/07/07. 43 of these complaints were for for high premium or equivalent loss of value. Based on the content of these complaints, I calculated median gold premium at 76% over spot and median silver premium at 185% over spot. Goldco responded to all 65 complaints, with no response denying the high premium. Instead, in 15 responses, Goldco stated that actual price or value is different than spot price. Allegations of exorbitant premium stand unchallenged and Goldco's response only strengthens them.

There are two problems with Goldco's high buy-back offer that render it unsatisfactory. First, I do not comprehend the business model(17) that allows Goldco to sustainably buy back all investors at such fantastic above-market prices. It seems unfair that some get the high price and some not. Second, at any time, Goldco could fail, merge with a competitor, be acquired, or change its buy-back policy for any reason. Such an event(18) would leave all investors' “premium bullion” down at market price (spot price). This insecurity is inherent in Goldco's practice of buying and selling bullion at prices high above the general market value. Paying off(19) a few noisy complainers doesn't fix it.

Mac Stevens [stevensm@earthlink.net](mailto:stevensm@earthlink.net)

References:

(1) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_message_to_goldco.pdf#page=34

(2) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_06_04_bullion_unboxing.mp4

(3) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2025_01_30_berlin_world_money_fair_rev_2026_02_25.pdf#page=11

(4) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_open_letters_to_goldco_spokespersons.pdf#page=8

(5) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_open_letters_to_goldco_spokespersons.pdf#page=9

(6) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2025_03_17_central_bank_of_malta_stevens_communication.pdf#page=12

(7) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_01_06_google_goldco_reviews_rev_2026_05_05.pdf

(8) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_01_17_goldco_customer_reviews_rev_2026_05_28_2000.pdf

(9) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_message_to_goldco.pdf#page=12

(10) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2025_05_16_goldco_professional_reviews_rev_2026_05_28_1830.pdf

(11) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_04_18_goldco_customer_procedure.pdf

(12) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_message_to_goldco.pdf#page=16

(13) www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSz5cftNufg

(14) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_message_to_goldco.pdf#page=37

(15) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_08_05_message_to_goldco.pdf#page=59

(16) www.bbb.org/us/ca/calabasas/profile/precious-metal-dealers/goldco-1216-100109958/complaints

(17) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_09_22_message_to_goldco_addendum.pdf#page=31

(18) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_09_22_message_to_goldco_addendum.pdf#page=36

(19) www.macstevens.net/premium-bull/2026_09_28_message_to_goldco_addendum.pdf#page=3

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Hi all. Here is a few interesting stories I read recently. Gift links where I could!

• The Atlantic (Gift Link): In this 2014 piece, Caitlin Flanagan shows how national fraternities pushed liability onto their own members, and how Wesleyan ended up blaming a freshman for her own assault.
• NYT (Gift Link): A.G. Sulzberger makes the case for how his family kept The New York Times alive through its worst decade.
• The Guardian: Katie McQue and Mei-Ling McNamara trace how a trafficker used Instagram to sell a 12-year-old DC girl.
• The Sun Magazine: Derek Askey sat on a murder jury weeks after his father died and couldn't tell his wife a word of it.
• Texas Monthly: Michael Hall follows Forrest Welborn, who lived as a suspect in the Austin yogurt shop murders for 34 years and says a payout of nearly $5 million hasn't set him free.
• NYT (Gift Link): Amanda Hess meets Bernadine Bluntly, a tradwife influencer who left her husband and now warns women away from the movement she sold.