Is Blanchard Gold Legit? My Honest Review

I went looking for a straight answer on Blanchard Gold review pages because most of what I found read like paid advertising. So I did the homework myself.

What follows is the unvarnished read on a company that’s been selling coins and bullion since the year Ford was president. If you’re parking part of your savings in metal, you deserve facts, not flattery. Here’s what I found.

Sizing Up Blanchard After 50 Years in the Coin and Bullion Trade

Fifty years is a long time for any business, and an eternity in an industry littered with fly-by-night dealers who appear, take deposits, and vanish.

Blanchard and Company opened its doors in 1975 and crossed the half-century mark in 2025. That alone earns a second look from me.

But longevity is not the same as quality. Plenty of old companies coast on reputation. So the real question I wanted answered was simple: what does that 50-year track record actually buy a person handing over money today?

The short version is access and pedigree. Blanchard sells everyday gold and silver, but its real identity sits in rare coins, certified numismatics, and famous treasure pieces most competitors never touch.

It has served more than 800,000 customers and posted over $1 billion in sales across the last three years. Those are serious numbers. Whether they translate into a good deal for you depends on what you’re buying, and that’s where the picture gets more textured.

The Jim Blanchard Story and How the Company Came to Be

Most gold dealers were founded by businesspeople. Blanchard was founded by an activist who happened to love gold, and that origin shapes the whole company.

From the “Legalize Gold” Campaign to a New Orleans Storefront

Here’s a fact that surprised me: Americans were legally barred from owning gold for decades. Franklin Roosevelt signed that restriction into law in 1933, and it stuck around far longer than most people realize.

Jim Blanchard hated it. He started the National Committee to Legalize Gold and turned the cause into a public spectacle.

He hired a biplane to tow a “Legalize Gold” banner over Nixon’s second inauguration. He held press conferences waving gold bars, practically begging the government to arrest him.

President Ford finally legalized private gold ownership in 1974. One year later, Blanchard opened his company in New Orleans. The man got his way and then built a business on it.

The Donald Doyle Era and the Push to Put Gold in IRAs

Jim Blanchard eventually stepped aside, and Donald Doyle took over as CEO after buying the company from Allegiance Capital Partners. Doyle carried the activist streak forward.

He led the Coalition for Equitable Regulation and Taxation and backed legislation that let regular people hold gold inside their retirement accounts.

If you can buy gold in an IRA today, Doyle is part of the reason. He also chaired the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, a trade group Jim Blanchard helped found.

Famous Coins They’ve Handled

This is where Blanchard separates itself from the pack. The company has placed some of the most valuable coins on earth.

• The Brasher Doubloon, once the world’s most valuable rare coin, handled by Blanchard in 2011
• The 1804 Dollar, one of the most storied coins in American numismatics
• One of just five known 1913 Liberty Nickels, the famous “Hawaii 5-0” specimen
• The 1894-S Dime, a coin so rare only a handful exist
• Gold and silver recovered from the S.S. Central America, which sank in 1857, and 1,000-ounce silver bars pulled from the SS Gairsoppa, torpedoed in 1941

That kind of track record is rare. Few dealers ever touch a seven-figure coin, let alone build a history around them. For serious collectors, this pedigree is the whole pitch.

Who Runs Blanchard Today

A company is only as good as the people steering it, so I looked at who’s actually in charge.

David Beahm, President and CEO

David Beahm has run Blanchard as President and CEO since 2015. He didn’t parachute in from outside. He joined the company around 2005 as a marketing director, worked his way up through operations, and earned the top job after a decade inside.

Before Blanchard, he was a commercial lender at Whitney National Bank, now part of Hancock Whitney. He holds an MBA and a management degree from the University of New Orleans. That banking background matters in a business built on trust and transactions.

The Wider Bench: CFO, Sales, and Marketing Leadership

The leadership team has real tenure, which I take as a good sign in an industry where staff churn through dealers.

• Debbie Cash, CFO, is a CPA who started at KPMG, joined Blanchard in 1985, and became finance chief in 2003
• L. Craig Baudot, EVP of Sales, has been with the company since 1986, climbing from portfolio manager to sales leadership
• Sarah Munson, Chief Marketing Officer, handles brand growth and lead generation

People who stay 30 and 40 years usually believe in the place they work. That stability speaks well of the culture.

The Portfolio Manager Model and Why It Matters to Buyers

Blanchard assigns every customer a dedicated portfolio manager. You’re not calling a rotating phone bank each time you order.

That model cuts both ways. A consistent contact who knows your account is genuinely helpful, especially for larger or repeat purchases.

The flip side is that a relationship-based salesperson has an incentive to sell, and a few customers have reported feeling nudged toward pricier coins. More on that later.

Everything Blanchard Sells, From Eagles to Ancients

The product range here is wider than most dealers I’ve reviewed, spanning plain bullion all the way to ancient and colonial coins.

Gold Coins, Bars, and Fractional Pieces

The gold selection covers nearly every major mint. You’ll find American Eagles and Buffalos from the U.S. Mint, Kangaroos and Lunar coins from the Perth Mint, Britannias and Sovereigns from the Royal Mint, and Maple Leafs from the Royal Canadian Mint.

Fractional coins are available too, so you can buy in smaller increments. If I had to name Blanchard’s single strongest recommendation, it’s the 1-ounce Gold American Eagle, which carries a U.S. government guarantee on weight, content, and purity.

Silver Bullion and Junk Silver

Silver buyers get the same broad mint coverage plus options bullion-focused investors love.

• 1-ounce Silver American Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs
• Silver rounds, bars, and monster boxes for bulk buying
• 90% and 40% “junk” silver, meaning circulated pre-1965 U.S. coins valued for their metal
• A limited-edition Blanchard branded silver round

Junk silver is a smart entry point for people who want recognizable, divisible silver without paying collector premiums.

Platinum and Palladium

Blanchard carries platinum and palladium in both coin and bar form. These metals get less attention than gold and silver, but they round out a metals allocation for buyers who want broader exposure.

Certified Rare and Numismatic Coins

This is Blanchard’s home turf. The rare coin catalog runs deep: cents, dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver and gold dollars, double eagles, commemoratives, territorials, colonials, and even ancient coins.

The company makes a strong claim about quality. It says its lead numismatist personally buys every coin it sells and rejects more than 75% of what’s offered.

Each coin is graded and slabbed by recognized services like PCGS or NGC. For a collector, that vetting is worth something real.

Putting Money In: How Buying From Blanchard Works

Buying here is straightforward, but a few quirks are worth knowing before you start.

Ordering Online Versus Over the Phone

You can place an order two ways: through the secure website or by phone with a representative who walks you through it.

The phone route is the company’s preferred path, partly because a portfolio manager can guide you and partly because phone orders carry fewer limits than online ones. If you’re buying a large amount or anything numismatic, the phone is the practical choice.

Why They Ask You to Fund Your Account First

This one threw me at first. Blanchard recommends transferring your funds in-house before you buy.

The reason makes sense once you think about metal prices. Spot prices move constantly, so the company wants cleared funds ready to lock in your price the moment you commit.

Opening an account by phone takes only a few minutes, and it spares you the risk of a price swing while a check clears.

Accepted Payment Methods

Blanchard accepts a wide range of payment types, including newer ones most old-line dealers avoid.

• Bank wire, the preferred method for fast cleared funds
• Personal, business, cashier, or certified checks
• Credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex online; Discover by phone)
• Cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and others

Online credit card orders cap at $10,000 and must ship to your billing address. Phone credit card orders have no limit. The crypto option is a genuinely modern touch you don’t see at many 50-year-old firms.

Getting Money Out: The Buyback Guarantee in Plain Terms

Buying is easy at any dealer. Selling back is the real test, and Blanchard’s buyback policy is one of its selling points.

What “Buy It Back at Any Time” Really Promises

Blanchard pledges to repurchase tangible assets you bought from it, at any time, at the current market bid price. That’s a meaningful safety net.

Read the fine print, though. The company describes this as “typically our practice” and won’t guarantee a bid on every single coin or a specific dollar figure.

That’s normal market language, but you should know the promise is a strong intention, not an ironclad contract.

The Rare-Coin Catch: Only Slabbed PCGS, NGC, or CACG Coins

Here’s a limit worth flagging. For rare coins, Blanchard only considers buying back pieces that are graded and slabbed by PCGS, NGC, or CACG.

Raw, ungraded coins won’t qualify. If you collect rare coins, certification isn’t just a nicety here, it’s the price of a future sale back to the company.

How Long a Valuation and Payout Takes

When you sell back, expect a process rather than an instant quote. Numismatic experts bid your item on the open market, which can take up to 48 hours.

After that, you ship your holdings by registered and insured mail, Blanchard inspects each coin against its expected grade, and your portfolio manager finalizes the paperwork. Payment comes by check or wire, your choice. It’s orderly, but not a same-day cash-out.

Holding Metals in a Retirement Account With Blanchard

Plenty of readers land on review pages because they’re weighing a Gold IRA. Blanchard offers one, with a few things worth knowing.

The GoldStar Trust Partnership and Custodian Flexibility

Blanchard works with GoldStar Trust Company as its longtime custodian partner. You’re not locked in, though. The company will work with any IRS-approved custodian you prefer.

That flexibility is a plus. If you already have a self-directed custodian you trust, you can keep it.

What It Costs to Buy IRA Metals Here

Blanchard says it charges no additional fee to buy metals for your IRA. The price on the website is the price you pay, and a dedicated IRA specialist handles the setup.

That said, your custodian will still charge its own account and storage fees, which is true at every dealer. Blanchard’s “no markup for IRA” claim is about the metal price, not the entire cost of owning a Gold IRA.

Rules Worth Knowing Before You Roll Over

A few IRS rules trip people up, so here are the ones that matter most.

• You can transfer all or part of an existing IRA into a precious metals account
• Metals must be newly purchased through the custodian; you cannot move coins you already personally own into the IRA
• IRA metal must sit in an IRS-approved depository, not your home safe
• You can hold more than one account, but the annual contribution limit stays the same

If a hands-off rollover is your only goal, know that some firms specialize more heavily in IRAs. Blanchard handles them well but earns its biggest praise for direct coin and bullion buying.

Where Your Metals Live: Storage and Depository Choices

You have three real options for storing what you buy. Each fits a different comfort level.

• A home safe, which gives you direct control but puts security entirely on you
• A bank safety deposit box, a middle-ground choice that’s convenient but uninsured by the bank for contents
• Third-party depositories, including International Depository Services in Toronto and Strategic Wealth Preservation in the Cayman Islands

For IRA metals, a depository is required by law. For everything else, the right answer depends on how much you own and how much you trust your own home security.

Shipping, Insurance, and What Lands on Your Doorstep

How your metal arrives matters as much as what you bought. Blanchard’s default shipping setup leans toward safety.

Registered, Insured, and Discreetly Packaged by Default

Every order ships registered and insured by default, through U.S. mail, UPS, or FedEx. Packaging is discreet, so nothing on the outside advertises gold inside.

A signature is required on delivery, and you get a tracking number by email. This is the right way to ship valuables, and I’m glad it’s the standard rather than an upsell.

The 10-Day Window to Send Coins Back

Blanchard gives you 10 days from receipt to return rare coins for any reason, in the same condition, for a full refund including shipping.

That window applies to numismatic coins, not common-date pieces, and bullion follows the usual market-price terms of the industry. Ten days is fair, but it’s a clock, so inspect what you receive promptly.

Pricing and the Price-Match Promise Examined

Now for the part that affects your returns most: what you actually pay over spot.

Blanchard offers a price-match pledge. If you find a verified lower internet price, the company says it will aspire to match or beat it. On plain bullion, that keeps things competitive.

The honest concern is rare coins. Collectible and numismatic pieces carry higher premiums, and if the resale market for a given coin is thin, those premiums can eat into long-term returns.

Several customers have flagged markups on collectibles as their main complaint. If you’re buying for pure metal value, stick to bullion and watch the spread closely.

What the Rating Sites and Real Buyers Are Saying

I read through the actual reviews rather than trusting summaries. The picture is mostly strong, with a couple of clear soft spots.

Better Business Bureau

Blanchard has been BBB accredited since 1982 and carries an A+ rating. The customer review score sits at 4.75 out of 5 across 123 reviews.

The standout figure is zero open complaints on file. For a company this old and this large, a clean complaint record is genuinely impressive and one of the strongest trust signals I found.

Shopper Approved

On Shopper Approved, Blanchard holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating across roughly 3,700 verified buyers. That’s a large sample, which makes the score more meaningful than a handful of cherry-picked testimonials.

Buyers repeatedly praise competitive pricing, beautiful coins, and named portfolio managers who delivered strong service. The volume and consistency here carry real weight.

The Blanchard Gold App and Its 2.1-Star Problem

Now the ugly part. The Blanchard Gold mobile app rates just 2.1 out of 5 across 28 ratings.

Reviewers describe an app that hasn’t been updated in years, with charts that don’t load and data that no longer appears. It’s clearly neglected.

The good news is the app is a free price-tracking tool, not the buying platform, so it doesn’t affect your actual transactions. Still, it’s a sloppy look for an otherwise polished company.

Google and Other Scattered Feedback

Google reviews tell a more mixed story, sitting around 3.5 out of 5 from roughly 35 reviews. Google listings tend to swing on small samples, so I weight it less than the larger review sets.

Third-party review sites generally call Blanchard legit and long-established, praising its rare-coin expertise and buyback program while noting the same recurring complaints.

The Gripes That Surface Again and Again

A few criticisms show up across multiple sources. Knowing them upfront keeps surprises to a minimum.

• Shipping pace, with some buyers reporting orders that took longer than expected and a few extreme multi-week waits
• Sales pressure, where a handful of customers felt nudged toward coins they didn’t originally intend to buy
• Premiums, mainly on rare and collectible coins, which can cut into resale value

None of these are deal-breakers on their own, but they’re the realistic trade-offs of buying here.

So, Is Blanchard a Trustworthy Place to Buy?

Yes. Pulling the evidence together, Blanchard reads as a legitimate, well-established dealer.

The A+ BBB rating since 1982, the clean complaint record, 50 years in business, 800,000-plus customers, and memberships in the American Numismatic Association, Professional Numismatists Guild, PCGS, NGC, and CAC all point the same direction. This is not a company you need to worry is a scam.

Trustworthy doesn’t mean perfect or cheapest for every purchase. It means the firm is real, accountable, and has decades of accountable history. On that count, Blanchard clears the bar comfortably.

Where Blanchard Shines and Where It Falls Short

No dealer is right for everyone, so here’s the balanced read.

The Strengths Worth Paying For

Blanchard’s rare-coin and numismatic expertise is its true edge. Almost no competitor can match a history of placing pieces like the Brasher Doubloon and the 1804 Dollar, and the strict vetting that rejects three of every four coins offered protects buyers who care about authenticity.

The buyback guarantee, the dedicated portfolio manager, the clean complaint record, and the default registered-and-insured shipping all add up to a buying experience that feels secure and personal rather than transactional.

The Trade-Offs to Go in With Open Eyes

The premiums on collectible coins are real, and on a thin resale market they can hurt long-term returns, so bullion buyers should compare spreads carefully.

A few customers have felt sales pressure from the relationship model, shipping can run slower than some buyers like, and the neglected mobile app suggests the digital side gets less attention than the sales floor. For a pure hands-off IRA rollover, dedicated IRA specialists may suit you better.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How Many Years Has Blanchard Been in Business, and How Many Clients Has It Served?

Blanchard opened in 1975 and marked 50 years in business in 2025. It has served more than 800,000 customers and posted over $1 billion in sales across the past three years.

Q2. Does Blanchard Charge Extra Fees to Buy Metals for an IRA?

Blanchard says it adds no extra fee on the metal itself for IRA purchases, so the website price is what you pay. Your custodian will still charge its own account and storage fees, which is standard at every dealer.

Q3. What’s the Smallest Amount I Can Start With at Blanchard?

Blanchard doesn’t publish a fixed minimum, and fractional gold coins let you buy in smaller increments. Junk silver is another low-cost entry point for buyers starting small.

Q4. How Fast Does Blanchard Ship, and Is Delivery Insured?

Every order ships registered and insured by default, with discreet packaging and a required signature. Some buyers report slower-than-expected delivery, so track your order and plan for a few days of transit.

Q5. Can I Sell Coins Back to Blanchard That I Didn’t Originally Buy From Them?

Yes for precious metals and investment-grade gold coins, which Blanchard buys from clients and non-clients alike. Rare coins must be graded and slabbed by PCGS, NGC, or CACG to qualify for a buyback.

My Final Take on Blanchard Gold

Blanchard is a real, deeply established dealer that earns trust through 50 years of history, an A+ BBB rating, and a clean complaint record. Its rare-coin pedigree is its standout strength, and few competitors can match it.

The buyback guarantee and secure shipping add genuine peace of mind. Watch the premiums on collectible coins, expect occasional sales nudges, and don’t judge the company by its neglected app.

If you want certified coins or straightforward bullion from a name with real staying power, Blanchard belongs on your shortlist. For a pure IRA rollover, compare it against IRA-first specialists before deciding.