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Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, also known as SBC Gold, was founded in 2011 by Eric Sepanek in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company holds a BBB A+ rating with full accreditation since 2012, a 4.8-star Google score from a large base of verified buyers, and zero BBB complaints in the last three years. Customers consistently describe an advisory experience built around education rather than pressure. A dedicated IRA liaison is assigned to every retirement account client. Those are real strengths, and they matter when comparing companies at this price and service level.
Two things to understand before calling. First, SBC Gold carries no bullion bars in any metal category. If bars are part of what you want, this is not the right company. Second, the website does not name its custodian or depository partners. Both are available by phone, but investors who want to research those details independently before making contact will find the process requires more effort here than with more openly documented competitors.
#1 Rated Gold Company for 2026
Before going further into Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, know that our top recommendation for U.S. retirement investors in 2026 is Noble Gold Investments. Noble Gold names its custodians and storage partners upfront, publishes its fee structure, assigns a dedicated IRA specialist to each account, and offers a free 2026 Gold IRA guide with no strings attached.
Quick Company Snapshot
| Company | Scottsdale Bullion & Coin / SBC Gold (sbcgold.com) |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder / CEO | Eric Brian Sepanek |
| General Manager / Sr. Advisor | Steve Rand |
| IRA Liaison / Manager | Michelle Ellis |
| Headquarters | 4500 N Northsight Blvd Ste 204, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 |
| Phone | (888) 812-9892 |
| Metals Offered | Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium (coins only) |
| BBB Status | A+ — Accredited since 2012 |
| Website | www.sbcgold.com |
Scottsdale Bullion & Coin at a Glance
SBC Gold built its reputation by treating clients as investors who need to understand what they are buying, not as leads to be closed quickly. The model works. A 4.8-star Google score and a clean BBB record are not accidents. Reviewers cite knowledgeable staff, honest conversations about risk, and account reps who follow through. The personal IRA liaison program is a real differentiator at this size tier. Most competitors either assign you to whoever is available or route you through a call center. SBC Gold assigns one advisor and keeps that relationship through the setup.
The practical limits are clear and worth stating plainly. No bars means no bars. The coin-only catalog affects investors who want gold or silver bars as part of their IRA. On custodians and depositories, the company works with reputable partners, but you will have to call to find out who they are. That is a real gap compared to dealers who publish those names upfront.
Pros & Cons
Fees and Cost Structure
The information regarding IRA annual fees is available in SBC Gold’s own blog content. The combined annual IRA fees for custodian and storage services amount to approximately $160 to $200 each year, with a one-time opening fee upon account activation. These estimates are based on data presented by SBC Gold itself and serve as a baseline estimate; the exact figures depend on the assigned custodian and the value of your investments.
The cost information for specific products is not included in the official website. Contact customer support using the toll-free phone line (888) 812-9892 or live chat to obtain accurate price quotes for coins. Payments can be made using VISA, MasterCard, Discover, PayPal, or bank wire, with no additional fees on wire transfers. When setting up your account, request an official statement regarding the custodian’s name, annual fee schedule, metal depository facility, annual storage fee, and premium above spot of coins you plan to purchase.
Company Background
The founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin Eric Sepanek started the company in 2011 after he worked for Wells Fargo and discovered that precious metals were great wealth protection strategies. At its early stages, the company was a modest one and used only a referral approach to attract customers and not any expensive marketing campaigns. BBB certification dates back to 2012 and has been active ever since.
The company SBC Gold operates from the Scottsdale office and provides services both offline and online. The company posts comments about the market state on its website, and the General Manager, Steve Rand, analyzes the current situation on gold and silver markets and explains about IRA contribution deadlines and other macroeconomic processes. Such ongoing activity of posting articles can be considered a good indicator of whether a team is up-to-date on the market state or just uses the old knowledge.
For a wider view of how SBC Gold fits into the competitive field, see our best gold investment companies roundup.
Management Team
Founder & CEO — Eric Brian Sepanek
Eric Sepanek founded the company in 2011 and remains its CEO. He attended Scottsdale Community College and the University of Arizona, then worked at Wells Fargo before moving into precious metals full-time. He is listed as the Member of Scottsdale Bullion and Coin LLC in BBB filings. His publicly stated focus is on educating clients about the wealth preservation case for gold and silver rather than pushing transactions.
IRA Custodians and Storage
SBC Gold cooperates with several independent custodians and chooses one for each customer based on such criteria as pricing, quality of service, and size of the client’s account. Names of custodians used by the company are not listed on their website. If you make a call, the advisor will offer all your possible choices for an account. Look into all the custodians offered before signing any documents. Our self-directed IRA guide covers what to look for.
As far as storage is concerned, the metals will be stored in an IRS-approved depository chosen by the investor. Both segregated and non-segregated solutions can be provided to customers. Name of the depository is not listed on the website of SBC Gold. Our guide to gold storage vaults explains what those differences mean in practice.
Products Available
SBC Gold stocks only coins. No bars are offered. This is a clear limitation of the inventory list that will affect people who have interest in buying bars of gold or silver to add to their IRA collection. Among the coins, SBC Gold offers the most popular coins approved for IRA investment in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
For guidance on how metals selection fits into a retirement portfolio, see our pieces on precious metals investing and inflation hedges.
Noble Gold Is Our #1 Pick for 2026
Scottsdale Bullion & Coin has a strong customer satisfaction record and genuine advisory depth. But retirement investors who want custodian names, depository details, and fee schedules before picking up the phone will find Noble Gold Investments gives them more to work with from the start. Their free guide covers what SBC Gold leaves for a conversation.
Who Scottsdale Bullion & Coin Is Best Suited For
Worth a Closer Look If You Are:
- A retirement investor who wants one dedicated advisor handling the IRA setup from start to finish
- Someone for whom a strong Google score and long-standing BBB accreditation carry real weight
- A coin collector or investor who also wants IRA exposure and values numismatic expertise alongside standard bullion
- An investor in the Scottsdale area who wants the option of sitting down in person before committing
- Someone who wants to understand the market before deciding, and who will actually use the educational resources SBC Gold publishes
Consider Alternatives If You Are:
- An investor who wants bars. SBC Gold does not carry them in any metal.
- Someone who needs to see custodian and depository names before making contact
- An investor who wants pricing posted online before calling
- Someone starting with a small balance where fixed IRA fees represent a meaningful percentage of the initial position
For a full competitive comparison, see our precious metals IRA reviews page. For the bigger question of whether gold belongs in your retirement portfolio, our pieces on inflation risk and the role of commodities in portfolio allocation are worth reading first.
Scottsdale Bullion & Coin vs Other Gold IRA Companies
SBC Gold sits toward the upper end of mid-tier credibility in the category. The BBB accreditation and Google score are real signals. Here is how it stacks up against the companies most investors are comparing it to:
Noble Gold Investments is our #1 pick for 2026. Noble Gold names its custodians and depositories publicly, publishes its fee structure, and assigns a dedicated IRA specialist. It is the most transparent point of comparison for what SBC Gold does well and where it still leaves questions open.
Augusta Precious Metals is the right comparison for investors who want the most education-intensive IRA setup in the category. Augusta’s pre-commitment educational process goes deeper than SBC Gold’s, particularly for larger rollovers.
Goldline is worth comparing for investors who want to weigh a nationally marketed brand with a longer public history against SBC Gold’s more regional, advisory-first model.
USAGOLD appeals to investors who prefer a legacy dealer focused primarily on physical bullion ownership and a longer operational track record than SBC Gold’s twenty years.
GoldCore is the comparison for investors whose main interest is international storage infrastructure rather than a domestic IRA-specialist relationship.
Advantage Gold is a direct alternative for rollover-focused investors who want named custodians, published depository details, and fee transparency from the outset rather than by phone.
Best gold investment companies covers the full field if you want to run a wider comparison before deciding.
SBC Gold’s biggest advantage over most of those companies is its customer satisfaction record and the personal liaison model. Its main gap is that it requires a phone call to get information that many competitors publish.
Our Top Pick
Scottsdale Bullion & Coin is a legitimate, well-reviewed company and deserves a place on any serious shortlist. But for the clearest upfront picture of fees, custodians, and storage available to U.S. retirement investors in 2026, start with Noble Gold Investments. Their free guide takes minutes to request.
Final Verdict
Scottsdale Bullion & Coin has earned its reputation. Twenty years in business, BBB accreditation since 2012, a 4.8-star Google score, zero BBB complaints in three years, and a service model that keeps customers coming back and referring others. That is not a company you dismiss.
The coins-only catalog is the hardest constraint to work around. If bars matter to you, this is the wrong company. The unnamed custodians and depositories are solvable with a phone call, but they are gaps that more openly run companies do not have. Pricing requires contact.
If SBC Gold interests you based on its track record and advisory model, call them, get the custodian and depository in writing, compare the full cost structure against Noble Gold Investments and one other provider, and then decide. For coin-focused investors who want a hands-on advisor relationship and have the patience to gather details by phone, SBC Gold is a serious option.
Scottsdale Bullion & Coin (a.k.a SBC Gold) is a precious metals investment firm headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 2005, it is a dealer of gold, silver, palladium, and platinum coins, in addition to operating as a Gold IRA company. SBC Gold has an excellent catalog of both IRA-eligible coins and numismatic coins. Presently, no precious metals bars are in the inventory. The website states that the company works with several IRA custodians, but does not specify any specific partnerships. Customers must contact SBC Gold directly for pricing information.
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Mohammed Saqib is a finance professional and CFA Level II Candidate with a Master of Finance from Wilfrid Laurier University. He specializes in financial content covering equities, alternative assets, precious metals, and capital markets.
