Certified Coins in Retirement Accounts Sought

If Sen. David Vitter could have his way, certified coins would be allowed in individual retirement accounts and other individually directed pension plan accounts. In fact, Mr. Vitter introduced a coin bill for just such an inclusion on Thursday, Oct. 8.

Named the Options for Investors through United States Certified Coins Act of 2009, or S. 1769 for short, the legislation is not a new idea. Similar proposals were introduced by Sen. Vitter in 2005 and in 2007. Both of those measures died with inaction at the end of the 109th and 110th Congress.

As for the most recent legislation, S. 1769 would allow coins to be included in retirement accounts if they were:

     (I) certified by an independent, third-party grading service,

     (II) at any time, legal tender in the United States, and

     (III) traded on a nationally recognized electronic coin trading network or listed by an independent coin wholesale reporting service

Should the bill pass in the Senate, House and gets signed by the President, it would apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.