Safe for CRH finds

[Dok Holliday]

I've got a fireproof box that I keep my rolls of CRH stuff in now. When they are full, I either secure them on my property or take them to my vault at my local credit union(so that all my eggs aren't in one basket).

I'm not getting into currency collecting. I'm grabbing a 1899 Silver Certificate for cheap today. I'm thinking with my other collector coins (E.G.: PCGS MS-66 1996-W Dime) it may be time to get a fireproof safe for my home. I'd want something I could bolt to the floor, store 8.5x11 documents in without folding, and yet be small enough to be able to move to my next home in ~5 years. I also may want to store some of my incomplete silver rolls in there while I am working on filling them up with CRH.

Given my requirements, what would you do if you were me? What do you do right now? PVC Pipe in the back yard? Bank vault?

 

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[Dok Holliday]

Safety Deposit Box at your local bank. Safe secure and can't be unbolted. JP

I already have one of those. I do have some of my stuff there. Instead of burying currency in the back yard in a PVC pipe like some of my silver, I'd rather thinking about an in-home safe.

 

[papa1956e9]

I have a one of the biometic fingerprint safes. It holds guns too but will only open for me and my wife. Mine is larger but they sell smaller ones for documents. They can bolt to the ground or a wall stud.Not too expensive, amazon has a few.

 

[jim4silver]

This topic comes up now and then and I am always a bit surprised at how many people believe their safe is, well, safe.

There are 3 main theft threats to your home safe: a "crack head" burglar, a professional burglar/thief, and family members/friends who have regular access to your safe.

A good, store bought "gun safe" that is bolted will be good against the average crack head burglar, fire and maybe if you are lucky a tornado. But a semi-professional thief will get into your bolted gun safe real quick either with tools or a torch.

Many jewelry stores and coin dealers keep hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods in professional safes that are only rated T-30, T-45 or T-60, which means it takes a professional thief that long in minutes to get in with the proper tools. But these businesses will also have a good burglar alarm system too.

The KEY to keeping your stuff safe is to have a home burglar alarm and if possible a hidden safe. But even a good bolted gun safe is good if you have an alarm system and use it. Unless your thief is James Bond or a CIA agent, your burglar alarm system will prevent the thief from having more than a couple of minutes of time to search your home.

Remember though, many people get their PMs and/or cash stolen from their safes from a spouse or family member with access. I have seen divorce cases where one spouse decides to leave and has a locksmith come to the house when the other is at work, cleans out the goodies and leaves and files for divorce.

So there is no best answer. But if you have enough $$$$ worth of stuff at home that it would cause you great misery if it got stolen, then you need a home burglar alarm plus a safe bolted down.

I am not getting into the whole safe deposit debate, but that is a good idea if you are not worried about the gov taking your stuff or the bank somehow closing down and delaying you getting your stuff. Since I rent now I use a SDB for my gold and some silver bullion and feel OK with it for now. But if I owned a home I would keep it there as described above.

Jim

 

[Dok Holliday]

Thanks for the input guys. Keep it coming. I have an accountant wife to justify this expense to

 

[Generic_Lad]

There are problems with every way to store your bullion, you just need to decide which is the biggest threat. Large, bolted to the ground safes are good against fire and decent at stopping the most common burglars. They however do not stop family members, nor will it stop a professional thief. A PVC pipe filled with coins will prevent most burglars and family members but recovery may be nearly impossible. Even some of the best documented time capsules have been lost without a trace, let alone all of the caches of coins/jars that haven't been found even with the best metal detectors. Safe deposit boxes are generally incredibly safe against fire, but may not always be dry (biggest threat is a leaky roof), you also have the threat of the government seizing it. Also, banks aren't open 24/7 and may be closed due to "national emergencies", time periods where you need your PMs more than any other time.

You've just got to choose which threat is the biggest, if family is your biggest threat then a safe might not be right, if you need quick access to your PMs and distrust the government, a SDB might not be the ideal solution. If you need to always have your PMs at hand without any searching, a buried pipe won't work. There is no right or wrong way to store PMs, what works for one person might not work for another.

 

[legend76]

Don't put all your eggs in one basket....
SDB, gun safe, hidden stud safe, PVC buried in back yard, and other ingenious spots you can think of. The alarm system is a good idea for when you aren't home, and a .44 mag beside your bed is a good idea for when you are home.

 

[Diver_Down]

If you do decide to keep your PMs in your home, then I would advise implementing a Honey Pot. This is an amount that you feel comfortable losing to protect your other holdings. It should be left in the open or easily found. If a thief breaks in, they will have a limited amount of time and will look for the easiest targets. When they stumble upon your Honey Pot, they will take it and move on. Make sure your Honey Pot has plenty of honey. You want the thief to be convinced that the find is all that you have.

 

[Dok Holliday]

Yeah, I have a honey pot. It is a small fireproof box with a key lock on it that contains my incomplete rolls. My complete rolls are currently going to my bank vault, but with all my important papers and stuff, I am running out of bank vault room. I'd like to deversify my locations...don't want to keep all of it in the bank vault for the reasons mentioned here (bank closure, confiscation)

 

[Yagershots]

Don't put all your eggs in one basket....
SDB, gun safe, hidden stud safe, PVC buried in back yard, and other ingenious spots you can think of. The alarm system is a good idea for when you aren't home, and a .44 mag beside your bed is a good idea for when you are home.

Yup...

 

[fistfulladirt]

yes, diversify your hiding places.

 

[Kantuckkeean]

Put yer valuables in a sealed, waterproof container in the bottom of your kitchen trash can underneath the trash bag. Most thieves won't be taking time to rummage through your garbage.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[NaturalJWL]

Sounds like Jim knows my ex.

 

[Diver_Down]

Put yer valuables in a sealed, waterproof container in the bottom of your kitchen trash can underneath the trash bag. Most thieves won't be taking time to rummage through your garbage.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

If all you have fits in the bottom of your trash can, then you need more valuables.

 

[Dok Holliday]

Caught my mother cheating on my father...twice. When dad finally kicked her out, the next morning we went to the bank and spent the day stuffing cash into a bicycle frame

 

[fistfulladirt]

Put yer valuables in a sealed, waterproof container in the bottom of your kitchen trash can underneath the trash bag. Most thieves won't be taking time to rummage through your garbage.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

If all you have fits in the bottom of your trash can, then you need more valuables.

yes, and diversify your trash cans. Not a bad idea.

 

[legend76]

Put yer valuables in a sealed, waterproof container in the bottom of your kitchen trash can underneath the trash bag. Most thieves won't be taking time to rummage through your garbage.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

That's where a buddy kept his weed stash when he was dealing.....

 

[usandthem]

 

[Kantuckkeean]

Put yer valuables in a sealed, waterproof container in the bottom of your kitchen trash can underneath the trash bag. Most thieves won't be taking time to rummage through your garbage.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

If all you have fits in the bottom of your trash can, then you need more valuables.

I thought that the OP was talking about a small place close to home to keep a few valuables, so that was one place that came to mind. I personally keep all of my gold, platinum, silver, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other valuables in 53 foot semi trailers.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

 

[Diver_Down]

Put yer valuables in a sealed, waterproof container in the bottom of your kitchen trash can underneath the trash bag. Most thieves won't be taking time to rummage through your garbage.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

If all you have fits in the bottom of your trash can, then you need more valuables.

I thought that the OP was talking about a small place close to home to keep a few valuables, so that was one place that came to mind. I personally keep all of my gold, platinum, silver, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other valuables in 53 foot semi trailers.

Kindest regards,
Kantuck

Hopefully buried in the backyard...