Safety Deposit Boxes?

[placerman]

My parents grew up just after the Great Depression and told me all kinds of horror stories about the banks.

Even in the early 1960's my father worked for a man who did a sort of personal audit of the banks he dealt with and if he felt they were "sliding" he would withdraw all his money and start a new account at another bank. He would literally bring all his employees, all armed, and set them around a beat up pickup truck outside the bank while he went inside and withdrew all his money and drive the cash to another bank just down the road where he would deposit the money there. My dad told me stories of sitting in the bed of a beat up pick up truck, armed with a single shot shotgun, guarding three or four army duffel bags full of cash while they drove the cash 1.2 miles down the street to another bank.

Anyway, THIS is MY perspective on this whole safe deposit box thing. Safe deposit boxes are NOT safe.

In 1933, Roosevelt declared almost all gold illegal to own and set about confiscating all privately held gold coins. Yes that's right, they took your 20 dollar gold piece and gave you 20 pieces of paper for it, and over the next 6 months they devalued the dollar by 70%.

Are you willing to bet your life savings, all your hard work and sweat on the belief that it wont happen again?

Think they will only go after precious metals? Think again.

Up until very recently, the state of California was arbitrarily breaking into safe deposit boxes and claiming the contents to be "unclaimed property", selling it and using the money to pay their salaries, etc. They would walk into a bank, present the bank manager with an order and literally drill open 30% to 50% of the safe deposit boxes at random, take the contents and walk away and there was nothing the owners or banks could do about it.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4832471&page=1

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/banking/betterbanking/p109173.asp

http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html



Im not a real "conspiracy theorist" but it doesnt take a genius to figure out that it is extremely risky to put anything of value in a safe deposit box.

 

[jim4silver]

I don't dispute what you wrote, but how many homes were burglarized and had valuables stolen in the past 80 years?

Do you keep your money in a bank? Is money safer in a bank than PMs?

There is no perfect safe place to store things, it is a balancing of risks no matter what you do.

Jim

 

[timbobwey]

I don't think they're safe, get a safe in your home, then you know your the only one going in and out of that safe.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Well, with the FDIC broke, I'm a heck of a lot more concerned with my savings than I am with my safe deposit box!

 

[jrf30]

Savings AND safety doposit boxea re both scary. that's why I 'm NOT selling the silver i find, and keeping it at HOME, in a safe. :-)

 

[golden silver]

Get a Safe, Get a gun and Get a clue as to what the government is up to. Great reads and scary but after my experiences I can't say I am suprised.

Golden Silver

 

[Rich Hartford]

Watch the movie "Empire". It's about a very successful drug dealer. It realistically shows how they hide their money,guns,etc.
Basically never at your own home,and never, ever in a safe deposit box.
HH
Rich

 

[Tattooguy67]

I don't dispute what you wrote, but how many homes were burglarized and had valuables stolen in the past 80 years?

Do you keep your money in a bank? Is money safer in a bank than PMs?

There is no perfect safe place to store things, it is a balancing of risks no matter what you do.

Jim

What you say is true here Jim, to a point, yes you are correct when you say numerous homes have been robbed over the years, and yes in a perfect world banks would be a much safer place to store your valuables, but sadly it is far from perfect and given the fact that they have in the past given up the loot and at least in CA they seem to be doing it now then yes that seems less safe, now if you are thinking just use the bank til' things start to get hairy and then bring it home, well that might work, but what if what happens happens without warning? like an EMP attack or some such? then it's all locked up tight and no access allowed! As to money being safer in the bank then PM' s that is true as far as I am concerned, but you have to remember that money is only worth what some folks somewhere say it's worth! if they decide that from now on a $20 will be worth $1.00 then so be it, whereas the PM'S will be worth a nice premium, just my thoughts on the subject.

Chuck.

 

[ClonedSIM]

Does anyone know if this has happened anywhere besides California?

 

[quiksilver]

Always the negatives of safety deposit boxes never the positives.

First and foremost DIVERSIFY your holdings.

SDBs are safe from home fires. You may think your metals are safe from fire but i can tell you if your home is destroyed in a fire good luck in getting anything out. Many home fires destroy everything. If you have ever seen a house burnt to the foundation you will realize the near imposibility of finding anything. I have been fighting fires for almost 20 years now and have seen it quite a few times. I also dont put important mail in mail boxes after having been to 3 mail box fires.

SBDs are safe from being robbed or burglarized especially from a family member. I was just at a kitchen fire where the mom told me her son started spending dads silver coins after he died .

 

[mts]

I agree with quicksilver. The most important thing you can do is diversify. There is no reason why you can't have some PM's at home and some in a safety deposit box (or several). You can even bury some in your yard if you are so inclined. You should never have all of your PM's in one place so that you lose them all if that place is compromised by fire, theft, or other unforseen disaster.

I've been putting about 1/3 of my precious metals in my safety deposit box. I also use it as an offsite backup location for my computer files. If my SDB is compromised then I haven't lost much. It would piss me off but wouldn't ruin me by any means.

 

[placerman]

SDBs are safe from home fires. You may think your metals are safe from fire but i can tell you if your home is destroyed in a fire good luck in getting anything out. Many home fires destroy everything. If you have ever seen a house burnt to the foundation you will realize the near imposibility of finding anything. I have been fighting fires for almost 20 years now and have seen it quite a few times. I also dont put important mail in mail boxes after having been to 3 mail box fires.

Ill bet if you asked the hundreds and thousands of people who had their gold confiscated in 1933 about the chances of their coins being lost in a fire compared to the chance of losing their coins in a government confiscation, they would all have answered that they would take their chances with keeping them at home.

Ill also bet that if you posed the same question to all those people in California who lost their SDB's the same question, they would answer the same way.

Statistically what are the chances of a house fire? I dont know the answer to that, maybe you can tell us? Maybe 1 in 10,000 in any given year?

Statistically what were you chances of having you SDB contents confiscated in 1933? 100%

Statistically what were the chances of your safe deposit box being confiscated in California recently? I heard that in some areas of southern California and in San Fransisco it was around 40%, especially if they had reason to believe you kept valuables in your SDB.

Im not saying that keeping your valuables at home is the perfect solution, but considering that 70% of economists are predicting some major financial problems for the US over the next 10 years, do you really really honestly believe for even a split second that it is a good idea to put your valuables in any location where the government would have ready, quick access to those valuables?

 

[fistfulladirt]

If it gets to the point where the govt is confiscating contents of SDB's en masse, PM's aren't going to help you anyway. Still feel safer with the SBD than keeping at home.

 

[mts]

I'm pretty sure that the California incidents are related to people who have not paid for their boxes for three years. At that point the banks turn the stuff over to the state because they don't know what else to do with it. So no, California is not confiscating SDB willy nilly. It is true that these banks could do a better job of tracking down owners. But that is not the same as someone having their SDB confiscated for no reason.

 

[placerman]

If it gets to the point where the govt is confiscating contents of SDB's en masse, PM's aren't going to help you anyway. Still feel safer with the SBD than keeping at home.

1) It has already happened in the past.

2) It has/is already happened recently in California.

3) It is not a great leap to see that there is a decent to good chance that it will happen again.

4) Argue these points with me if you like. I always like to see others opinions and maybe change my views if a good point is made.

5) This forum is the absolute last place I would expect to hear someone spew the old "you cant eat gold when SHTF" line of BS.

6) Your argument is akin to sticking your head in the sand, or taking the view that they are going to take my silver, I might as well have it all in one place for them so they don't waste time stealing it from me, etc.

7) You said "PM's arent going to help you anyway". When exactly would they help you more, unless it is a period where the government is taking private property? There is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS a market for PM's. I might not trade my last can of beans for a gold coin, but you can bet your behind I would trade anything I had extra of for it.

8) You said "Still feel safer with the SBD than keeping at home." I can understand that. Its hard to break old habits and ingrained beliefs. I would state that a safe, properly secured, and possibly fireproof or at least fire resistant would be an infinitely better place to store gold and silver than any SDB. In the long run, it is probably cheaper as well. It would be even better if it was installed by yourself, placed in a non public (read private, where guests wouldn't go) place, and not mentioned or bragged about.

 

[jim4silver]

SDBs are safe from home fires. You may think your metals are safe from fire but i can tell you if your home is destroyed in a fire good luck in getting anything out. Many home fires destroy everything. If you have ever seen a house burnt to the foundation you will realize the near imposibility of finding anything. I have been fighting fires for almost 20 years now and have seen it quite a few times. I also dont put important mail in mail boxes after having been to 3 mail box fires.

Statistically what were you chances of having you SDB contents confiscated in 1933? 100%

Statistically what were the chances of your safe deposit box being confiscated in California recently? I heard that in some areas of southern California and in San Fransisco it was around 40%, especially if they had reason to believe you kept valuables in your SDB.

How many gov confiscations have their been since 1933? What happened in California is not confiscation per se but from what I have read was done without legal justification.

What all the confiscation folks seem to forget is that back in 1933 the relationship between gold and the dollar was different than now. Without the gov getting more gold they could not inflate the currency, because back then there was actually a connection between gov gold and the number of dollars circulating.

That is not the case now. The gov can inflate all day without needing gold. If they seized all the gold how much would it add up to compared to the national debt? It wouldn't even make a dent.

I would be more worried about a 401K or IRA being taken than gold or silver right now. Although I do not necessarily believe this, I have read from some pundits that there could be future plans to force 401K monies into bonds or treasuries, or something like that. Not saying I believe it, but there is alot more $$$ value in 401Ks and IRAs than the populations' gold supply.

If it gets to the point where the govt is confiscating contents of SDB's en masse, PM's aren't going to help you anyway. Still feel safer with the SBD than keeping at home.

I agree FFD. Under ideal circumstances a person's home is better with a proper hidden, fireproof, professional safe, or buried if you have alot of property where nobody can see. But if in a rental unit or bad neighborhood, look out.

Jim

 

[jim4silver]

If it gets to the point where the govt is confiscating contents of SDB's en masse, PM's aren't going to help you anyway. Still feel safer with the SBD than keeping at home.

1) It has already happened in the past.

2) It has/is already happened recently in California.

3) It is not a great leap to see that there is a decent to good chance that it will happen again.

4) Argue these points with me if you like. I always like to see others opinions and maybe change my views if a good point is made.

5) This forum is the absolute last place I would expect to hear someone spew the old "you cant eat gold when SHTF" line of BS.

6) Your argument is akin to sticking your head in the sand, or taking the view that they are going to take my silver, I might as well have it all in one place for them so they don't waste time stealing it from me, etc.

7) You said "PM's arent going to help you anyway". When exactly would they help you more, unless it is a period where the government is taking private property? There is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS a market for PM's. I might not trade my last can of beans for a gold coin, but you can bet your behind I would trade anything I had extra of for it.

8) You said "Still feel safer with the SBD than keeping at home." I can understand that. Its hard to break old habits and ingrained beliefs. I would state that a safe, properly secured, and possibly fireproof or at least fire resistant would be an infinitely better place to store gold and silver than any SDB. In the long run, it is probably cheaper as well. It would be even better if it was installed by yourself, placed in a non public (read private, where guests wouldn't go) place, and not mentioned or bragged about.

You seem to think that everyone has the proper living conditions to have a proper hidden, fireproof professional safe.

People who think their typical bolted down gun safe (not hidden) is gonna keep out the thieves (other than crackhead Joe) are mistaken.

Also, can you explain how a gov gold confiscation now would help the gov in any way financially, as compared with the situation that existed in 1933 that does not exist now? How many people do you know in your daily life who have gold or silver bullion that they own? Is the gov gonna come and take peoples' wedding rings? I doubt that would go over so well with the populace.

Jim

 

[placerman]

I'm pretty sure that the California incidents are related to people who have not paid for their boxes for three years. At that point the banks turn the stuff over to the state because they don't know what else to do with it. So no, California is not confiscating SDB willy nilly. It is true that these banks could do a better job of tracking down owners. But that is not the same as someone having their SDB confiscated for no reason.

You are wrong.

Did you even bother to read the articles I posted?

They broke into one woman's SDB just 3 days after she had accessed it, claiming the contents as unclaimed.

Another family lost everything, even though they had lived at the same address for 36 years and had very recently accessed their SDB.

Look it up and you will find literally hundreds of other instances.



Through late 2008, the state of California has seized safe deposit boxes belonging to approximately 6,100,000 people, around 20% of the entire population of the state.



A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Ill let you ponder the meaning of that for a little while...lol

 

[jim4silver]

I'm pretty sure that the California incidents are related to people who have not paid for their boxes for three years. At that point the banks turn the stuff over to the state because they don't know what else to do with it. So no, California is not confiscating SDB willy nilly. It is true that these banks could do a better job of tracking down owners. But that is not the same as someone having their SDB confiscated for no reason.

You are wrong.

Did you even bother to read the articles I posted?

They broke into one woman's SDB just 3 days after she had accessed it, claiming the contents as unclaimed.

Another family lost everything, even though they had lived at the same address for 36 years and had very recently accessed their SDB.

Look it up and you will find literally hundreds of other instances.



Through late 2008, the state of California has seized safe deposit boxes belonging to approximately 6,100,000 people, around 20% of the entire population of the state.



A closed mouth gathers no feet.

Ill let you ponder the meaning of that for a little while...lol

I don't live in California. Has this happened en masse in any other states recently?

Jim

 

[Cachefinder]

Hey ~

all I know is my home/gun safe 7 ft tall 3 1/2 ft wide can withstand being in a blazing

fire for over 2hrs-- now if Quicksilver or any other firefighter cant put out the fire by then

well.................................

Point is Buy a Good Quality Safe that can be bolted down to cement!

But hidding some on others land can be just as fun (PVC CACHE)